NewsLine

On the threshold of new territory

Rolf Heuer on the physics potential of the LHC's first long run

| 8 April 2010

With stable beams regularly circulating and colliding in the LHC, we have started the physics programme at 7 TeV. At a recent workshop in Italy, participants had the chance to take stock of what lies in store for the LHC’s first physics run. Waiting for collisions in the LHC…Image: CERN Our objective over the next 18 […]

From CERN: LHC research programme gets underway

| 1 April 2010

Geneva, 30 March 2010. Beams collided at 7 TeV in the LHC at 13:06 CEST, marking the start of the LHC research programme. Particle physicists around the world are looking forward to a potentially rich harvest of new physics as the LHC begins its first long run at an energy three and a half times […]

Impressions from Beijing

| 1 April 2010

On 30 March, the Beijing meeting ended on a high note. Nearly 300 participants, together with local and scientific organising committees, worked hard to make this meeting a success while at the same time, in Geneva, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) opened a new page in particle physics history. “It’s a day of celebration,” concluded […]

From symmetry breaking: Demystifying the LHC shutdown

| 18 March 2010

Yesterday the science news media and twitterverse were abuzz following a BBC News article announcing “LHC to shut down for a year to address design faults.” Readers – and the news outlets that frantically re-reported the BBC article – assumed that CERN had found a new problem with the LHC and announced an imminent shutdown. […]

From Fermilab Today: Sharing silicon know-how with Chinese partners

| 4 March 2010

With the quiet, deft manner of a jeweler showing his wares, physicist Cai Xiao opened a black box that, in a James Bond movie, might hold a stash of diamonds. This one held something every bit as precious. Inside lay a small, green circuit board topped with three shining silver strips: a silicon detector. For […]

From symmetry breaking: Do particle theorists have a blind spot?

| 18 February 2010

In a provocative section of a talk at the American Physical Society meeting in Washington, DC, yesterday, theorist Matthew Strassler from Rutgers University challenged particle theorists to not be too simple in their analyses. Most people would probably not claim that theoretical particle physics is too simple, but Strassler argued that nature is likely to be […]

From KEK: A world of researchers joins hands and hardware

| 11 February 2010

The particle physics community is accustomed to global collaboration, and here at KEK, one of those collaborations has just begun on a core technology for the International Linear Collider (ILC), the superconducting accelerating system. From the Enlightenment to the present day, science has been opening doors to the unknown. Recent physics experiments and observations continue […]

From CERN: Outcome from Chamonix: Better in the long run

| 4 February 2010

Last week, the Chamonix workshop once again proved its worth as a place where all the stakeholders in the LHC can come together, take difficult decisions and reach a consensus on important issues for the future of particle physics. The most important decision we reached last week is to run the LHC for 18 to […]

From SLAC Today: ATF2 Narrows the Focus

| 14 January 2010

Last month the KEK facility in Japan hosted the ninth Project Meeting for the Accelerator Test Facility 2, or ATF2, and a few SLAC staff traveled overseas to participate. The group reviewed progress made in 2009, plans for 2010, and the possibility of extended studies beyond the primary ATF2 goals in 2011, 2012 and beyond. A total […]