It’s a big week for science and technology. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has announced the completion of the civil-engineering work for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), an exciting upgrade to its flagship collider, the LHC.
The latest upgrade promises to take the LHC’s capabilities to new heights and open up even more possibilities for groundbreaking discoveries.
The upgraded HL-LHC was approved back in 2016 and is set to begin operation in 2029, it will significantly improve the LHC’s performance by increasing the number of particle collisions, thus boosting the potential for new discoveries.
The completion of the civil-engineering work marks the start of the transition towards the HL-LHC era, as new components for the collider will now be installed in the caverns and galleries that have been prepared.
Recognized as one of the highest priorities for the field in the 2020 update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, the HL-LHC is CERN’s main scientific goal of the decade.
The project builds on the success of the LHC since it began operation in 2010, the HL-LHC will increase the “luminosity” (number of proton-proton collisions per second) by a factor of five to seven, allowing for about ten times more data to be accumulated between 2029 and 2041, the period during which it will be operating.
To achieve this increase in luminosity, several innovative and challenging key technologies are being developed, such as new superconducting quadrupole magnets, compact crab cavities, high-temperature superconducting links, new technologies for beam vacuum, and beam collimation, as well as precise high-current power converters. These cutting-edge advancements will allow physicists to study known mechanisms in greater detail and observe rare new phenomena that might reveal themselves.
The HL-LHC is an international effort involving 43 institutions in 19 countries, including CERN’s Member and Associate Member States, as well as the United States, Canada, Japan and China.
The civil-engineering work began in 2018. The completion of the works means the HL-LHC era is now set to officially begin and the world of science is waiting with bated breath to see what exciting discoveries and breakthroughs lie ahead.
TLDR
- CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, has completed civil-engineering work on its upgraded High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC).
- The HL-LHC is set to begin operation in 2029 and will significantly boost the LHC’s performance by increasing particle collisions.
- This upgrade was approved back in 2016 and is one of the highest priorities for particle physics outlined by European Strategy.
- 43 institutions from 19 countries are involved in this international effort including CERN Member States as well as US, Canada, Japan and China.
- With completion of works marking start of transition towards HL-LHC era new components can now be installed paving way for groundbreaking discoveries when it begins operation next decade.
