Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider say the particle outlined in July 2012 looks increasingly to be a Higgs boson. The Higgs, long theorised as the means by which particles get their mass, had been the subject of a decades-long hunt at the world's particle accelerators. Yet there is still some uncertainty as to whether the particle is indeed a Higgs, and if so, what type it is. Read more
The Large Hadron Collider has turned off its particle beams ahead of a shut-down period that will last two years. The particle accelerator is best known for identifying a particle believed to be the Higgs boson in late 2012. But following technical faults shortly after it first switched on, the machine has never been run at the full energies for which it was designed. A programme of repairs and upgrades to the accelerator and its infrastructure should allow that in late 2014. Read more
With the discovery of the Higgs boson or something very like it under its belt, the worlds most powerful particle collider is ready to take a well-earned rest. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will shut down on 11 February ahead of around two years of upgrade work. Source
Courtesy of LEGOs, ATLAS Makes the Trip From the Large Hadron Collider to Berkeley Lab
The ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, for which Berkeley Lab scientists and engineers provided crucial elements of the inner detector and other key contributions, has joined Ernest Lawrence's desk and other Lab milestones in the "museum" display in the lobby of Building 50, the Lab's administration building. Read more
LHC collides protons with lead ions for the first time
At 1.26am today the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collided protons with lead ions for the first time. The switch to colliding different types of particle, rather than like with like, presents technical challenges. Read more
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. On 10 September 2008, the proton beams were successfully circulated in the main ring of the LHC for the first time, but 9 days later operations were halted due to a serious fault. Read more
Magnet size is crucial to an accelerator as it determines the final circumference and power. This spring, Fermilab unveiled a 10.4 Tesla magnet that is shorter than the 8 Tesla magnets currently installed in the LHC. These new magnets will be a valuable asset to the HL-LHC, the next step of the LHC machine. Read more
The current LHC schedule foresees proton running reaching a conclusion on 16 October, with a proton-ion run scheduled for November. In the preliminary new schedule, proton running is planned to continue until 16 December, with the proton-ion run starting after the Christmas stop on 18 January and continuing until 10 February. Read more
Science at Cal - Beate Heinemann - The Quest for the Higgs Boson at Large Hadron Collider
Beate Heinemann received her Diploma and PhD from the University of Hamburg in Germany, working on the HERA electron-proton collider. From 2006-2006 she was a fellow at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, working with the Tevatron near Chicago. In 2006 she was appointed Associate Professor of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. She works both on precision measurements of known processes, and on searches for new unknown particles, e.g. for the Higgs boson, supersymmetric particles and extra dimensions.
LHC: Surprise and elation as signal crosses finish line
After a 45-year-long quest, the hunters have cornered their quarry. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful "atom smasher" ever built, has nailed the most coveted prize in physics. Right? Well, not quite. Scientists at Cern (European Organization for Nuclear Research) are confident that they have discovered a new sub-atomic particle, and a boson (those which carry forces) at that. But the question of whether it is the Higgs boson or not, never mind the simplest version vs an exotic form of the particle, remains unconfirmed. But many think that will be more of a formality. Read more