# All the Fun of the FAIR: Fundamental physics at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research

## TL;DR

FAIR is a major upcoming research facility in Europe that will enable groundbreaking experiments across physics, astrophysics, and applied sciences, with some initial research already underway.

## Contribution

This paper summarizes the scientific potential and current progress of FAIR, highlighting its capabilities to advance fundamental physics and various applied sciences.

## Key findings

- Initial experiments at GSI are underway using upgraded accelerators.
- FAIR will enable new insights into fundamental interactions and symmetries.
- The facility will support research in astrophysics, materials, plasma physics, and medical applications.

## Abstract

The Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will be the accelerator-based flagship research facility in many basic sciences and their applications in Europe for the coming decades. FAIR will open up unprecedented research opportunities in hadron and nuclear physics, in atomic physics and nuclear astrophysics as well as in applied sciences like materials research, plasma physics and radiation biophysics with applications towards novel medical treatments and space science. FAIR is currently under construction as an international facility at the campus of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum for Heavy-Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. While the full science potential of FAIR can only be harvested once the new suite of accelerators and storage rings is completed and operational, some of the experimental detectors and instrumentation are already available and will be used starting in summer 2018 in a dedicated research program at GSI, exploiting also the significantly upgraded GSI accelerator chain. The current manuscript summarizes how FAIR will advance our knowledge in various research fields ranging from a deeper understanding of the fundamental interactions and symmetries in Nature to a better understanding of the evolution of the Universe and the objects within.