CERN bids farewell to the LHC and enters Long Shutdown 3
9 hours ago
- #Particle Physics
- #LHC
- #CERN
- The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is entering Long Shutdown 3 (LS3) after its final physics run, marking the end of a scientific chapter and the start of a major upgrade phase.
- Since 2008, the LHC has achieved significant milestones, including the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson, the detection of over 85 hadrons, and advances in particle physics, accelerator science, and international collaboration.
- LS3 will prepare for the High-Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC), set to operate from 2030, which will increase luminosity by up to tenfold, enabling larger datasets for studying the Higgs boson and phenomena beyond the Standard Model.
- The shutdown involves extensive work, including replacing 1.2 km of magnets in the LHC, upgrading the ATLAS and CMS experiments with new trigger systems and detectors, and renovating facilities like the Super Proton Synchrotron and ISOLDE.
- During LS3, scientific activity will continue with data analysis from previous LHC runs, while gradual restarts from 2028 will lead to the HiLumi LHC era, offering new opportunities to explore fundamental questions in high-energy physics.