MLIT scientists reported on results obtained in BM@N experiment On 13–15 May 2025, the 14th collaboration meeting of the BM@N (Baryonic Matter at Nuclotron) experiment, the first operating experiment at the NICA accelerator complex, took place at the JINR Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics. The focus of the current meeting was on the preparation for the 9th physics run of the experiment, scheduled for the second half of 2025. At the same time, the results of physics analysis obtained using the data from the previous run were presented, and the planned new data-taking run was discussed. At the event, staff members of the Meshcheryakov Laboratory of Information Technologies, participating in the BM@N experiment, shared the latest results. Head of the Distributed Real-Time Systems Sector Igor Alexandrov presented the status of the development of the Data Quality Monitoring (DQM) system for the BM@N experiment. The description of the system’s objectives, a brief overview of such systems that operate in the CERN experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, and general approaches to creating DQM systems were considered. The general system architecture, system framework, and a preliminary database scheme were presented. The structure of configuration files that will be used for fine-tuning the system’s operation was described. Possible further steps in implementing the DQM system were discussed. The work was performed in collaboration with MLIT Researcher Evgeny Alexandrov, as well as with colleagues from VBLHEP, Head of the Mathematical and Software Support Group Konstantin Gertsenberger and Software Engineer Alexander Chebotov. Dmitry Baranov, a researcher in the Department of the Development of Mathematical Support Based on Large Software Complexes and Data Visualization Tools, spoke about the geometry of the hybrid tracking system of the BM@N experiment for Run 9. The report presented the preparation status of the geometry for the detectors of the hybrid tracking system of the BM@N experiment within the upcoming run. The creation of geometric models is an integral part of the simulation of physical events based on Monte Carlo methods, it is implemented by the GEANT4 transport system applied in the BMNROOT framework. The talk pointed out that the use of detailed geometry describing the active and passive elements of the detectors enhanced the quality of simulation, which is especially important for the preparation of good realistic data. The report by Igor Pelevanyuk, a researcher in the Distributed Systems Sector, focused on the preparation of the DIRAC computing infrastructure for BM@N Run 9 of data-taking. The distributed heterogeneous computing environment built at MLIT on top of the DIRAC platform has been employed for BM@N experimental data processing since Run 8, which ended in February 2023. In 2023, during BM@N Run 8, a complete reconstruction of 400 terabytes of raw experimental data was performed using this computing infrastructure over five days. For two years, the system has been successfully applied for experimental data processing and Monte Carlo data generation. During this time, methods for launching tasks, monitoring their execution, and assessing the expected computational load have been enhanced. At present, methods for automatically launching processing tasks are being developed for BM@N Run 9, which will significantly reduce the time between receiving the initial data and its readiness for physics analysis. If the processing is performed in the same way as in Run 8, scientists will be able to acquire data for analysis within 10 hours after its taking. Thanks to this, it will be possible to check the quality of the collected data directly during Run 9. As the speaker emphasized, the introduction of automation methods will become an important step in the development of the distributed heterogeneous computing environment, increasing its efficiency and the speed of obtaining results. Evgeny Alexandrov delivered a talk on the current statuses of the configuration and geometric systems. He spoke about the latest updates carried out in these systems during their integration into the BM@N experiment data processing system and provided the readiness statuses for Run 9. The event was held in a hybrid format and brought together over 135 participants from JINR and 13 leading scientific organizations and universities from Bulgaria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Read also on JINR's website.
