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I can confirm that “computer security” is probably not the sexiest subject at a dinner party. For sure, it is not the most popular subject at CERN. No wonder, after the rollout of 2-factor authentication (2FA) and the new SPAM filter – both strengthening CERN’s computer security and both causing inconvenience for end users. A recent email campaign inviting some 4500 users to join the 2FA pilot for LXPLUS stirred up quite some frustration among those invited. Whether it was a few very vocal individuals venting their unhappiness or some colleagues validly expressing their concerns, the feedback was not always friendly. Still, rest assured, we hear you!
Bear in mind that keeping everyone happy is not easy. Not only does CERN host three distinct communities – (1) the Linux, MacBook and open-source-loving academic Research and Computing sector, (2) the standardised world of Microsoft solutions in the Finance and Human Resources sector, and (3) a combination of both for running control systems in the Accelerators and Technology sector – CERN also welcomes 20 000 users and participants from all over the world who come to use its computing facilities. 19 805 to be exact. This implies a total of 28 712 primary computing accounts (plus 7183 and 6490 so-called secondary and service accounts, respectively); 32 214 mailboxes receiving professional and personal emails from all over the world and many forwarding them back into the world; 81 264 e-groups providing mailing list and access control functionalities; 5.633 websites promoting professional content, pet projects or CVs or serving as a personal homepage; 288.032 unmanaged “bring-your-own devices” (BYOD) plus a small minority of CERN IT-managed devices registered on our internal network; 15 621 OpenStack-hosted virtual machines and 18 366 OpenShift-hosted containers serving our community; 166 520 software repositories storing CERN-centric projects and code designed to run elsewhere; 1125 databases provided on demand; and a few thousand different ways of using LXPLUS as a computing cluster.
We have to secure all that! To protect CERN against any kind of successful large-scale attack – attacks others unfortunately fell for – while maintaining a good balance with our academic freedom and the operations of our accelerators and experiments, not impacting negatively on CERN’s mandate, research and data taking, following international best practices, standards (ISO27k, CISv8, NIST 800 series, COWASP) and the recommendations of the 2023 cybersecurity audit, and keeping an acceptable level of usability and comfort in order to avoid annoying too many people.
Balancing all that – security, academic freedom, operations, standards, usability, happiness – sometimes works out smoothly, like with the not-so-new-anymore outer perimeter firewall, the new secure software development training or the deployment of a new antivirus solution, even if those solutions were mostly deployed behind the scenes and on an opt-in basis. Others come with some temporary (or less temporary, according to some people) pain, like the rollout of 2-factor authentication to the CERN web-sphere (2FA) and the new spam and malware filter that also now enforces anti-spoofing measures (“SPF”, “DKIM”, “DMARC”). Others might require us to substantially change the way we work – probably like having 2FA protection on LXPLUS. It is this impact on usability that we would like to avoid. That’s why we run pilots and ask for your input (and understanding) in order to streamline our plans and measures and make “security” easy for you and beneficial to CERN. To strike the right balance.
We hope to strike a reasonable balance in 2025, too, with your help and understanding. Securing CERN together. Merry festivities and a Happy New Year!
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Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.
anschaef Thu, 12/05/2024 - 11:09 Byline Computer Security Office Publication Date Thu, 12/05/2024 - 11:03The 2024 LHC run was outstanding in every respect, achieving record-breaking performance in both the proton and the lead-ion runs.
For the proton run, the overall machine availability was excellent, reaching 72.1%, with a record 53.6% of the time spent in collisions. The integrated luminosity for proton physics during Run 3 so far stands at an impressive 196 fb⁻¹, surpassing the combined totals of Runs 1 and 2 – and Run 3 is far from over, with 2025 and 2026 still ahead of us.
The integrated luminosities for the proton physics runs. (Image: CERN)The 2024 lead-ion run was equally successful. Issues encountered in 2023 were resolved, enabling 1240 bunches per beam, spaced 50 nanoseconds apart, to collide, with good luminosity production. This performance was further boosted by slightly higher-than-usual bunch intensities delivered by the injectors. The machine’s availability during the lead-ion run reached an impressive 75%, with 42% of the time spent in collisions. The lower collision time for lead ions is expected, as the beams typically remain in collision for around 6 hours, compared to about 10 hours for protons. Additionally, the process of filling the LHC with lead ions takes longer than filling it with protons.
Overall, the 2024 run has set a remarkable standard and is testimony to the excellent work done by all the teams working on the LHC and its injector complex.
Several machine development (MD) studies were planned for the final hours of the 2024 run. The last of these MD studies aimed to create an increasing and well-controlled lead-ion beam loss into a superconducting magnet until it quenched. This would provide valuable insights into the threshold of beam losses that a magnet can tolerate before quenching, serving as a benchmark for past simulations. Such experiments are typically reserved for the end of the annual run to avoid affecting physics operations too much, as the cooldown time required after a quench would otherwise interfere with scheduled experiments.
One of the many displays in the CCC, summarising the status of the cryogenics system and indicating if it is ready to power the magnet circuits or not. The image was taken just after the quench and clearly indicates that the cryogenics conditions in much of sector 8-1 (S81) have been lost. The graph at the bottom shows the evolution of the temperature, which for S81 increased rapidly during the quench. (Image: CERN)Unfortunately, at 6.35 a.m. on 23 November, two days ahead of the scheduled end of the 2024 run, the LHC beams were dumped by unintentional magnet quenches, prematurely ending the run.
Beam losses generate neutrons, which can disrupt nearby electronics in what are known as single event upsets (SEU). In this instance, the beam loss disrupted the quench protection system electronics (QPS), which then triggered the heaters located in the superconducting magnets, causing them to distribute the heat evenly along the magnets concerned and thus avoid damage. An unprecedented number of magnets – 23 dipoles and two quadrupoles – quenched, dissipating approximately 110 MJ of stored energy.
In the late afternoon of 24 November, the cryogenics system successfully restored the temperatures of the quenched magnets. The magnet circuits were then repowered so that their integrity could be assessed. While initial observations indicated that the circuits were functioning correctly, it was too late to resume physics operations. A thorough analysis by experts is still under way to confirm the circuits’ condition.
Engineers and technicians will now begin a busy programme of preventive and corrective maintenance activities in the LHC tunnel. We expect to inject beam again on 5 April for what will hopefully be another successful year.
Much of the injector complex is still running and will be switched off at 6 a.m. on 2 December. More on this in my last report of 2024 … stay tuned!
What is a magnet quench, how is one triggered and how do we deal with it?
A superconducting magnet quench occurs when a superconducting magnet transitions from its superconducting state to a normal resistive state, losing its ability to conduct electrical current without resistance.
A quench is typically triggered by a localised energy deposition, such as heat induced by beam losses, mechanical stress, etc.
Superconducting magnets are equipped with quench protection systems (QPS) that measure the voltage across the magnet terminals and can fire heaters to evenly distribute the heat along the magnet and safely dissipate energy in order to prevent localised damage.
anschaef Fri, 11/29/2024 - 09:45 Byline Rende Steerenberg Publication Date Fri, 11/29/2024 - 09:42On 18 November, CERN joined scientific organisations around the world to celebrate LGBTQ+ STEM Day. The day at CERN was marked by the Progress Pride Flag flying on the Esplanade des Particules for the second year running. Additionally, the CERN LGBTQ+ informal network organised a dedicated colloquium on 19 November.
LGBTQ+ STEM Day was established in 2019 to recognise the contribution of the LGBTQ+ community in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths. Despite forming a vital part of the scientific community, many LGBTQ+ people in STEM still encounter discrimination in the workplace, impacting their quality of life and how they work. “CERN cherishes its rich and diverse community and does not tolerate discrimination, of any kind, towards its personnel,” explained Louise Carvalho, CERN Diversity and Inclusion Programme Leader.
“Celebrating LGBTQ+ STEM day at CERN is important because we must continue to be visibly and actively supportive of minority groups. Because CERN is an international organisation, this is something that can spread all over the world – and we need it to do so,” said Savannah Shively, co-chair of the CERN LGBTQ+ informal network. “We benefit tremendously from supportive communities and policies that protect us and grant us equal rights. We have come a long way thanks to the work of those who came before us and we must continue that work,” she added.
“Today is a celebration of our place in the scientific community,” said Steffi Bower, co-chair of the CERN LGBTQ+ informal network. “Although our identity shapes us and empowers us, we are scientists as well. Let’s share the science we love and celebrate what each of us brings to this institution.”
If you would like to be a part of continuing to improve diversity and inclusion at CERN, consider adding your preferred name and pronouns to your CERN Phonebook profile by clicking on this link.
For more information and resources and to connect with the LGBTQ+ community at CERN, visit lgbtqcern.com or the CERN D&I website.
ndinmore Wed, 11/27/2024 - 16:42 Byline Naomi Dinmore Publication Date Thu, 11/28/2024 - 16:40Geneva, 28 November 2024. CERN, in partnership with the Republic and Canton of Geneva and the City of Geneva, announces the launch of the Resonance residency programme. Artists who are based in Geneva and interested in science and technology are invited to apply.
The Resonance residency is a unique opportunity for an artist to embark on a fully funded two-month residency at CERN in 2025. The programme will continue in the coming years: each year, through an annual open call, one artist will be selected by a panel of experts.
Arts at CERN calls for proposals that present compelling visions for engaging with CERN’s extraordinary community, research and technologies. Artists are encouraged to submit a project that outlines a residency at CERN, as well as a proposal for an artistic production to develop after the residency. For more details and to submit an application, visit Arts at CERN.
"We are delighted to embark on this multi-year collaboration, which deepens the connection between the Laboratory and the Republic and Canton of Geneva and the City of Geneva through art and science," said Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN’s Director for International Relations. "This initiative highlights the shared commitment of our scientific community and Geneva’s vibrant art scene to innovation and creativity. I look forward to seeing how Geneva-based artists draw inspiration from CERN’s scientific research and community, sparking bold projects that merge physics with key aspects of our contemporary culture."
The partnership will also support the annual CERN Art and Science Summit, which will return on 5 February 2025. This public event aims to highlight the achievements of CERN’s forward-thinking approach to arts and creativity and to generate further links between art and science. The second edition of the CERN Art and Science Summit will bring together a selected group of speakers from literature, philosophy, science and experimental music, as well as artists who have previously participated in Arts at CERN activities. The programme and registration details for the event will be available in December.
Arts at CERN is a pioneer in fostering meaningful exchanges between art and science through its extensive programme of artistic residencies, commissions and exhibitions. By welcoming artists into CERN’s unique environment, the programme provides an unparalleled opportunity to engage with scientific research and support new experimentation in the arts.
Link to apply: https://arts.cern/call/resonance
lburdych Thu, 11/28/2024 - 12:00 Publication Date Thu, 11/28/2024 - 10:30Looking for gift ideas? Look no further. Here are 15 locations at CERN where the CERN community can find the perfect present.
Available while stocks last, limited edition CERN70 items in the CERN shop. (Image: CERN) 1. CERN shopAttracted by the magnetic pencils? Perplexed by the plasma ball? Loving the Lagrangian notebooks? The CERN shop is the place for you. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the CERN Science Gateway reception, the shop will remain open for most of the end-of-year closure. Don’t miss the limited edition CERN70 tote bags and mugs, or the range of educational games and books. Remember that your CERN access card entitles you to a 10% discount all year round on the price displayed in the shop.
2. CERN Library bookshopBe tempted by literary treats in the CERN Library bookshop (52/1-054), open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. including a new discounted section with some prices as low as 5 CHF. Find the perfect gift among the biographies, popular science titles and the new collection of children's books to inspire the next generation of scientists.
Don’t miss the annual December book fair on 4 and 5 December in the Main Building.
3. CAGI cultural kioskGet discounts for sports, culture and leisure activities, including 50% off Mont Jura activities, 20% off Vitam UCPA, 20% off football and hockey matches, 15% off Grand Theatre of Geneva, 10% off Choco Passes, plus special offers for cinema tickets and Glacier 3000. The CAGI kiosk in CERN’s Main Building is open from 8.30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. You can also order tickets via the CAGI website using the online form at the end of each activity’s page. Sign up here to receive the weekly newsletter.
4. KioskLocated in CERN’s Main Building, the kiosk stocks not only souvenirs and CERN-branded chocolates, but also CERN-branded Swiss-army knives. Open Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
5. RestaurantsThe CERN restaurants offer a range of edible gift ideas. Restaurant 1 in CERN’s Main Building will also host its own Christmas market on the 10, 11 and 12 December 2024.
As the weather gets icy, stay warm with an ALICE winter hat (Image: ALICE/CERN) 6. CERN honeyThe CERN beekeeping club is selling honey from the CERN beehives in Restaurant 1 on 12 December, from 12 noon to 2 p.m.
7. ALICE experiment shopWinter hats and fabric bags are just some of the items available at the ALICE shop, located at the ALICE secretariat (301/R-029), open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
8. ATLAS experiment shopKnock their socks off with ATLAS socks, rainbow lanyards, hoodies and more. Check out the items at the ATLAS shop located at the ATLAS secretariat (40/4-D01), open Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
9. CMS experiment shopLollipops, socks, magic mugs and seasonal decorations are just some of the new items available at the CMS shop, also located in Building 40, at the CMS secretariat (40/5-B01), open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Decorate your tree with a detector! The CMS shop now has many new items. (Image: CMS/CERN) 10. LHCb experiment shopBooks, mugs and more, the LHCb shop is located at the LHCb secretariat (2/1-024), open Monday to Friday from 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
11. CERN alumni offersCERN personnel past and present can join the CERN alumni network and take advantage of partner offers including hotel discounts.
12. Staff Association offersFrom discounted ski passes and sports equipment to Aquaparc, thermal baths and 4 seasons sledge offers, members of the Staff Association can enjoy the full list of offers available through the Staff Association partnerships.
13. CERN MarketplaceGive a pre-loved item a new home – browse what’s on offer at the CERN Marketplace.
14. CERN & Society FoundationMake a difference by donating to one of the many projects of the CERN & Society Foundation.
15. Staff Association fundraisingGive to those in need by supporting the Staff Association’s long-term collections.
anschaef Wed, 11/27/2024 - 12:44 Byline Kate Kahle Publication Date Thu, 11/28/2024 - 08:39Solar power will cover 10% of CERN’s annual electricity consumption from 2027, thanks to three power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed by CERN and French energy providers.
Electricity accounts for about 95% of CERN’s energy use and, under normal circumstances, is procured entirely from France. CERN’s unique array of accelerators, detectors and infrastructure can use up to 1300 GWh/year during operation with beam, with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) accounting for 55% of the total consumption.
The three PPAs will secure electricity from solar plants in southern France that are planned to total an area of approximately 90 hectares (900 000 m2), equivalent to more than 120 football pitches. All the projects now need to be built, with the aim of supplying electricity to the Organization from January 2027. CERN’s commitment to purchase electricity produced by the solar plants, representing a total of 95 MW peak and 140 GWh/year over a period of 15 years, has enabled the projects to be funded.
“These agreements mark the start of renewable energy at CERN,” explains Nicolas Bellegarde, CERN’s energy coordinator. “The PPAs concern solar plants with an area equivalent to about 40% of CERN’s fenced area, so it would not be possible for a project of this scale to be realised on the CERN site (for instance by equipping suitable building roofs or car parks). Locally we could supply only 1% of our electricity; here we can cover 10% of CERN’s annual electricity consumption when the accelerators are running or as much as 25% during long shutdown periods.”
The power purchase agreements will secure electricity from planned solar power plants in the Lozère, Bouches-du-Rhône and Var departments in southern France.The first PPA was signed on 21 August and concerns a solar power project in the Lozère department. The second and third PPAs were signed on 30 September and on 13 November and concern solar power projects in the Bouches-du-Rhône and Var departments.
Driven by a commitment to environmentally responsible research, CERN has implemented many initiatives over the years to help reduce the impact of its activities on the environment, including responsible energy management, in line with the ISO 50001 certification requirements. CERN is fully committed to environmental protection and transparent reporting and sets and monitors concrete goals for continuous improvement, as captured in its public environment reports.
ndinmore Wed, 11/27/2024 - 11:10 Byline Kate Kahle Publication Date Fri, 11/29/2024 - 16:13“I am looking for a partner, either male or female, to attend salsa lessons with. I have a great body and enjoy rubbing it against other people on the dancefloor. I would consider dinner afterwards with the right person. If you think you can keep up with me and enjoy getting sweaty, send me a message” – this is a quote from a post made by one of our colleagues. Or so it would seem. It was actually made from their computer. Left alone and without the screen locked, its owner out for a coffee. And their office mates found it funny to take advantage of the situation. But is it funny? Or does it count as “mobbing”? In the end, it turned out, nobody was at ease anymore. Neither our colleague, nor their office mates.
And this is not the only case we have seen. In other sections, it is custom for unattended, unlocked computers to be used to send Mattermost messages to all colleagues in the name of the computer’s owner: “Stefan is bringing croissants for everyone tomorrow. Join him in his office.” Much funnier than above. But still, avoidable. Unattended, unlocked computers lurk everywhere. In offices, including the offices of group leaders! In the CERN library. In CERN’s restaurants. The owner having popped out for a coffee, lunch, smoke or toilet break. Unattended. Unlocked. Unprotected. Open house for everyone. And “salsa” or “croissants” might be the better tip of the iceberg. What about people snooping through your emails or private photos? What about them accessing the webpages you have open? Or the MERIT documents of your team? What if people were snooping in your emails looking for personal stuff? What about abuse of your CERN computing account? Have you considered that all these examples could involve your own personal data and that of other people? The iceberg is much larger. Just use your imagination…
For this reason, we strongly encourage everyone to lock their computer with a password-protected screen lock when leaving the device unattended. “Windows-L” in Windows, “Control-Command-Q” on MacBooks and, probably, “Control-Alt-L” in Linux systems. If not, it will be free croissants for everyone. And you would have to count yourself lucky if that was the only consequence you had to face…
P.S. Obviously, “mobbing” is not just an abstract word. Neither is “stalking”. Both are a reality. Unfortunately, also at CERN. If you encounter mobbing or stalking, against yourself or a colleague, please report it to your manager or to the CERN Ombud.
Furthermore, do not hesitate to spread the word by downloading this poster prepared by the Data Privacy Coordination Committee. Don’t let personal data leak – when you leave your office even for a few minutes, please lock your screen!
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Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.
anschaef Tue, 11/26/2024 - 15:13 Byline Computer Security Office Publication Date Tue, 11/26/2024 - 15:11This year marks the 10th anniversary of the CERN & Society Foundation. Created in 2014, the Foundation supports and promotes CERN’s mission and its benefits to the wider public both nationally and internationally across three main areas: education and outreach, innovation and knowledge exchange, and culture and creativity.
Projects supported by the Foundation encourage talented young people from around the globe to follow STEM careers, catalyse innovation for the benefit of all, and inspire wide and diverse audiences. From training high-school teachers to producing medical isotopes, donors’ generosity brings research excellence to all corners of society.Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement that takes place each year in November. This Giving Tuesday, join the CERN & Society Foundation in empowering the next generation of scientists from around the globe. For example, by supporting the non-Member State Summer Student programme, you are contributing to CERN’s mission of fostering international collaboration, advancing education and promoting peace through science. Together, we can turn their potential into a brighter future for all. Donate now to make a difference.
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Read the recent CERN Courier opinion piece about the Foundation by Rolf-Dieter Heuer, CERN Director-General from 2009 to 2015 and co-founder of the CERN & Society Foundation.
anschaef Tue, 11/26/2024 - 14:21 Publication Date Tue, 11/26/2024 - 14:18The particles completed a final lap of honour around the LHC on 23 November, bringing the 2024 run of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to a close. The LHC performed beautifully in its tenth year of operation. During the proton run, which began on 25 April and ended on 16 October, an exceptional volume of data was collected at a collision energy of 13.6 teraelectronvolts (TeV). The integrated luminosity1, which denotes the number of collisions recorded, reached 124 inverse femtobarns for both the ATLAS and the CMS experiments, 11% more than the goal and almost double the best performance achieved in previous runs.
The lead-ion run began on 6 November. During this 17-day run, at an energy of 5.36 TeV per collision of nucleon pairs, an integrated luminosity of 1.98 inverse nanobarns was delivered to ALICE, the experiment dedicated to the study of heavy-ion physics and quark–gluon plasma. The volume of heavy-ion data collected was equivalent to last year. However, thanks to fine-tuning, the data was of a higher quality and the ALICE experiment experienced less background noise, i.e. parasitic data.
As of this week, the technical teams will be down in the accelerator tunnels, working on the many tasks to be completed during the year-end technical stop. CERN’s accelerators comprise around 50 kilometres of complex machinery equipped with millions of components that must be maintained, repaired and improved. The experiments are also preparing for numerous upgrades. What’s more, the year-end technical stop is the perfect opportunity to install some of the equipment for the High-Luminosity LHC, a major upgrade of the LHC, which will take over in the middle of 2030.
The LHC may now be offline, but CERN’s other accelerators will continue to run and to supply dozens of experiments for a few more days before also being shut down for ten weeks. Particles are set to return to the accelerator chain at the beginning of March 2025 and to the LHC at the beginning of April.
1- Integrated luminosity corresponds to the volume of data collected and is measured in inverse femtobarns (fb-1). One inverse femtobarn corresponds to approximately 100 million million collisions.
Watch this explainer about quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter recreated by heavy-ion collisions. Stay tuned for the second episode.
cmenard Mon, 11/25/2024 - 11:40 Byline Corinne Pralavorio Publication Date Mon, 11/25/2024 - 11:07A particle accelerator on display in a museum exhibition is rare. But a functioning particle accelerator conducting real scientific research in a museum exhibition? That’s unprecedented. After years of development, the proton accelerator ELISA (Experimental Linac for Surface Analysis) is now being used for archaeological research at Science Gateway, CERN’s education and outreach centre. This marks the first time a proton accelerator of this kind has been used for research as a part of a museum exhibition.
ELISA has a lesser-known mission for a particle accelerator: to analyse the composition of objects, such as art, geological or cultural heritage objects, without causing any damage. With an accelerating cavity just one metre long, it works by accelerating a beam of protons to 2 MeV (for comparison, the Large Hadron Collider accelerates protons to over three million times that figure), focusing it towards a small point on a sample, such as archaeological paint used for ancient cave art. This interaction excites electrons in the sample’s atoms, causing them to emit photons with wavelengths unique to specific elements. By analysing these photons, researchers can construct a detailed profile of the sample’s composition.
“The paint samples we’re using for ELISA’s first test have been created by scientists to mimic the paints used in ancient cave art from across the world,” says Tessa Charles, an accelerator physicist from ANSTO working on the project. For this first experiment, researchers are assessing the damage to each sample inflicted by the proton beam, and what conditions (exposure time and current) are ideal for each material to avoid damage. “The aim of this is to see how ELISA can be used to analyse samples while avoiding damage, which is essential when working with material cultural heritage,” she adds. “The idea is to work towards a fully portable accelerator that can be taken to different regions of the world that don’t have local access to an accelerator facility, into the field or other museums.”
The idea of including a working accelerator in an exhibition arose during brainstorms that CERN’s exhibitions team organised with scientists from across CERN at the beginning of the Science Gateway project. The accelerator itself was the brainchild of Serge Mathot, an applied physicist at CERN, who was part of the team that developed the Linac 4 RFQ (Radio Frequency Quadrupole), the first accelerating cavity in a proton beam’s journey through CERN’s accelerator chain to the LHC. ELISA is a smaller version of the first component of Linac 4. Mathot, who initially worked on small linear accelerators for medical applications, realised that this technology could be used for research in cultural heritage, too. “The proton beam technique is very effective in comparison to other techniques for analysis because it has high sensitivity and the background is very low,” Mathot says. “You can also perform the analysis in the ambient air, instead of in a vacuum, making it more flexible and better suited to fragile objects.” Mathot has previously worked on MACHINA, a similar accelerator created in collaboration with INFN and other CERN specialists. MACHINA is the first transportable accelerator and will soon be operational at Florence’s Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD) to study artworks.
Courtney Nimura, archaeologist working with Professor Jamie Hampson at the University of Exeter on the project, is involved as part of the non-destructive mobile analysis and imaging device project (NoMAD), funded by UK Research and Innovation. “There is still much we don’t know about what was used to create rock art pigments thousands of years ago,” she says. “We are limited in the analysis techniques we can use during archaeological fieldwork, as samples usually have to be taken to a facility. We have high hopes that compact accelerators like ELISA are the first step towards creating a portable accelerator that can be used in the field.”
Using the accelerator for experiments live on the exhibition floor is just one of the uses planned for ELISA. A series of demonstrations for visitors, presented by exhibition guides, are also in the pipeline. Everyone will soon be able to see ELISA in action during CERN Science Gateway opening hours.
cmenard Fri, 11/22/2024 - 13:51 Byline Naomi Dinmore Publication Date Fri, 11/22/2024 - 13:47
On 25 October, CERN held the Workshop on Global Health at IdeaSquare, in partnership with the Geneva Health Forum. The main goal of the workshop was to explore potential solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global health challenges, fostering the co-development of research ideas among participants.
This initiative aligns closely with CERN’s strategy for medical applications, which emphasises the importance of developing innovative technologies and solutions to address the needs of the medical community. The workshop participants, including healthcare professionals, technology experts and researchers, discussed five core challenges that exist in global health.
“CERN’s global health workshop was a new, intellectually stimulating and enjoyable experience. Valuable ideas were generated that can lead to solutions. This was exactly the aim of getting us all in one room,” said Ellen Rosskam of the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.
CERN facilitated cross-disciplinary discussion within five working groups with 10 participants each. These discussions aimed to explore solutions to challenges suggested by these working groups, such as vaccination data management, climate change and perinatal health, managing malaria, occupational safety of healthcare professionals with regard to radiation exposure and approaches to global smart healthcare.
One working group focused on the challenge of improving vaccination data management for low- and middle-income countries, as well as for migrants and displaced populations. Participants examined the complexities of transferring records across borders and languages and highlighted the need for a harmonised, adaptable platform to ensure accurate, continuous vaccination tracking. Another team explored the possibility of a simulation tool that could forecast the health risks tied to rising temperatures. This would help enable proactive planning to address the impact of climate change on maternal and perinatal health.
“CERN’s data modelling expertise could be a game-changer for designing predictive models to address the future impacts of climate change on health,” says Kallol Mukherji, Digital Health Manager and Health Programme Deputy at Terre des hommes. He adds: “I was truly inspired by CERN’s incredible computing facilities – handling petabytes of data is no small feat!”
Other challenges included improving the management of diseases such as malaria through advanced data models and diagnostic tools, especially in rural areas. Participants also explored radiation protection solutions for healthcare workers, focusing on better data tracking, real-time feedback and educational initiatives to enhance safety standards. They also examined the integration of health data that has been captured in different ways, noting the need for integrated datasets and standardised policies to streamline research and decision making across health disciplines.
“This workshop highlighted CERN’s role as a broker in a powerful ecosystem where the public and private sectors can converge,” says Rita Pinho, a knowledge transfer officer at CERN. “This initiative was born out of a desire to explore new applications for CERN technologies in global health. Next, we’ll be exploring potential funding opportunities to help drive these developments forward and make a lasting, positive impact on global health.”
CERN’s Workshop on Global Health demonstrated the Laboratory’s commitment to leveraging its expertise and know-how to create tangible benefits for global health in society.
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You are warmly invited to a public webinar on 26 November to discover the outcomes of CERN’s Workshop on Global Health, including the next steps for these innovative ideas and potential collaborative projects. Join us to discover how cross-disciplinary innovation can address global health challenges and find out how you can get involved.
At a talk held at CERN this week, the ATLAS collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reported observing top quarks in collisions between lead ions, marking the first observation of this process in interactions between atomic nuclei. This observation represents a significant step forward in heavy-ion collision physics, paving the way for new measurements of the quark–gluon plasma (QGP) that is created in these collisions and delivering fresh insights into the nature of the strong force that binds protons, neutrons and other composite particles together.
In QGP, the fundamental components of protons and neutrons – quarks (matter particles) and gluons (strong force carriers) – are not bound within particles, but instead exist in a “deconfined” state of matter, forming an almost perfect dense fluid. Scientists believe that QGP filled the Universe briefly after the Big Bang and its study offers a glimpse into the conditions of that early epoch in the history of our Universe. However, QGP’s extremely short lifetime when created in heavy-ion collisions – around 10−23 seconds – means it cannot be observed directly. Instead, physicists study particles that are produced in these collisions and pass through the QGP, using them as probes of QGP’s properties.
The top quark, in particular, is a very promising probe of QGP’s evolution over time. As the heaviest known elementary particle, the top quark decays into other particles an order of magnitude faster than the time needed to form QGP. The delay between the collision and the top quark’s decay products interacting with the QGP could serve as a “time marker”, offering a unique opportunity to study the QGP’s temporal dynamics. Additionally, physicists could extract new information on nuclear parton distribution functions, which describe how the momentum of a nucleon (proton or neutron) is distributed among its constituent quarks and gluons.
In their new result, ATLAS physicists studied collisions of lead ions that took place at a collision energy of 5.02 teraelectronvolts (TeV) per nucleon pair during Run 2 of the LHC. They observed top-quark production in the “dilepton channel”, where the top quarks decay into a bottom quark and a W boson, which subsequently decays into either an electron or a muon and an associated neutrino. The result has a statistical significance of 5.0 standard deviations, making it the first observation of top-quark-pair production in nucleus–nucleus collisions. The CMS collaboration had previously reported evidence of this process in lead–lead collisions.
The observation was made possible by the ATLAS experiment's precise lepton reconstruction capabilities, coupled with a few other elements. These include the high statistics of the full Run-2 lead–lead data set, data-driven estimations of background processes that could mimic the signal, new simulations of top-quark events and dedicated jet calibration methods. Notably, the analysis does not rely on techniques that “tag” the jet originating from the bottom quark. This opens the possibility for the analysis to be used for the notoriously difficult bottom-tagging calibration in heavy-ion collisions, which would improve future measurements of the top quarks produced during these collisions.
ATLAS physicists measured the top-quark-pair production rate, or “cross section”, with a relative uncertainty of 35%. The total uncertainty is primarily driven by the data set size, meaning that new heavy-ion data from the ongoing Run 3 will enhance the precision of the measurement.
The new ATLAS result opens a window into the study of QGP. In future studies, ATLAS scientists will also consider the “semi-leptonic” decay channel of top-quark pairs in heavy-ion collisions, which may allow them to get a first glimpse of the evolution of QGP over time.
abelchio Fri, 11/15/2024 - 11:27 Byline ATLAS collaboration Publication Date Fri, 11/15/2024 - 11:16CERN IdeaSquare celebrated its tenth anniversary on 8 November 2024. The celebration, open to the CERN community and significant people from IdeaSquare’s history, invited attendees to explore the decade-long journey of the innovation space, as well as look forward to its exciting future.
Since 2014, this vibrant hub for science and innovation has provided unique facilities for rapid prototyping, education programmes, workshops and hackathons. It is used by the CERN collaborations, CERN Knowledge Transfer projects and EU initiatives linked to the UN sustainable development goals.
“It’s so simple, it’s difficult to understand,” said Chris Hartley, the head of CERN’s IPT department, in his opening speech.
Want to find out more about how the CERN Community can use IdeaSquare? Visit this link or check out the IdeaSquare website. Photos of the event can be found here.
ndinmore Wed, 11/13/2024 - 16:46 Byline Naomi Dinmore Publication Date Thu, 11/14/2024 - 11:45In the quest to uncover the fundamental particles and forces of nature, one of the critical challenges facing high-energy experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is ensuring the quality of the vast amounts of data collected. To do this, data quality monitoring systems are in place for the various subdetectors of an experiment and they play an important role in checking the accuracy of the data.
One such subdetector is the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL), a crucial component of the CMS detector. The ECAL measures the energy of particles, mainly electrons and photons, produced in collisions at the LHC, allowing physicists to reconstruct particle decays. Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of data recorded in the ECAL is paramount for the successful operation of the experiment.
During Run 3 of the LHC, which is currently ongoing, CMS researchers have developed and deployed an innovative machine-learning technique to enhance the current data quality monitoring system of the ECAL. Detailed in a recent publication, this new approach promises to make the detection of data anomalies more accurate and efficient. Such real-time capability is essential in the fast-paced LHC environment for quick detection and correction of detector issues, which in turn improves the overall quality of the data. The new system was deployed in the barrel of the ECAL in 2022 and in the endcaps in 2023.
The traditional CMS data quality monitoring system consists of conventional software that relies on a combination of predefined rules, thresholds and manual inspections to alert the team in the control room to potential detector issues. This approach involves setting specific criteria for what constitutes normal data behaviour and flagging deviations. While effective, these methods can potentially miss subtle or unexpected anomalies that don't fit predefined patterns.
In contrast, the new machine-learning-based system is able to detect these anomalies, complementing the traditional data quality monitoring system. It is trained to recognise the normal detector behaviour from existing good data and to detect any deviations. The cornerstone of this approach is an autoencoder-based anomaly detection system. Autoencoders, a specialised type of neural network, are designed for unsupervised learning tasks.
An image from ECAL data with anomalous regions (left) which, when passed through the machine-learning system, produces the easily identifiable colour map on the right, showing anomalous regions in red and good regions in green. (Image: CMS experiment)The system, fed with ECAL data in the form of 2D images, is also adept at spotting anomalies that evolve over time thanks to novel correction strategies. This aspect is crucial for recognising patterns that may not be immediately apparent but develop gradually.
The novel autoencoder-based system not only boosts the performance of the CMS detector but also serves as a model for real-time anomaly detection across various fields, highlighting the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. For example, industries that manage large-scale, high-speed data streams, such as the finance, cybersecurity and healthcare industries, could benefit from similar machine-learning-based systems for anomaly detection, enhancing their operational efficiency and reliability.
CMS is just one of many experiments at CERN that is improving its performance using AI, automation and machine learning. Read more about this here.
Read more:
ndinmore Wed, 11/13/2024 - 16:40 Byline CMS collaboration Publication Date Wed, 11/13/2024 - 16:20The scheduled four-week lead-ion physics run began at the SPS North Area on 4 November and has since been progressing smoothly, with outstanding machine availability.
The SPS super cycle containing two lead-ion cycles destined for the SPS North Area experiments. The white line represents the electric current in the main dipole magnet, which is proportional to the energy of the beam. The blue line represents the number of lead ions in the machine. For this beam, the SPS received four injections from the PS. The slow extraction of the lead ions to the North Area can be seen in the gradual decline of the blue line during the “flat-top” phase (see pink arrows). (Image: CERN)That same morning, the LHC successfully completed its proton–proton (p–p) reference run, colliding protons at 2.68 TeV to calibrate the machine ahead of the lead-ion run. Despite an electrical disturbance that caused an early beam dump at 9.51 a.m., all objectives for the p–p reference run were achieved.
Following this special run, LHC experts made some final adjustments to prepare for lead-ion operations. Among many other steps, loss maps were produced to ensure the integrity and alignment of the collimator hierarchy, confirming the machine’s readiness for lead-ion collisions.
On 6 November, the LHC was filled with 119 lead-ion bunches per beam, which were then brought into collision, marking the official start of the lead-ion physics run. This initial 119-bunch configuration was the first step in a five-phase intensity ramp-up, with the aim of reaching a full machine with 1240 bunches per beam by 10 November. At each stage of this intensity ramp-up, equipment experts validated the process using detailed checklists. Each phase required at least two injections and five hours of stable beam operation. During the intensity ramp-up, all four LHC experiments conducted Van der Meer scans to calibrate their luminosity measurements, ensuring accurate data for this lead-ion run, which is scheduled to end on 25 November.
LHC page 1. In the left-hand graph, in black is the beam energy, in blue the beam intensity of the clockwise rotating lead-ion bunches, and in red the beam intensity of the counterclockwise rotating lead-ion bunches. The right-hand graph shows the instantaneous luminosity in the four experiments: blue for ATLAS, magenta for ALICE, black for CMS and red for LHCb. Note the quick decrease in intensity, which means that for the lead-ion run the LHC needs to be filled more frequently. (Image: CERN)On 13 November, the third and final facility started its lead-ion physics run. For the next two and a half weeks, the HEARTS experiments, located in the PS East Area, will receive lead ions for their tests. HEARTS@CERN is part of the EU-funded HEARTS (High-Energy Accelerators for Radiation Testing and Shielding) project, which aims to provide access to high-energy heavy-ion radiation testing facilities for space exploitation and space exploration. This project addresses the growing need to test commercial electronic components and modules for use in space. By adjusting the energy levels, scientists and engineers can study the effects of different ion interaction depths and ionisation levels on electronic devices.
The HEARTS cycle in the PS. The yellow line represents the energy of the lead-ion beam and the blue line the number of lead ions. During the flat-top phase, the lead ions are slowly extracted toward the PS East Area, a process that takes approximately one second. (Image: CERN)To meet the rigorous beam requirements of the HEARTS experiments, several lead-ion cycles have been carefully developed and optimised in recent weeks at the PS. The lead-ion beams produced using these cycles are slow-extracted from the PS in one-second-long spills and delivered to the T8 beam line in the East Area. With optimised transfer line optics, these beams provide uniform irradiation across sample areas of a few square centimetres. For each experiment, researchers and radiation effects engineers can choose from six different energy levels (by varying the PS energy and local degradation) and can adjust the spill intensity within three orders of magnitude, which is necessary to successfully test the large range of electronics sensitivity.
HEARTS, like the experiments in the SPS North Area, will end its physics run on 2 December.
anschaef Wed, 11/13/2024 - 11:57 Byline Rende Steerenberg Bettina Mikulec Publication Date Thu, 11/14/2024 - 08:55With the 2023 cybersecurity audit and the subsequent approval by CERN’s Extended Directorate of the new Cybersecurity Policy, which parallels, complements and clarifies the CERN Computing Rules aka Operational Circular 5 (OC5), the foundations have been laid to review, augment and produce new Subsidiary Rules to better explain “what goes and what does not” with regards to CERN’s computing facilities and the computing resources they serve. Let’s look at the full package and how it impacts you.
For one, the Computing Rules and the Cybersecurity Policy require that anyone using or contributing to CERN’s computing facilities (e.g. its network, CERN-owned devices, on-site or cloud-based computing services) actively contribute to the implementation of the Rules and Policy through exemplary conduct – namely by:
As such, and unless responsibility is delegated when using central services, all owners of computing resources connected to or provided to them by CERN’s computing facilities are ultimately responsible for the compliance of their actions and their resources with these Rules.
For two, in order to help all users of CERN’s computing facilities to better fulfil their responsibilities and to better understand “what goes and what does not”, the aforementioned set of dedicated “Subsidiary Rules” provide managerial and technical guidance on how to use CERN’s computing facilities in a secure fashion. Like OC5 and the Cybersecurity Policy, these Subsidiary Rules are binding (see OC5 II 8a). Any derogation from these Rules requires written approval by CERN’s Computer Security Officer and may be entered in the CERN/IT Risk Register. Non-compliance with any of these Rules might lead to sanctions, e.g. reduced functionality (limited connectivity, e.g. “throttling”), the termination of service (“blocking”) or administrative measures (see OC5 V).
Subsidiary Rules, whether newly created or to be updated, are discussed and approved (or rejected) in the just-established Computer Security Board, comprised of appointed Computer Security Liaisons as representatives of CERN sectors/departments/units and the experiments. In the next couple of months, this Board will review all the current Subsidiary Rules and, in order to complement the implementation of the cybersecurity audit’s recommendations, create additional Rules.
Computer security revised – but in the end, however, there shouldn’t be any surprises for you: the same rules as always (OC5 dates back to the year 2000!) apply to you and your use of CERN’s computing facilities. Now they are just clearer, more concrete and more explicit. A big thank you to you all for helping to secure and protect CERN!
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Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.
anschaef Mon, 11/11/2024 - 10:24 Byline Computer Security Office Publication Date Mon, 11/11/2024 - 10:21Staff members who marked 25 years of service to CERN in 2024 were invited by the Director-General to the traditional ceremony held in their honour on 4 November 2024.
The photos from the ceremony and the list of the 63 staff members concerned can be viewed in this album (restricted access).
We thank them all warmly for their commitment and wish them continued success at CERN!
ndinmore Thu, 11/07/2024 - 09:41 Byline HR department Publication Date Thu, 11/07/2024 - 09:40The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is like an immensely powerful kitchen, designed to cook up some of the rarest and hottest recipes in the Universe, like the quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter known to have existed shortly after the Big Bang. While the LHC mostly collides protons, once a year it collides heavy ions – such as lead nuclei – a key ingredient for preparing this primordial soup.
Today at 11.13 am, a new heavy-ion run began at the LHC, smashing together lead ions, containing 208 nucleons (82 protons and 126 neutrons), at an energy of 5.36 TeV per nucleon pair.
The LHC heavy-ion run will last almost three weeks, providing enough data for years’ worth of work for physicists, who analyse this data to seek to understand the Universe’s first moments.
Accelerator physicists at the CERN Control Centre are also gearing up to increase the machine’s luminosity performance compared with last year.
“We aim to achieve at least 30% more collisions per day than in 2023,” said Roderik Bruce, accelerator physicist and the LHC coordinator of the ion programme at CERN.
For this run, they have consolidated novel concepts that were introduced last year, such as crystal collimation and a new scheme to inject beams with shorter bunch spacing, making it possible to pack more lead ions in a beam for collisions that result in more physics data.
The ALICE experiment at CERN is dedicated to heavy-ion physics at the LHC. Its detector, specifically built for heavy-ion measurements, was upgraded during the last long shutdown to be able to collect and store many more collisions than before. The goal this year is to double the total sample collected in the ongoing LHC Run 3.
“We look forward to the large data sample from this run, which should allow us to get a first direct measurement of the temperature of the quark–gluon plasma and to study its other properties with unprecedented precision,” said Marco van Leeuwen, the ALICE spokesperson.
The other LHC experiments have also modified their detectors and data-taking capacity to make the most of the ongoing heavy-ion run.
The CMS detector has increased its data-collecting speed from 20 gigabytes to 30 gigabytes per second. This means the CMS detector can now collect and study all the collision data instead of having to filter data during the heavy-ion run.
Similarly, the ATLAS detector is now fully adapted to new data acquisition systems, significantly enhancing its trigger for particle jets and leptons. It has also refined its trigger strategies for ultra-peripheral collisions, which occur when two heavy ions pass very close to each other but don’t actually collide head-on, enabling studies of physics in extreme electromagnetic fields.
The LHCb detector will record lead–lead collision data with a 70% increase in instantaneous luminosity compared to last year, enabling it to collect a large data sample and study rare processes, such as the production of beauty hadrons, with high precision. As a new addition, this year LHCb will be able to inject neon and argon gases into its special SMOG2 system to collect lead–neon and lead–argon data alongside lead–lead collision data.
Studying the quark–gluon plasma reveals how the building blocks of matter emerged in the early Universe, just a hundredth of a billionth of a second after the Big Bang. The heavy-ion run is a unique opportunity at the LHC to study matter in its most extreme conditions.
ALICE heavy ion run team at the ALICE Control Roomckrishna Wed, 11/06/2024 - 17:05 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Wed, 11/06/2024 - 17:30
One year ago, CERN launched the CERN Venture Connect (CVC) Programme, a groundbreaking entrepreneurship initiative designed to empower deep-tech ventures across the Laboratory’s Member and Associate Member States at every stage of their journey, from seed to late-stage growth. Focused on accelerating startups by giving them access to state-of-the-art technologies and to a global support network, CVC has quickly grown into a thriving hub for innovation.
As showcased in the CERN Venture Connect Summit taking place today, in its first year, CVC has built a dynamic ecosystem of startups, investors, mentors and key players within the deep-tech sector, actively supporting three pioneering startups, establishing partnerships with over 40 organisations across 15 countries and providing fast-track access to seven cutting-edge CERN technologies.
“Startup talent is everywhere, but access to the right network and resources isn’t always available locally,” says head of the Programme Linn Kretzschmar. “CERN Venture Connect is designed to bridge that gap, connecting founders with world-class technologies and a global network of investors and mentors. Our fast-tracked licensing agreements and access to technology prototypes enable startups to accelerate their growth and create lasting societal impact.”
Startups joining CVC gain access to groundbreaking CERN technologies that were originally developed for fundamental physics research and the operation of the world's largest particle accelerator infrastructure but are now primed for real-world applications. These technologies, such as advanced laser systems, cooling systems and time-synchronisation tools, aim to revolutionise fields such as quantum computing, healthcare, telecommunications, finance and smart grids.
One notable example is the structured laser beam system, which was originally designed for aligning accelerator components at CERN. This technology is now being used by the Dutch startup InPhocal to mark products in the food and beverages industries, outperforming traditional approaches in terms of speed and cost. Moreover, it does not require the use of toxic printing inks and has the capability to print on curved surfaces.
In addition, CVC’s comprehensive support network helps startups secure funding, build expertise and form strategic partnerships. “The level of interest from our partners has been outstanding,” says Chris Hartley, head of CERN’s Industry, Procurement and Knowledge Transfer department. “We are excited to collaborate with incubators, investors and industry experts who share our vision of supporting founders on their entrepreneurial journey. The practical application of CERN’s technologies for societal benefit is of paramount importance to us.”
One of the laser technologies to which startups participating in the CERN Venture Connect Programme benefit from. (Image: CERN)
Find out more, including guidelines on how to apply and a list of the Programme’s partners, on the CVC website.
abelchio Mon, 11/04/2024 - 13:31 Byline CERN Knowledge Transfer group Publication Date Mon, 11/04/2024 - 13:28On 30 October at 8 a.m., the SPS delivered its final protons of the year to the North Area, marking the shift to the lead-ion physics run.
To prepare for this transition, the BE departmental safety officer (DSO), with support from various experts, conducted this morning the SPS North Area lead-ion DSO test. This test involves verifying the additional safety measures required for lead-ion operations, ensuring that no protons can accidentally be directed to the North Area. The DSO test includes evaluating fault scenarios, confirming safety protocols and validating all the measures in place. Once it was completed, the lead-ion beam was extracted and directed towards the North Area, where beamline physicists are now adjusting the beam trajectories and optics to deliver high-quality lead-ion beam to the experiments.
Approximately 30 hours after the last proton beam to the North Area was stopped, a radiation survey will be conducted in the early afternoon of 1 November. During this survey, radiation protection specialists will measure radiation levels along the machines (Linac4, PSB, PS and SPS). Annual comparisons of these measurements help track radiation level changes and identify areas where levels may have increased or decreased. Machine experts are then consulted to understand the potential causes of any changes. If any anomalies are detected, they can be investigated further and corrected for future runs. This approach helps to keep radiation levels as low as reasonably possible, minimising downtime and ensuring safe conditions for machine interventions following a predefined cooldown period.
Over the weekend of 2 and 3 November, the final adjustments will be made to the SPS lead-ion beam production and North Area beamlines before starting the four-week lead-ion physics run in the North Area on 4 November, which will be concluded at 6 a.m. on 2 December.
The lead-ion beam from the PS is also used in the PS East Area by the HEARTS (High-Energy Accelerators for Radiation Testing and Shielding) project, which will start its experiments on 11 November and will also conclude at 6 a.m. on 2 December.
The lead-ion beam for the LHC is of a unique type and has been meticulously prepared over recent weeks. This involved five dedicated 10-hour sessions during which SPS proton physics was paused in order to allow expert teams to set up the LHC lead-ion beam in the SPS. This beam requires a series of 14 injections, each containing four lead-ion bunches from the PS, resulting in 56 bunches spaced by 100 ns. After an initial acceleration, a process called slip-stacking reduces the bunch spacing to 50 ns, allowing more bunches to be injected into the LHC. The beam then undergoes a final acceleration, reaching the final flat-top, after which it is extracted and injected into the LHC in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
The SPS display showing the LHC lead-ion production cycle. In white is the energy and in yellow the number of lead ions, clearly showing the 14 injections. The intermediate flat-top (red circle) is used to perform the slip-stacking and is followed by the acceleration to the final flat-top (green circle) where the beam is extracted. (Image: CERN)The initial set-up of lead ions in the LHC, using only a few bunches, took place over the weekend of 26 and 27 October. Currently, the LHC is colliding protons at 2.68 TeV – compared with the usual 6.8 TeV – for the proton–proton reference run, providing calibration data for the upcoming lead-ion collisions. Final adjustments for the lead-ion beam set-up in the LHC are scheduled for the coming weekend and should be concluded on 4 November, with lead-ion collisions for physics set to begin later that day. The LHC lead-ion run will conclude at 6 a.m. on 25 November, with the injector complex remaining operational for another week to provide beam to the experimental facilities.
The LHC display showing the proton–proton reference runs. In the bottom left-hand graph in blue and red are the clockwise and counterclockwise proton beams. In black is the energy, with the right-hand scale indicating 2.68 TeV. The small spike at the end of the flat-top, which occurs after the beams are dumped and goes up to 3.5 TeV, is required to ensure that the magnetic conditions of the LHC machine are correct for the next beam to be injected. (Image: CERN)As mentioned in my previous report, additional enhancements to the lead-ion beam’s performance as well as efforts to reduce background, particularly for the ALICE experiment, are essential. Last weekend offered the first promising signs of these improvements, and there is much anticipation for the final outcomes with full beams. Next week will bring further answers, hopefully confirming these positive developments.
anschaef Thu, 10/31/2024 - 10:33 Byline Rende Steerenberg Publication Date Thu, 10/31/2024 - 13:32
The Hellenic Society for the Study of High Energy Physics (HeSSHEP) promotes the scientific work of the Greek scientists, informs the general public and the Greek state on matters concerning the subject of High Energy Physics, organizes an workshop and conferences.
