Particle accelerators in Switzerland
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Major Particle Accelerators in Switzerland: LHC and HIPA
Switzerland is home to some of the world’s most advanced particle accelerators, notably the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN near Geneva and the High Intensity Proton Accelerator (HIPA) at the Paul Scherrer Institut.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN
The LHC is the largest and most powerful particle accelerator ever built. It is located at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland, in a 27 km circular tunnel situated about 100 meters underground. The LHC accelerates two beams of protons (or heavy ions) in opposite directions and collides them at energies up to 13–14 TeV in the center of mass, enabling physicists to study fundamental particles and forces at unprecedented energy scales Tosciri2021Borzou2017Karacheban2018+2 MORE. The LHC has been central to major discoveries, such as the Higgs boson, and supports a range of experiments including ATLAS and LHCb Tosciri2021Quagliani2018Rajna2019.
The Paul Scherrer Institut’s HIPA Facility
The Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland operates the High Intensity Proton Accelerator (HIPA), which delivers a 590 MeV proton beam with a current of up to 2.4 mA. This facility produces the world’s highest intensities of low-momentum muons, pions, and neutrons for both fundamental and applied physics research. HIPA supports unique precision experiments, especially with muons and muonium atoms, and ongoing upgrades aim to further increase the intensity and quality of muon beams for future experiments .
Future Developments: The Future Circular Collider (FCC)
CERN is planning the Future Circular Collider (FCC), a next-generation particle accelerator that would be hosted in a 90–100 km tunnel beneath the Geneva Basin, spanning western Switzerland and adjacent France. The FCC is designed to reach collision energies up to 100 TeV, far surpassing the LHC. This ambitious project is currently in the feasibility and design phase, with multidisciplinary studies underway to address geological, engineering, and environmental challenges related to the construction and operation of such a large underground facility Haas2022Gorine2020Haas2021.
Engineering and Environmental Considerations
Building and operating these large accelerators in Switzerland involves significant engineering and environmental planning. For the FCC, studies are evaluating the geological formations, potential hazards like karstic intervals and swelling clays, and the management of millions of cubic meters of excavated rock and soil. Environmental impact assessments are also being conducted to ensure compliance with Swiss regulations, especially regarding the disposal of materials containing naturally occurring heavy metals Haas2022Haas2021.
Conclusion
Switzerland is a global leader in particle accelerator technology, hosting the LHC at CERN and the HIPA facility at PSI. These accelerators enable cutting-edge research in particle physics and support a wide range of experiments. Looking ahead, the proposed FCC represents a major step forward, with ongoing studies addressing the technical and environmental challenges of constructing the world’s most powerful accelerator in the Geneva region Tosciri2021Kirch2016Borzou2017+7 MORE.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
The Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, Switzerland, is a hadron accelerator designed to provide unprecedented centre-of-mass-energies and luminosities for the discovery of new physics and measurements of parameters of the Standard Model in hitherto inaccessible regions of phase space.
DOI
A New Concept of Sensor for Ultra-high Levels of Radiation based on Radiation Enhanced Oxidation of Copper Thin-films
The Radiation Dependent Resistor (RDR) is a novel sensor technology that can withstand ultra-high radiation levels, making it suitable for use in high energy physics experiments and radioactive environments.
DOI