FUTURE CIRCULAR COLLIDER

Source: CERN

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Context

As CERN celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2024, plans are underway for the construction of a new and much larger particle collider, the Future Circular Collider (FCC).

About FCC

With a length of 90 km, the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) is a  "Higgs factory" that aims to advance our understanding of the universe’s fundamental building blocks.

Purpose

The FCC aims to build on the discoveries made by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), particularly focusing on the Higgs boson particle. 

Higgs boson, often referred to as the "God particle," is crucial to understanding how particles in the universe acquire mass.  The primary goal of the FCC is to produce Higgs boson particles for detailed research, shedding light on the origins of mass and fundamental forces in the universe.

Cost

The estimated cost of the FCC is around $17.5 billion, sparking debate about whether such an investment is justified in a world where immediate issues like global health crises, climate change, and poverty demand resources. 

Why the Higgs Boson is Important

The Higgs boson holds a pivotal role in the Standard Model of particle physics, explaining how particles gain mass. 

The Higgs field, theorized in 1964, is responsible for giving particles mass. Without it, particles would move at the speed of light, preventing the formation of stars, planets, and life as we know it.

Read about Higgs boson: 

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/higgs-boson-33#:~:text=Mass%20Measurement%3A%20The%20discovered%20Higgs,characteristics%20consistent%20with%20theoretical%20expectations.

Further research on the Higgs boson could provide insights into dark matter, which constitutes most of the universe but remains poorly understood. Similarly, it could help explain why the universe contains more matter than antimatter.

Read about antimatter: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/heaviest-antimatter-particle-9

Global Race 

CERN is not alone in its quest to explore the Higgs boson. Other nations, including China, have proposed building even larger colliders, with China planning a 100 km collider to produce one million Higgs bosons in seven years. The U.S. and Japan have also explored similar avenues but have paused their efforts, leaving CERN at the forefront of this global competition.

About CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, commonly known as CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), was established in 1954 and is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. It is located near Geneva, Switzerland, and is an international collaboration comprising 23 member states. CERN has played a critical role in advancing our understanding of the fundamental structure of the universe by studying the smallest known particles.

Contributions

Discovery of the Higgs Boson:

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, was instrumental in confirming the existence of the Higgs boson in 2012. 

World Wide Web:

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a CERN scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW), initially to meet the demand for automated information-sharing among physicists. 

Neutrino Experiments:

CERN has been pivotal in advancing neutrino research, with groundbreaking experiments like the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA), which confirmed that neutrinos have mass.

Major Facilities

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC): The LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, with a circumference of 27 km. It is located deep underground along the border of Switzerland and France. 

Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS): The SPS is a significant particle accelerator at CERN, functioning as an injector for the LHC. It was instrumental in earlier discoveries like the W and Z bosons, key mediators of the weak force.

Antiproton Decelerator (AD): The AD is dedicated to producing and studying antimatter, particularly antiprotons, allowing scientists to conduct experiments that reveal the properties of antimatter.

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS): CMS is one of the large detectors at the LHC, designed to investigate a wide range of physics, including the search for the Higgs boson and dark matter.

Different Circular Colliders

Collider	Location	Description	Key Experiments/Discoveries	Circumference
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)	CERN, Switzerland/France border	World's largest and most powerful particle collider. It collides protons and heavy ions to explore fundamental particles and forces.	Discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, studies on dark matter, antimatter.	27 km
Tevatron	Fermilab, USA	Second-largest collider (now decommissioned). Proton-antiproton collider used to study high-energy physics.	Helped discover the top quark in 1995.	6.28 km
LEP (Large Electron-Positron)	CERN, Switzerland/France border	Electron-positron collider operational before the LHC. Focused on studying electroweak interactions.	Precision tests of the Standard Model, detailed studies of the Z boson and W boson.	27 km (used the LHC tunnel)
HERA	DESY, Germany	Electron-proton collider, unique in combining high-energy leptons with protons.	Deep inelastic scattering experiments, exploring proton structure.	6.3 km
Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS)	CERN, Switzerland/France border	Originally built as a proton-antiproton collider, now used to inject particles into the LHC.	Discovery of the W and Z bosons in the early 1980s.	7 km
RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider)	Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA	Collides heavy ions and protons to study quark-gluon plasma and the early universe conditions.	Exploration of quark-gluon plasma, insights into the strong force.	3.8 km
LEP-II	CERN, Switzerland/France border	An upgraded version of the LEP, designed for higher energies to study interactions at higher precision.	Higher precision measurements of Z and W bosons.	27 km

Standard Model of Physics

Aspect	Description
Introduction	The Standard Model (SM) is a theory in particle physics that describes the electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear forces, which are fundamental interactions.
Fundamental Forces	Electromagnetic Force: Describes the interaction between charged particles, mediated by photons. Weak Force: Responsible for radioactive decay, mediated by W and Z bosons. Strong Force: Binds protons and neutrons together in the nucleus, mediated by gluons.
Elementary Particles	The Standard Model categorizes particles into fermions (matter particles) and bosons (force carriers).
Fermions	Divided into quarks and leptons: Quarks: (e.g., up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom) combine to form protons and neutrons. Leptons: (e.g., electrons, muons, tau, neutrinos) are elementary particles.
Bosons	Force carriers in the Standard Model: Photon: Electromagnetic force. W and Z bosons: Weak force. Gluons: Strong force. Higgs boson: Gives mass to other particles.
Higgs Mechanism	Explains how particles acquire mass through interaction with the Higgs field. The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 confirmed this mechanism.
Limitations of the Model	Does not explain gravity (General Relativity does). Dark matter and dark energy are not included. Neutrino masses are not fully explained by SM.

Read about elementary particles:

https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/classification-of-elementary-particles#:~:text=Elementary%20particles%20are%20fundamental%20entities,of%20all%20matter%20and%20energy.

Read about Large Hadron Collider:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/large-hadron-collider

Read about India’s mental healthcare act:

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/indias-mental-healthcare-act#:~:text=The%20Act%20seeks%20to%20fulfil,without%20discrimination%20from%20the%20government.

Sources: 

IndianExpress

PRACTICE QUESTION Q:Explain the significance of the Standard Model of Particle Physics in understanding the fundamental forces of nature. Discuss its limitations and the ongoing efforts to extend this model. (250 Words)