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PEOPLE LABORATORIES Virgo to search for gravitational waves The Virgo interferometer for the detection of gravitational waves, located at Cascina near Pisa, was inaugurated on 23 July. The frequency range of Virgo - from 10 to 6000 Hz - coupled with very high sensitivity, should allow detection of the gravitational radiation produced by supernovae and the coalescence of binary systems in the Milky Way and in outer galaxies, for example in the Virgo cluster. The Virgo detector consists of a Michelson laser interferometer with two orthogonal arms 3 km in length. Multiple reflections between mirrors located at the extremities of each arm extend the effective optical length of each arm up to 120 km. In order to be sensitive only to gravitational waves, the whole interferometer is completely isolated from the rest of the world, with each of the optical components isolated via an elaborate 10 m high system of Guests at the Virgo inauguration ceremony, including Letizia Moratti (fourth from the left), compound pendulums. To avoid perturbations the Italian minister for education and research, and Claudie Haigneré (fifth from due to residual gas the light beams propagate the left), the French minister for research and new technologies. under ultra-high vacuum, and the two beam pipes, each 3 km long and 1.2 m in diameter, Virgo's scientific coordinator. form one of the largest ultra-high vacuum The Virgo project is the outcome of more vessels in the world. The interferometer has than 10 years collaborative research and already passed its initial running tests and development between the National Institute of within the next few months the working of all Nuclear Physics (INFN) in Italy and the National of the component systems will be verified. Scientific Research Centre (CNRS) in France. It "The mirrors, which are made with currently operates in the context of the nanometer precision, and its sophisticated European Gravitational Observatory (EGO), a mechanical systems make Virgo one of the consortium created by INFN and CNRS. Italy's most sensitive instruments in the global minister for education and research, Letizia network, which also includes the American Moratti, and the French minister for research LIGO, the Anglo-German GEO and the An aerial view of Virgo on the plain of the and new technologies, Claudie Haigneré, Japanese TAMA," said Adalberto Giazotto, river Arno in Cascina near Pisa. attended the inauguration ceremony. APPOINTMENTS Llewellyn Smith to head UK fusion research Former director-general of CERN, Chris which time the Large Electron Positron collider Llewellyn Smith, has been appointed as was successfully upgraded and the Large director of the Culham Laboratory, UK, where Hadron Collider was approved. He then the UK Atomic Energy Authority carries out a became president and provost of University national research programme, as well as College London between 1998 and 2002. As operating the Joint European Torus (JET) director of Culham, where he succeeds the facilities on behalf of its European Partners late Derek Robinson, who died in December under the European Fusion Development 2002, Llewellyn Smith will be responsible for Agreement. Llewellyn Smith was CERN's developing and implementing the strategy for director-general from 1994 to 1998, during the UK's fusion research programme. LABORATORIES JINR celebrates 50 years of high-energy physics This year sees the 50th anniversary of the start of high-energy physics in Dubna, Russia, at what was to become the Laboratory of High Energies (LHE). The foundation of the labora­ tory was initiated by the P Lebedev Institute of Physics, where in 1944 Vladimir Veksler, later the first director of the LHE, discovered the principle of phase stability, which underlies cyclic accelerator performance at high energies. Under Veksler's guidance, the specifications of a new particle accelerator - the synchropha­ sotron - were worked out in 1949/50, and in 1953 the Electrophysics Laboratory (EPL) was set up to conduct research in high-energy physics at the machine. On 26 March 1956, EPL became part of the Joint Institute for JINR's synchrophasotron was the world's highest energy accelerator when it started up in 1957. Nuclear Research (JINR) and was named the Laboratory of High Energies. The synchropha­ made it possible to accelerate deutrons in Today the LHE, headed by Aleksander sotron began operation in April 1957 with a 1971. With the introduction of a new injector- Malakhov, is an accelerator centre for a wide proton energy of 10 GeV. At the time it was the a linear accelerator at 20 MeV - a unique range of research in the energy interval where largest accelerator in the world and reached system, used for the first time at an accelera­ the transition from the effects of the nucléon the highest energies until the start-up of tor, of electron beam and laser sources of structure of the nucleus to the demonstration CERN's proton synchrotron in 1959. highly charged ions and a polarized deutron of asymptotic behaviour in nuclear interactions The research programme at the LHE was source provided physicists with beams of light takes place. The laboratory has international worked out and realized under the guidance of nuclei up to sulphur, as well as beams of scientific co-operation with CERN, many Veksler, Moissey Markov and Ivan Chuvilo, polarized nucléons and deutrons. The polar­ physics centres in Russia, JINR member who later became the second director of the ized deutron beam of record energy and the states, centres in the US, Germany, Japan, LHE. The experiments were aimed primarily at polarized proton beam, together with the India, Egypt and other countries. the study of deep elastic scattering processes unique quasimonochromatic polarized neu­ • An international seminar dedicated to the at the lowest and highest momentum transfer, trons obtained from beams due to stripping, 50th anniversary of the V M Veksler and A M as well as at multiparticle production in and the polarized proton target, have opened Baldin Laboratory of High Energies (VBLHE) at hadron-nucleon interactions. a new way to research in spin physics. the JINR will be held in Dubna on 2-4 October Aleksander Baldin, the third director, later In 1993 the nuclotron, the first superconduc­ 2003. The seminar is organized by the JINR introduced a new trend with research into the ting accelerator of nuclei, was put into opera­ with the support of the Russian Federation interaction processes where the quark structure tion. During development of the nuclotron, Ministry of Atomic Energy, the Ministry of of nuclei is revealed - relativistic nuclear whose design and construction was headed by Industry, Science and Technology, the Russian physics (RNP). The start of RNP research at the Baldin, unusual solutions were found in Foundation for Fundamental Research and the LHE took place with experiments on the produc­ acceleration technology and techniques in International Scientific and Technical Centre. tion of cumulative particles in nuclear reactions. superconducting magnets. These were later de­ For more information, see www.lhe.jinr.ru, or The development of the synchrophasotron veloped in larger accelerator centres elsewhere. e-mail: [email protected] [email protected]. APPOINTMENTS Catherine Cesarsky to head up the IAU The General Assembly of the International uniting almost 9000 professional scientists on Astronomical Union (IAU), meeting in Sydney, all continents. Cesarsky, seen here with Ron Australia, has appointed the ESO director- Ekers of the Australia Telescope National Facility general, Catherine Cesarsky, as presidentelect and the new president of the IAU, is the first for the period 2003-2006. The IAU is the female scientist to receive this high distinction. world's foremost organization for astronomy, She will become president of the IAU in 2006. European Physical Society awards particle physicists The opening morning of the International Arkani-Hamed of Harvard "for his original Europhysics Conference on High Energy approaches to hierarchy problems in the Physics, HEP2003, on 21 July, was the theories of fundamental interactions. In occasion for the presentation of the 2003 particular, for considering the possibility of prizes of the High Energy Physics Board of the large extra dimensions where only gravity can European Physical Society (EPS). propagate and exploring its broad The EPS High Energy and Particle Physics phenomenological implications." Prize was awarded to David Gross, David Arkani-Hamed has authored several influen­ Berlin's Humboldt University has awarded its Politzer and Frank Wilczek "for their tial works exploring possible explanations of 2003 Use Meitner Prize for outstanding PhD fundamental contributions to quantum the observed hierarchies of physical scales in work in physics to Lars Meinhold for his chromodynamics". By demonstrating that the the theories of fundamental interactions. diploma thesis on "Stochastic oscillations in theory is asymptotically free, they paved the The Outreach Prize was awarded to Rolf cytolic calcium concentration". The prize is way for showing that the theory is correct. Landua of CERN and Nicolas Tracas of sponsored by the Association of Friends and Gross is currently director of the Kavli Athens. While active as spokesman of the Sponsors of Physics at the Humboldt Institute for Theoretical Physics, Santa ATHENA collaboration, Landua has efficiently University Berlin, where Meinhold studied. Barbara; Politzer is with the California Institute collaborated in many outreach activities at He is interested in biophysical applications of Technology, and Wilczek is at CERN, including events with a European and has investigated the dynamics of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. dimension such as "Physics on Stage" and calcium in intercell space and developed The Young Physicist Prize was awarded to "Life in the Universe". Tracas has been very cluster models. Meinhold is now at the Guillaume Unal of Orsay "for his contribution active and successful in promoting the public University of Heidelberg, where he is to the analysis of NA48 data, whereby direct image of physics in Greece, in particular continuing his research.

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