Physicists will try out innovative accelerator techniques and deliver high-energy polarized protons for explorations of protons’ inner structure using new detector components at STAR.
Update: The first pilot beams circulated in the LHC on 19 October 2021. On 26 October, there were low-intensity test collisions at an injection energy of 450 GeV per beam and stable collisions of proton beams were declared on the morning of 27 October.
Since 2019, many places at CERN have been operating like beehives to complete the scheduled upgrades for the second long shutdown (LS2) of the accelerator complex. This period of intense work is now coming to an end with the injection of the first pilot beams into the LHC. This major milestone will be featured during a live event on CERN’s social media channels on 20 October at 4 pm (CEST).
The pilot beams are part of the commissioning of the LHC machine in preparation for its Run 3, starting in 2022. With an integrated luminosity equal to the two previous runs combined, the four LHC experiments will be able to perform even more precise measurements. Yet, to stay apace with the accelerator’s improved vigour, all of them had t