RI Beam Factory Project at RIKEN Original Research Article

The RI Beam Factory (RIBF) is presently the top world-class radioactive-isotope (RI) beam facility in the world. This facility is based on the in-flight method to produce fast RI beams. High-energy and intense primary beams accelerated by a superconducting ring cyclotron (SRC) are converted, via the projectile fragmentation or fission reaction channels, to RI beams at a new fragment separator called BigRIPS. Construction of SRC and BigRIPS has been completed in March, 2007. Construction of major experimental installations has been commenced in 2007. Physics opportunities with the RIBF are discussed herein.