Electron-positron colliders at Novosibirsk

INP has been developing colliders for over 30 years. The first experiments on scattering electrons on electrons at large angles were started at the first electron-electron collider at an energy of 2/spl times/130 MeV already in 1964. A year later the first in the world electron-positron collider VEPP-2 was put into operation, and in 1966 the first results of the phi-meson decays was published. Since then INP created VEPP-3 and VEPP-4 which were later modernized into VEPP-2M and VEPP-4M. The energy in the centre-of-mass system of these machines ranged from 400 MeV up to 12 GeV. Starting from the first experiments on electron-positron colliding beams, we have gone through the luminosity range of 10/sup 24/ cm/sup -2/ sec/sup -3/ to 310/sup 31/ cm/sup -2/ sec /sup -1/. A big amount of information and experimental results obtained on these machines have been published in Particle Data. In 1986 we have started to develop colliders of a new class, i.e. electron-positron colliders, like B- and Phi-factories (VEPP-5). Unfortunately, the beginning of this work coincided with the launch of Perestrojka in Russia, and the rate of financing, and whence, the construction rate of these machines was slowed down. In 1993 following the recommendation of the International Program Committee for high energy physics of the Russian Ministry of Science the construction of the B-factory was cancelled and it was recommended to develop a C-tau-factory. The present report shows the status of the VEPP-2M, VEPP-4M and VEPP-5 facilities.