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While many experiments are methodically planning for intense works over the long shutdown, there is one experiment that is already working at full steam: ALPHA-2. Its final components arrived last month and will completely replace the previous ALPHA set-up. Unlike its predecessor, this next generation experiment has been specifically designed to measure the properties of antimatter.
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After three years of LHC running, we are still at the beginning of a long research programme with our flagship facility, and hopefully 4 July 2012 will go down in history as the date of one of many landmark discoveries spanning several years. CERN’s top priority for the next decade and more is the full exploitation of the LHC. With speculation about potential future facilities mounting in the light of the discovery of a new Higgs-like particle, it’s important to state that most clearly. Of course, this will rely on continued global collaboration, and it’s important that CERN engage constructively with other regions.
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Even in the most specialized circles, the new particle discovered in July is not called the “Higgs boson” yet. Physicists still hesitate to give it this name because they want to be sure that its properties fit with those predicted by the Higgs theory. This week, at the HCP conference in Kyoto, CMS and ATLAS presented their latest results: a more refined data analysis has produced a more accurate value of the mass of the particle and has started to show decay channels never before observed.
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The LHCb experiment is special: there is a limit to the number of the events the detector can handle per bunch crossing. Consequently the maximum luminosity provided in 2012 has been around 4 x1032 cm-2s-1 (compared to the maximum of 7.7 x1033 cm-2s-1 seen by ATLAS and CMS). Nonetheless LHCb still wants to integrate as much luminosity as possible.
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Let’s turn back the clocks to 2002: the LHC is still under construction, the wrap-up of the LEP physics programme is still in recent memory and the future of electron-positron accelerators at CERN is ambiguous. It was then that CLIC set out to prove the feasibility of their novel accelerator design in the CTF3 test facility. Though once a tall order for the collaboration, the recently released CLIC Conceptual Design Report has proven many of the major design elements… bringing to an end the first phase of CLIC R&D; and pointing toward detailed performance optimisation studies in the next phase.
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By analysing the production of mesons in the forward region of LHC proton-proton collisions, the LHCf collaboration has provided key information needed to calibrate extremely high-energy cosmic ray models.
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In the last issue of the Bulletin we reported on the first run of the new NA62 experiment. In this issue, we go behind the scenes to take a look at the production of the experiment's new kaon beam.
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CERN’s videoconferencing service has a new look. The user-friendly, easy-to-access Vidyo system is replacing EVO and, by the end of 2012, will become CERN’s only official videoconferencing platform.
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From 19 to 28 October, Sydney (Australia) welcomed thousands of firemen and women from all over the world for the 12th World Firefighters Games. Launched in 1990 in Auckland (New Zealand), this biennial celebration is – according to its organizers – “intended to be an inclusive event that celebrates the camaraderie, heroism, health, fitness and spirit of the women and men who work in one of the world’s most respected professions”.
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On 23 October 2012, Christian Monteil, President of the Conseil Général of Haute-Savoie, visited CERN accompanied by a delegation of Departmental representatives and members of the Departmental services.
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The 27 staff members who have spent 25 years within CERN in 2012 were invited by the Director-General to a reception in their honour on 2 November.
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This week, we would like you to play a small online game called “Virtual Hide & Seek”. The rules are simple: some of our colleagues have published some sensitive or confidential documents on CERN’s central services like Indico, CDS, EDMS or TWiki, as well as on our many websites. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: find them!
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“The Ombuds shall provide confidential assistance for the informal resolution of interpersonal issues, in the interests of the good functioning of CERN.”*
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It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our colleague of many years, Bill Willis, who died on 1 November after a short illness.
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Paul joined the Radiation Group at CERN's Laboratory II in March 1972. He carried out tests on materials and components that were used in the construction of the SPS.
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