Newsline

Director's Corner

Happy New Year! Reflections on 2012

by Barry Barish

Last year was an especially exciting year for particle physics with the discovery of a 126-GeV particle that appears to be the long-sought Higgs boson. This event is likely to be the most important discovery in decades: the observation of a new kind of particle that signals the mechanism for creating mass in the universe. These impressive early results already point to future directions for the LHC, and more broadly for particle physics. In fact, closer to home, this discovery is providing strong motivation for a Japanese initiative for a staged approach to the ILC, beginning with a ~250 GeV Higgs factory, with the capability of increasing the energy in the longer term.

Feature

Members of new Linear Collider Board announced

The International Committee for Future Accelerators ICFA, has selected the members of the new Linear Collider Board. the Board will take up office in February as the oversight committee for the new Linear Collider Collaboration. It will be chaired by Sachio Komamiya from the University of Tokyo.

LCpedia

Cavity gradient

by Daisy Yuhas

What is an accelerating gradient? How do particles get accelerated, and how much? LCpedia explains.

Image of the week

The year of the snake

Image: Zanaq

2013 is the year of the snake - according to Chinese wisdom, it will be a year of steady progress and attention to detail.

This prognosis is something the ILC design team can certainly sign off on: attention to detail is intrinsic to the ILC'S precise collisions, state-of-the-art detectors and challenging machine. And steady progress is certainly ahead with the publication of the Technical Design Report in summer.

The uroboros - the snake that eats its own tail - is also often the representation of the universe, where the very big mirrors the very small.

In the News

  • from Kahoku Shinpo
    9 January 2013

    達増拓也岩手県知事は8日、下村博文文部科学相を訪れ、科学者らが建設を目指している次世代加速器「国際リニアコライダー(ILC)」について、「東日本全体の復興の象徴として、国家プロジェクト、国際協力事業としてぜひ進めていただきたい」と岩手県・北上山地への誘致に協力を求めた。日本は誘致に乗り出すかどうかは決めておらず、下村氏は「東北経済界の皆さんからも依頼されている。全力で取り組んでいきたい」とだけ答えた。(Takuya Tasso, the governor of Iwate prefecture visited Hakubun Shimomura, minister for MEXT (Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science & Technology) on Tuesday, 8 January, demanded to promote ILC as a national project and place it as a symbol of the recovery from the earthquake. Shimomura responded saying “I was also asked by the Tohoku Industry. I will deal with it to my full extent.”

  • from Tokyo Shimbun
    6 January 2013

    全長三十一キロという巨大加速器「国際リニアコライダー(ILC)」の設計が昨年末にまとまった。宇宙の成り立ちの謎を解く手掛かりが得られ、技術の応用は医療などに革新をもたらすと期待される。夢は膨らむが、施設をどこに建て、膨大な建設費を参加国でどう負担するのかという大問題が残っている。(ILC will unveil the mystery of the universe, and its technology might bring innovations. Pretty exciting, but there remains a lot of issues such as a choice of the construction site and how to bear a huge construction costs between participating countries)

  • from The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
    4 January 2013

    次世代加速器「国際リニアコライダー」が2020年代半ばにも世界に1 カ所完成する。日本は東北・北上山地と九州・脊振(せふり)山地の2候補地を研究者らが科学的判断で今夏にも一本化し、日本への誘致を政府間協議に委ねる。(Researchers will show scientific decision on two ILC candidate sites in Japan around thins summer, and expect to leave it to the intergovernmental consultation to attract ILC to Japan)

  • from Iwate Nippo
    4 January 2013

    経済効果も大事だが、何よりナンバーワンの研究が震災で傷ついた岩手で行われることだ。次世代を担う子どもたち、若者たちが、ここに住むことの誇りにつながる。研究者の間では、北上山地は世界6カ所の候補地の中で有力とみられている。自信を持って誘致を加速させたい。(Of course, economic effect is important. However, more important thing is that it is an opportunity for Iwate prefecture, which was severely damaged by the major earthquake to have a the world premier laboratory. ILC will make Iwate prefecture a place to live with pride. We will accelerate our activity to invite ILC.)

  • from Sankei Shimbun
    1 January 2013

    宇宙誕生の謎に迫る素粒子物理学の壮大な実験施設の構想が進んでいる。日米欧などが目指す次世代加速器「国際リニアコライダー」(ILC)計画だ。建設地は日本が最も有力で、今夏に国内候補地が決まり誘致が本格化する。物理学に革命を起こすノーベル賞級の発見が日本で実現する期待が高まっている。(Expectation has been raised that the discovery which would bring a Nobel Prize might take place in Japan)

  • from Itoshima Shimbun
    1 January 2013

    「国際リニアコライダー(ILC)」の建設候補地に、福 岡・佐賀の県境にまたがる脊振山地の名前が挙がっている。国内候補地は東北の北上山地と二カ所で、もし建設地に決まれば、経済波及効果は建設期間(8年 間)で国内1兆1000億円、九州では3400億円に上るとの試算もある。今夏に予定される国内候補地の一本化に向け、誘致活動が熱を帯びつつある。糸島 が国際都市へと変ぼうする可能性が出てきた。(Sefuri mountain is one of the two ILC candidate sites in Japan. If the ILC to be constructed, estimated economic effect would be over one trillion-yen all over Japan, and 340 billion-yen for Kyushu area. The activities toward inviting the ILC to the area is picking up momentum. Itoshima might transform into a international city.)

  • from Guardian
    1 Januar 2013

    The Large Hadron Collider will shut down for an overhaul in preparation for exploring questions of dark matter, extra dimensions and other universes

  • from gizmag
    24 December 2012

    According to Nature, Japan is the frontrunner for the planned International Linear Collider (ILC), for which Europe and the United States are also in the running to host.

  • from Tom’s Hardware
    23 December 2012

    It appears that Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, will not be able to secure the funding to build the International Linear Collider (ILC) as the potential successor of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.

  • from French Tribune
    20 December 2012

    Yes, sources are talking that the plans are already underway for Large Hardon Collider’s successor, the International Linear Collider, or ILC, which will cost approx between $10 and $20 billion. Moreover, rumors are also airing that the host country of same will probably be Japan.