３ Advanced Science Research
Advanced Science Pioneers the Future
Scientifically/Technically highimpact subjects related tostate-of-the-art nuclear
and materials science・ Expansion of the area of basic nuclear energy science・ Internationalization, cultivation of human resources

Conventional
Nuclear Energy
Research

Advanced Atomic-Energy
Science
Advanced
actinides science

Advanced nuclearmaterials science

Heavy Element Nuclear Science,
Interfacial Reaction-field Chemistry,
Hadron Nuclear Physics

Materials Physics for Heavy ElementSystems, Spin-energy Transformation
Science, Nanoscale Structure andFunction of Advanced Materials

InternationalCollaborations
Research Institutes
in/outside JAEA

Fig.3-1 The role of advanced nuclear scientific research
Our aim is to perform high-impact scientific and technical studies related to state-of-the-art nuclear and materials
science.

Basic science supports the greater part of nuclear-energyrelated technology. In research, it is particularly crucial torespond to the new stage of nuclear energy developmentthat we will be entering in the next few decades as well as toconstantly seek solutions to today’s energy problems.
The role of the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC)
is to explore the unlimited possibility of nuclear energy fromthe perspective of basic science. In this process, we aim toopen up new research fields and strive to further developscience and technology. Beginning in FY2015, we started
our mid-term plan, focusing on two main areas: advanced
actinides science and advanced nuclear materials science(Fig.3-1). Research on the former has been conducted with theaim of creating a new concept for nuclear and heavy-elementbased actinides science. For the latter, we have commenced
investigation and development of new nuclear-energy-relatedmaterials. Through interactions between the two areas andcollaboration with research institutes inside and outside of theJapan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), we have been working
on cultivating new ﬁelds of nuclear-energy science (Fig.3-1).
We have made numerous highlighted achievements during
FY2015. Through advanced actinides science, nuclearcharge-symmetry breaking by a strange particle was observedat the J-PARC Hadron Experimental Facility (Topic 3-4);
this discovery may lead to a way to solve a mystery of thenuclear force among protons, neutrons, and so on. A large-scale nuclear-structure calculation to constrain the masses ofneutrinos using the K supercomputer (Topic 3-5) was provided
using extensive numerical simulations. A new technology forcontrolling the migration of cesium from forests to living areas
had been developed, along with a means to regenerate village
forests using polymers and clay (Chapter 1, Topic 1-15),
which was demonstrated by veriﬁcation tests in Iitate village,Fukushima. This accomplishment is expected to prevent
recontamination of living areas.
Substantial results have been obtained by advanced nuclearmaterials science. The discovery of a novel mechanismof superconductivity induced by strong magnetic fields(Topic 3-1) may allow the development of new functionsof uranium-based compounds. Electrical generation fromthe quantum-mechanical-spinning motion in a liquid metal(Topic 3-2) may serve as a new electrical-generation source.
This accomplishment in particular was published by Nature
Physics and featured at the editorsʼ choice (News&Views etal.) of Nature Physics, Nature Materials, and Science. A newmaterial-surface-analysis, positron diffraction, revealed theinterface structure between graphene and a metal substrate(Topic 3-3).
The ASRC thinks it important to develop nuclear humanresources with expertise and to demonstrating their total
abilities through nuclear basic research.

JAEA R&D Review 2016-1737