Large Hadron Collider

IN NEWS:

• The Large Hadron Collider was successfully reignited for the third time in July 5, 2022 with greater collision energy.
• Since then, it has discovered three exotic particles, according to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It was generated inside the collider during a collision between two high-energy particle beams.

MORE ON NEWS:

• Three years after it shut down for maintenance and upgrades, the collider was switched back on April 2022.
• This is the LHC’s third run, 10 years after it enabled scientists to find the elusive ‘God particle’ or Higgs Boson on July 4, 2012.
• In the third run, the collisions achieved a record energy of 13.6 trillion electron volts (TeV).
• It will continue operating for four years, according to CERN.
• Scientists at CERN aim at delivering 1.6 billion proton-proton collisions per second in the third run for the ATLAS and CMS experiments.
  • ATLAS is the largest general purpose particle detector experiment at the LHC.
  •  The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment is one of the largest international scientific collaborations in history, with the same goals as ATLAS, but which uses a different magnet-system design.

WHAT IS THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER?

• The Large Hadron Collider is a giant, complex machine built to study particles that are the smallest known building blocks of all things.
• LHC's detectors allow physicists to test the predictions of different theories of particle physics, including measuring the properties of the Higgs boson and searching for the large family of new particles predicted by supersymmetric theories, as well as other unsolved questions of physics.
• Structurally, it is a 27-km-long track-loop buried 100 metres underground on the Swiss-French border.
• It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundreds of universities and laboratories, as well as more than 100 countries.

WORKING MECHANISM OF LHC:

• In its operational state, LHC fires two beams of protons almost at the speed of light in opposite directions inside a ring of superconducting electromagnets.
• The magnetic field created by the superconducting electromagnets keeps the protons in a tight beam and guides them along the way as they travel through beam pipes and finally collide.
• Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to ‘squeeze’ the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions.
• The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 km apart with such precision that they meet halfway.

PREVIOUS RUNS & ACHIEVEMENTS OF LHC:

• Discovery of the Higgs boson or the ‘God Particle’:
  • Ten years ago, on July 4, 2012, scientists at CERN had announced to the world the discovery of the Higgs boson or the ‘God Particle’ during the LHC’s first run.
  • The discovery concluded the decades-long quest for the ‘force-carrying’ subatomic particle, and proved the existence of the Higgs mechanism, a theory put forth in the mid-sixties.
  • This led to Peter Higgs and his collaborator François Englert being awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 2013.
  • The Higgs boson and its related energy field are believed to have played a vital role in the creation of the universe.
  • The LHC’s second run (Run 2) began in 2015 and lasted till 2018. The second season of data taking produced five times more data than Run 1.
  • The third run will see 20 times more collisions as compared to Run 1.
• Evidence of “new physics” :
  • After the discovery of the Higgs boson, scientists have started using the data collected as a tool to look beyond the Standard Model, which is currently the best theory of the most elementary building blocks of the universe and their interactions.
  • Scientists at CERN say they don’t know what Run 3 will reveal; the hope is to use the collisions to further the understanding of so-called “dark matter”.

LHC'S IMPORTANCE:

• Higgs Boson as a tool to learn more about the universe:
  • Scientists hope to use the Higgs Boson as a tool to learn more about the secrets of the universe, including dark matter.
  • Higher energy collisions at LHC could reveal a whole host of new particles that we've never observed before, and completely change how we understand the world around us.
  • CERN announced in a release on July 5,2022 that three new ‘exotic’ sub-atomic particles discovered at CERN.
    • The three “exotic” additions — a new kind of “pentaquark” and the first-ever pair of “tetraquarks” —will help physicists unlock the building blocks of the universe in Big Bang recreation.
• Physics beyond the standard model theory:
  • Standard Model, which is currently the best theory of the most elementary building blocks of the universe and their interactions didn’t provide a valid explanation about the existence of ‘dark matter.’
  • After the discovery of the Higgs boson, scientists have started using the data collected as a tool to look beyond the Standard Model to understand more about the ‘dark matter’.
  • Scientists think the experiments at the collider may be able to provide clues to some hard questions like, "Though the Big Bang created both matter and anti-matter, why does the universe have more matter than antimatter"?
• Practical, life-saving applications:
  • LHC research has already yielded practical applications, and higher energies could mean even more insights, and eventually, applications of that knowledge.
    • For example, Technology found in particle accelerators in LHC is already used for certain types of cancer surgery.
    • CERN gave birth to the world wide web because scientists needed a way to share the massive amount of data they were collecting with each other.
      • Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN.
• Advancing the human race:
  • Everything we have today that allows humans flourish, including farming, electricity, worldwide communication, all started with basic research.
  • So, if LHC provide some path braking information about the universe, that information can be used for the advancement of human race.

CONCLUSION:

• LHC and CERN contribute to the kind of knowledge that not only enriches humanity, but also provides the wellspring of ideas that become the technologies of the future.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. What is ‘God particle’ or Higgs Boson? Also discuss how Large Hadron Collider and discovery of Higgs Boson helps in understanding the secrets about the evolution of universe.