Cambridge Physicist Takes Helm at CERN as Landmark collider Faces Shutdown
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CERN, the European organization for Nuclear Research, is poised for a pivotal moment as Mark thomson, a professor of experimental particle physics at the University of Cambridge, assumes the role of director general on January 1.While celebrated as one of the most coveted positions in global science, Thomson’s tenure begins with a significant challenge: overseeing a planned shutdown of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator.
However, beginning in June, the machine will be powered down for crucial engineering upgrades, remaining offline for the vast majority of thomson’s five-year term.
Despite the impending pause in experimentation, Thomson expressed enthusiasm for the work ahead. “The machine is running brilliantly and we’re recording huge amounts of data,” he stated, adding that “there’s going to be plenty to analyze over the period. The physics results will keep on coming.” His own path to physics was unconventional, sparked by a popular science book about CERN read during his teenage years in Worthing, West Sussex. He was the first in his family to attend university, ultimately earning a physics degree from oxford.
Understanding the Large Hadron collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operates on principles established by Albert Einstein’s equation E=mc, accelerating protons – the nuclei of hydrogen atoms – to near light speed within a 27km (16-mile) underground ring straddling the French-Swiss countryside. These protons are then collided, creating a cascade of new particles that are meticulously recorded by the LHC’s sophisticated detectors.
The current shutdown is not a sign of stagnation, but rather a necessary step toward the high-luminosity LHC, a major upgrade designed to dramatically increase the rate of particle collisions. This will be achieved through the installation of more powerful superconducting magnets, squeezing the proton beams and making them “brighter,” ultimately increasing collisions tenfold. the detectors themselves are also being reinforced to better capture the subtle signals of new physics.”It’s an incredibly exciting project,” Thomson remarked, “It’s more fascinating than just sitting here with the machine hammering away.”
The Future of Particle Physics: The FCC
While the high-luminosity LHC will extend the life of the current collider, the long-term future of CERN hinges on a far more enterprising and controversial project: the Future Circular Collider (FCC). With the LHC expected to reach the end of its operational life around 2041, CERN’s member states must decide on its successor. The FCC, currently the leading contender, would dwarf the LHC in scale, requiring a 91km circular tunnel bored up to 400 meters underground.
The FCC is envisioned as a two-phase project. The initial stage, slated to begin in the late 2040s, would involve colliding electrons with their antimatter counterparts, positrons. Subsequently, in the 2070s, this machine would be replaced with a proton collider capable of achieving seven times the energy of the LHC. The estimated cost for the first phase alone is 15 billion Swiss francs (approximately £14 billion).
However, the FCC faces significant hurdles beyond engineering challenges. Securing funding from CERN’s member states – and attracting contributions from other nations – will be crucial. Furthermore, a debate persists regarding whether the FCC is the optimal path toward answering some of the most pressing questions in physics, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the weakness of gravity, and the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe.
“We’ve not got to the point where we have stopped making discoveries and the FCC is the natural progression,” Thomson asserted.”Our goal is to understand the universe at its most fundamental level,” he concluded, “And this is absolutely not the time to give up.”
