Report of the RIKEN SPring-8 Center Advisory Council 2014

General statement
The SPring-8 campus hosts two world-leading accelerator based light sources.

SACLA is the second

operating hard x-ray free electron laser (FEL) in the world and the first compact FEL that has establishedthe paradigm for such sources.

From its earliest operations it has produced important scientific results

and is on a strong and continuous growth.

SACLA produces the shortest wavelengths worldwide and isa leader in investigations in non-linear x-ray physics.
The SPring-8 storage ring source has world leading capabilities. The 1 km beamline enables thedevelopment of unique x-ray optics as evidenced by the continued progress for hard x-ray reflection
optics.

The newly commissioned in-elastic scattering beamline on the 25 m straight section is the bestin its class and has already produced important results that should further our understanding of thephysics of high temperature superconductors.
The RSC is pursuing continuous growth of both facilities and is focusing on the upgrade path for theSPring-8 storage ring in step with the two other high energy 3rd generation synchrotron sources.
The RSC is also focusing on the management of the facilities on the SPring-8 campus withorganizational changes as exemplified by the creation of the engineering section.

Comments on the specified issues
Terms of Reference for RSAC
1. How can we further improve the management systems of the RSC (especially its organizational
structure and administrative systems), which strive to make the RSC a world-leading Photon Science
Research Complex?
The RSAC still sees room for advancement in the biosciences.

This is a most challenging area that is asoften

An approach we favor is to develop adominated, by necessity, by large, well-funded groups.

coordinated effort in structural biology amongst the three independent laboratories: the bio-structural
mechanism laboratory, the SACLA science research group, and the bio-metal science laboratory.

This

has the potential to significantly improve the overall scientific impact of these independent teams.
The RSAC notes that often, at large facilities, there is a tendency to organize based on techniques.

A

possible managerial effort would be to form science based platforms across the organizations responsible
for the operations of all beamlines at SPring-8 and SACLA.

This has the potential to create a scientificenvironment that can increase scientific creativity leading to new results for the in-house staff and lead tonew capabilities for the user community. Such an effort would not involve increasing management but
rather stressing science collaboration and cross technique approaches to common problems.
2. How can we promote sciences of, for and by high-energy photons in a manner compatible with theRSC’s missions, to effectively confront the problems mankind is facing?
The role of the RSC to design, construct and operate accelerator based light sources implies that thescience portfolio is to a large extent user driven.

Many facilities share the common problem of

promoting their usage by specific groups in the user community.

The RSAC has a list of possible

approaches to encourage best utilization of the unique high-energy photon capabilities of the SPring-8complex. Possible ways to attract the best user groups from RIKEN, Japan and worldwide to utilize
theses unique capabilities to address important scientific problems are to:1) Hold science based workshops
2) Establish collaborations with leading groups
3) Establish joint appointments with universities
4) Establish long-term user agreements for access
5) Establish priority proposal topics
6) Present important scientific results based on the use of high energy photons at important
conferences
Amongst these possibilities, perhaps the best is to drive in-house research using the unique capabilities ofSPring-8. The research must be focused to yield critical information, addressing an important scientificquestion that could not be answered in any other way than to use high-energy photon tools at SPring-8.
To generate broad interest in the scientific community these results must be presented to national andinternational scientific meetings.

3. How can we optimize the roles for governance and efficacy that the RSC should assume in theresearch complex with the SPring-8 and SACLA facilities?
The RSC operates in a complex environment, where organizational and funding differences can appear to
create boundaries that inhibit the maximization of the research output of the unique radiation sources on
the SPring-8 campus.

RSAC strongly urges that the RSC work to eliminate any boundaries that might

exist between organizations responsible for the various aspects of SPring-8 and SACLA and that lead toinefficiencies and/or impede scientific output.
President Noyori’s suggested topics for deliberation by the Advisory Councils for RIKEN’s Centers

1.

The key concept of the Third Five-Year Term is “mobilizing RIKEN’s overall strength” forproblem-solving research, and a new framework has been put into place to encouragecross-disciplinary research throughout RIKEN. In order to evaluate how well this newframework is functioning to promote cross-disciplinary research within RIKEN, each centeradvisory council is asked to cover the topics in item (1).
(1) Is the center’s research output and personnel up to international standards? Is the centera world-leader in its field? Please make concrete proposals that could lead to quantum
leaps.
RSAC recognizes the quality of the scientific output is on a par with the leading high energy 3rd
generation synchrotron radiation facilities: ESRF in Grenoble, France, APS in Argonne, UnitedStates and PETRA III in Hamburg, Germany. The RSAC notes, however, that continued
attention to the quantity of scientific output is necessary so that the RSC maintains a strong
position internationally.
RSC is the world leader in the development of compact hard x-ray free electron lasers. The
accelerator concepts for ‘quantum leaps’ in FEL performance have significant ‘seeds’ in thethinking of the SACLA team. Timely evaluation and implementation of these concepts arevery important.
The RSC collaboration with Osaka University is world leading in the development of reflective
optics for hard x-rays. The optics development would not have been possible without theworld unique 1 km beamline at SPring-8 and the leadership of the RSC personnel in defining thescientific potential of achieving nm scale foci with long working distances.

2.

RIKEN will be operating under a new system for Independent Administrative Institutions,starting in April 2015. As such, RIKEN’s primary objective will be to maximize its researchand development capabilities and define goals for creative, outstanding world-class results
in selected areas of problem-solving research. Each center advisory council is asked torecommend specific research topics by which the center can apply its special attributes tocontribute to those areas of specialty (not only issues confronting society, but also thosespecific to science and technology) in which RIKEN should be dedicating its
comprehensive resources.

The understanding of the role of the RSC is: (1) to design, construct and operate accelerator
based light sources with unique source capabilities for research and (2) to maximize the impactof the research using the RIKEN beamlines for the benefit of society.
RSAC evaluation for the design, construction and operation of accelerator based light sources
with unique source capabilities for research.

The RSC operations and development of SACLA are world leading in the development ofcompact hard x-ray free electron lasers for basic science. This is clearly recognized by theacceptance of the compact design that is the basis for SWISSFEL and the Pohang Free ElectronLaser.
The SPring-8 II design concept (upgrade of SPring-8) is well aligned with the worldwide efforts
to upgrade the existing 3rd generation hard x-ray storage ring sources, ESRF and APS toward
diffraction-limited sources.
RSAC recommends that these efforts should take into consideration progress worldwide infinalizing the design choices for SPring-8 II. We encourage further optimization of theperformance of the new design without compromising the performance standards that users havecome to rely on.
RSAC evaluation of the impact of the research using the RIKEN beamlines for the benefit ofsociety.

It is important to ensure that the unique capabilities of the accelerator based light sources on theSPring-8 campus are utilized and impact the breadth of the RIKEN science portfolio. The
scientific quality of the research carried out on the RIKEN beamlines is world class.
To maintain the quality of the research carried out at the RIKEN beamlines the RSAC
recommends that the RSC continue to reach out to the RIKEN scientific staff and more broadly
both within Japan and worldwide to develop user science exploiting the unique RIKEN
beamline capabilities.

Recommendations
1. Develop a coordinated effort in structural biology amongst the three independent laboratories:
the bio-structural mechanism laboratory, the SACLA science research group, and the bio-metal
science laboratory.
2. Form science based platforms across the organizations responsible for the operations of all
beamlines at SPring-8 and SACLA.

This has the potential to create a scientific environmentthat can increase scientific creativity leading to new results for the in-house staff and lead to newcapabilities for the user community. Such an effort would not involve increasing management
but rather stressing science collaboration and cross technique approaches to common problems.
3. To grow the use of the high energy photons from SPring-8 begin by driving in-house researchusing the unique capabilities that yields critical information to address a specific problem that
could not be obtained in any other way than to use high-energy photon tools at SPring-8 and topresent these results to national and international scientific meetings.
4. Eliminate any boundaries that might exist between organizations responsible for the various
aspects of SPring-8 and SACLA and that lead to inefficiencies and/or impede scientific output.
5. Take into consideration progress worldwide in finalizing the design choices for SPring-8

II. The SPring-8 ring has, in comparison to APS and ESRF, the largest circumference
and therefore the potential to yield the lowest emittance from the upgrade.

6. RSC should develop organized out-reach efforts focused on the RIKEN scientific staff

and more broadly both within Japan and worldwide to develop user science exploiting
the unique RIKEN beamline capabilities.