Publication of SPring-8 Scientific Achievements
In the more than 15 years since the SPring-8 was put into use in October of 1997, the large-scale radiation facility has matured into the world’s highest-level advanced research foundation due to the installation and upgrading of a variety of equipment and devices, and has contributed to the advancement of science and industry in diverse fi elds. We currently have 26 shared Beamlines (BLs), 19 dedicated BLs, 9 BLs for RIKEN, and 2 BLs for accelerator diagnostics, for a grand total of 56 operational BLs, with an additional BL undergoing maintenance. With the use of these BLs, 8,043 research papers have been published in 15 years. Recently, close to 800 papers per year have been published, a figure that exceeds 1% of the total number of papers published in Japan per year (75,000 papers). The citations of papers from SPring-8 are high as well, averaging 16 times per paper. As can be seen, both the quantity and quality of the scientific research performed by the users of SPring-8 is high, and many excellent papers are being published.
This booklet is a collection of major achievements that we have selected from each of the following seven fields of research in the scientific application of SPring-8: Life Science, Soft Matter, Materials Science, Electronic Properties, High-Pressure Earth Science, Environment and Energy, and Nuclear Physics. In bringing this booklet together, various efforts have been made so that the achievements are presented in an easy-to-understand manner even to those who are not specialists in these fields, without compromising its scientific flavor.
Large-scale research facilities such as SPring-8 must win the understanding of the people on the significance and effectiveness of these research efforts, since the construction, operation, and management of the facility requires substantial national expenditure. Therefore, from the peoples’ point of view, the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) needs to provide an adequate explanation of the achievements of SPring-8. We at JASRI hope that this booklet will be useful, even in the slightest way, far and wide for the people to comprehend the considerable contribution of SPring-8 to the sciences. We would be pleased if readers could gain an even deeper understanding of the significance and effectiveness of SPring-8 by taking a look at the “Successful Results of Industrial Applications at SPring-8” booklet, which has been published along with this work.
Finally, beginning with the members of the editorial board and the researchers - the users of SPring-8 - who have exerted themselves in bringing this booklet together, we would like to express our deepest thanks to all who cooperated in producing this collection.
Yoshiharu Doi, President
Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)
