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Large Hadron Collider halts its collisions to receive new equipment, expand data quantity, and investigate still unknown physics phenomena
The equipment operated by CERN will remain without performing new collisions for approximately four years. The resumption is scheduled for June 2030.
The renovation will transform the accelerator into the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, also called HiLumi LHC or HL-LHC.
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Located on the border between France and Switzerland, the scientific complex operates within a 27-kilometer-long circular tunnel.
Third Long Shutdown marks LHC transformation
The interruption is part of the Third Long Shutdown, known by CERN as Long Shutdown 3 or LS3.
This phase represents the most profound intervention carried out in the complex since the beginning of its construction in 1998.
Part of the accelerator will be dismantled during the works. New superconducting magnets and essential components will be installed in approximately 1.2 kilometers of the tunnel.
These devices guide particles at speeds close to the speed of light and control the beams used in collisions.
Jean-Philippe Tock, responsible for coordinating the shutdown, described the replacement as a huge and complex logistical operation.
HiLumi LHC will increase the number of collisions
The current accelerator records approximately 60 simultaneous collisions during each proton beam crossing.
The modernized configuration is expected to produce between 140 and 200 almost simultaneous collisions in each crossing.
The project will increase the integrated luminosity by up to ten times compared to the performance foreseen in the original project.
Luminosity, in this context, represents the number of collisions accumulated by the accelerator over a certain period.
The increase will allow the study of extremely rare processes that currently may go unnoticed among billions of interactions.
Dark matter and new particles are among the targets
The search for new particles will be one of the main scientific missions of the HiLumi LHC.
Filip Moortgat, coordinator of operations for the CMS detector, told AFP that researchers want to find yet unknown particles.
Possible clues about dark matter can also be investigated with greater precision.
This substance represents a significant portion of the Universe, although it has not yet been directly detected.
The new data could, therefore, help fill gaps in the Standard Model of physics, which is unable to explain the entire composition of the cosmos.
Artificial intelligence will help filter data
Billions of interactions will produce a gigantic amount of information when the new accelerator starts operating.
Automated systems supported by artificial intelligence will help select, in real-time, the collisions with the greatest scientific potential.
Nedaa-Alexandra Asbah highlighted to AFP that artificial intelligence will not replace physicists.
The technology will function as an auxiliary tool, while interpretations and final decisions will remain the responsibility of specialists.
Research will continue during the renovation
The LHC began its operations in 2008 and achieved its most well-known result four years later.
Experiments conducted in the complex confirmed, in 2012, the existence of the Higgs boson, related to how elementary particles acquire mass.
Researchers will continue analyzing the database gathered in recent years during the shutdown.
New discoveries could emerge, therefore, even before the collisions resume.
Oliver Brüning, Director of Accelerators and Technology at CERN, stated that the equipment exceeded the expectations originally set.
The HiLumi LHC is expected to start a new phase in 2030, deepening research on the Higgs boson, rare phenomena, and the composition of the Universe.
What secrets about dark matter and the origin of the Universe might the new HiLumi LHC reveal when it resumes operation in 2030?
