HL-LHC updates in Japan
At a recent meeting in Japan, updates on the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) project were presented, including the progress made so far and the deadlines still to be met for the upgraded machine to be operational from 2020.
New magnets made with advanced superconductor Nb3Sn in the framework of the HL-LHC project. These magnets are currently under construction at CERN by the TE-MSC group.
The LHC is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, and in 2015 it will reach yet another new record for the energy of its colliding beams. One key factor of its discovery potential is its ability to produce collisions described in mathematical terms by the parameter known as “luminosity”. In 2025, the HL-LHC project will allow the total number of collisions in the LHC to increase by a factor of 10.
The first step in this rich upgrade programme is the delivery of the Preliminary Design Report (PDR), which is also a key milestone of the HiLumi LHC Design Study partly funded by the EU. “At our 4th Joint HiLumi LHC-LARP Annual Meeting we approved a first version of the PDR, which will be published by March as a CERN Report,” confirms Lucio Rossi, HL-LHC Project Leader. “We also officially announced the new HL-LHC timeline to the collaborators.”
Whether or not the plan is achievable depends on the progress made with the new technologies required to allow a huge increase in luminosity without building a totally new accelerator. They include breakthroughs in accelerator physics, innovative high field superconducting magnets; crab cavities based on a technology never used before in an accelerator; a new collimation system with advanced material; and a novel cold power system concept, which uses an electrical transmission line with a world record-breaking superconducting cable. “The whole HL-LHC project is extremely technically challenging but in Japan all the work package teams were able to report on their achievements,” says Rossi. “From the baseline for the layout of the new interaction region, including the collimation scheme, to the testing of three prototype crab cavities, we are very happy with the present status. Over 300 people from 20 institutes around the world are participating in this project and we really appreciate their exceptional skills and motivation.”
The new HL-LHC timeline.
Once all the new elements are installed, the LHC will also be a new machine for the experiments. Indeed, as increased luminosity acts as a new powerful magnifying lens for the processes that drove the development of the universe, it is also a huge technological challenge for the experiments, requiring new levels of performance by both the hardware and software of all the sub-detectors.
2015 will be a crucial year for the HL-LHC community as the Hi-Lumi LHC study – the umbrella that brings together various R&D efforts and includes participants from the European Research Area as well as from the US (LARP) and Japan – will be completed and many subsystem design studies will also be finalised. The community is also preparing special events throughout the year to celebrate the UNESCO International Year of Light. Until then… Season’s Greetings to all our readers!
