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CERN is planning a mega particle accelerator: the future of particle physics in focus!
CERN is planning the Future Circular Collider to gain deeper insights into particle physics, despite major challenges.
CERN is planning a mega particle accelerator: the future of particle physics in focus!
CERN, the European laboratory for basic research in particle physics, is optimistic about the planning of a new mega particle accelerator. Director General Fabiola Gianotti emphasizes the crucial importance of investing in science, especially in times of geopolitical conflict. In view of the current challenges, she sees the need to continue to advance scientific progress in the future in order to gain new insights into the subject. A recent report from CERN contains a feasibility study of over 1,200 pages that presents a solid scenario for the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC). Independent panels are also expected to review this report before making a final decision on construction of the facility in 2028. The FCC, which will replace the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the 2040s, will be more than three times larger and will be installed in a tunnel that will run between Geneva and France at an average depth of 200 meters.
The FCC is being designed as a proton-proton collision accelerator that will achieve an unprecedented seven times higher collision energy compared to the LHC. The first expansion stage also includes an electron-positron collision accelerator, which could serve as a “Higgs factory” to study the Higgs boson in more detail. Despite these promising approaches, there are critical voices that point out the high energy consumption of the planned accelerator. According to reports, this consumption could be equivalent to that of a city of 700,000 inhabitants and therefore higher than the entire energy needs of the canton of Geneva with its 500,000 inhabitants.
Risks and challenges
Excavating the 90 kilometer long tunnel would also generate a significant amount of rock that would need to be stored. These challenges contrast with the fundamental questions that particle physics aims to answer, such as the distribution of matter and energy in the universe. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 by the LHC represented a significant advance and completed the Standard Model of particle physics. However, there remain unexplained phenomena, including dark matter and dark energy, that pose challenges to the Standard Model.
The LHC, the largest particle accelerator in the world, is 27 km long and cost around 3 billion euros. Despite his successes, he has been searching for new particles since 2010, but has so far been unsuccessful. Contradictory reactions among experts reflect the uncertainties of the future of particle physics. Some scientists call for patience, while others want to build new, larger accelerators like the FCC. Personifications such as Ingrid-Maria Gregor and Sabine Hossenfelder, two prominent voices in the discussion of particle physics, have different views on the direction of research.
The perspective of particle physics
Hossenfelder has stopped her research in particle physics and criticizes some of the established principles, particularly the concept of naturalness. For them, the future of particle physics is uncertain, especially in view of the pending results from the LHC. On the other hand, Gregor remains optimistic and sees potential for future discoveries at the LHC. Other projects such as the International Linear Collider (ILC), which is also being discussed as a precise approach to the study of known particles with an estimated cost of 5 billion euros, are also attracting interest, although their funding is uncertain.
The development of particle physics since the 1960s shows that scientists like Joachim Mnich, director at CERN, are working toward understanding the fundamental building blocks of matter, despite the hurdles and uncertainties that the path entails. Future projects, including the FCC, reflect scientists' continued drive to expand the boundaries of knowledge about the universe and find answers to life's fundamental questions.
The discussion about particle physics remains exciting and will certainly continue to occupy a central place in the scientific debate in the future. The prospect of new discoveries remains, but patience and critical consideration of the approaches are essential.