LHC@home is ready to support HiLumi LHC: take part!
Recently relaunched, the LHC@home volunteer computing project is now ready to support the HiLumi LHC project, the design phase of the planned upgrade of the LHC that will increase its luminosity by a factor of 5 to 10 beyond its original design value. HiLumi will need massive simulations to test the beam dynamics. Whether you are at home or at work, you can help experts design the future LHC by connecting your computer to LHC@home. Go for it!
LHC@home is aimed at involving the public in real science. If you have a computer that is connected to the Internet, you can join the large team of volunteers who are already supporting its two main projects: Test4Theory, which runs computer simulations of high-energy particle collisions, and SixTrack, which is aimed at optimizing the LHC performance by performing beam dynamics simulations. In both cases, the software is designed to run only when your computer is idle and causes no disruption to your normal activities.
To the simulations run by the SixTrack project, accelerator physicists have recently added those needed for the design of the upgrade of the LHC – the HiLumi LHC project. Despite decades of research, it remains impossible for accelerator experts to predict the exact behaviour of beams in the machine. Intensive numerical calculations can help them a lot.
In particular, SixTrack allows accelerator experts to simulate the single-particle beam dynamics of the protons travelling in the collider to probe whether the various imperfections leading to non-linear effects might result in slow diffusion and particle losses. These phenomena are particularly relevant to the LHC, as they might lead to magnet quench and could ultimately limit the machine's peak performance. To date, this behaviour is virtually impossible to predict based on theory and requires complex numerical simulations.
By joining the LHC@home programme, you will actively help scientists to obtain more accurate predictions and therefore design a better machine. Whether you are at home or at work (including at CERN!) do not hesitate to join LHC@home!
List of LHC@home partner institutes: CERN, EPFL, LHC Physics Center at CERN and Citizen Cyber Science.
