Nov/Dec 2020
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CERNNovember/December 2020 cerncourier.com COURIERReporting on international high-energy physics WLCOMEE CERN Courier – digital edition ADVANCING Welcome to the digital edition of the November/December 2020 issue of CERN Courier. CAVITY Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities drive accelerators around the world, TECHNOLOGY transferring energy efficiently from high-power radio waves to beams of charged particles. Behind the march to higher SRF-cavity performance is the TESLA Technology Neutrinos for peace Collaboration (p35), which was established in 1990 to advance technology for a linear Feebly interacting particles electron–positron collider. Though the linear collider envisaged by TESLA is yet ALICE’s dark side to be built (p9), its cavity technology is already established at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser at DESY (a cavity string for which graces the cover of this edition) and is being applied at similar broad-user-base facilities in the US and China. Accelerator technology developed for fundamental physics also continues to impact the medical arena. Normal-conducting RF technology developed for the proposed Compact Linear Collider at CERN is now being applied to a first-of-a-kind “FLASH-therapy” facility that uses electrons to destroy deep-seated tumours (p7), while proton beams are being used for novel non-invasive treatments of cardiac arrhythmias (p49). Meanwhile, GANIL’s innovative new SPIRAL2 linac will advance a wide range of applications in nuclear physics (p39). Detector technology also continues to offer unpredictable benefits – a powerful example being the potential for detectors developed to search for sterile neutrinos to replace increasingly outmoded traditional approaches to nuclear nonproliferation (p30). Elsewhere in the issue: hints of low-frequency gravitational waves (p12), feebly interacting particles to the fore (p21), PCs and the future of computing (p43), the latest from the LHC experiments (p17), and more – not least the Courier’s inaugural end-of-year cryptic crossword (p58). To sign up to the new-issue alert, please visit: http://comms.iop.org/k/iop/cerncourier To subscribe to the magazine, please visit: https://cerncourier.com/p/about-cern-courier EDITOR: MATTHEW CHALMERS, CERN DIGITAL EDITION CREATED BY IOP PUBLISHING CCNovDec20_Cover_v6.indd 1 20/10/2020 16:03 CERNCOURIER WWW. V OLUME 6 0 N UMBER 6 N OMBERV E /D ECEMBER 2 0 2 0 CERNCOURIER.COM IN THIS ISSUE V OLUME 60 N UMBER 6 N OVEMBER /D ECEMBER 2 02 0 It’s Time for a New Generation of Power Solutions! BankNSF/Green Observatory Tech Virginia ZanderighiG FOR RESISTIVE AND SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS CT-BOX Hidden scope Pulsars hint at gravitational waves in Nuclear nonproliferation Neutrino detectors Questions Giulia Zanderighi on All-In-One Current Measurement and Calibration System the nHz region. 12 may replace outdated protocols. 30 collider phenomenology. 45 Up to ±1.000 A, 1 ppm/K TC, 100 ksps Data-Logger and Oscilloscope CT-Viewer software included with Ethernet, Serial and USB NEWS PEOPLE EASY-DRIVER ±5 A and ±10 A / ±20 V Bipolar Power Supply Series ANALYSIS ENERGY FRONTIERS FIELD NOTES CAREERS OBITUARIES FLASH radiotherapy Right-handed photons Strong interest in Horst Wenninger Full-Bipolar operation, Digital Control Loop, Ethernet Connectivity Beating cardiac CERN environmental Leptoquarks and feeble interactions John Thompson Max Device supported by Visual Easy-Driver software • • arrhythmia • • report • ILC’s next phase the third generation • Heavy-flavour EBAMed is pioneering Zolotorev • David Newton • SPS reimagined • Win • Cornering WIMPs highlights from the use of proton beams • Philippe Mermod FAST-PS-M for Weinberg • Black holes • Fragile light nuclei Beauty 2020. 21 to enable non-invasive • Ronald Fortune Digital Monopolar Power Supplies - up to 100 A attract Nobel prize flow.17 treatment of irregular • Eugène Cremmer. 54 Low-frequency GWs. 7 High-Precision Monopolar Power Converters with Gigabit Ethernet • beating of the heart. 49 Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software FEATURES FAST-PS CERN-PHOTO-202008-104-63 Digital Bipolar Power Supplies - up to ±30 A and ±80 V ANTINUCLEI DETECTORS SRF TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH FACILITIES Full-Bipolar, Digital Control Loop, High-Bandwidth, 10/100/1000 Ethernet ALICE’s dark side Neutrinos for peace TESLA’s high- Spiralling into Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software Precision measurements Detectors could gradient march the femtoscale at the LHC’s ALICE help guard against The TESLA Technology GANIL’s SPIRAL2 facility experiment are the extraction of Collaboration has will address applications FAST-PS-1K5 sharpening the search plutonium-239 for played a major role in in fission and materials Digital Bipolar Power Supplies - up to ±100 A and ±100 V for dark matter. 25 nuclear weapons. 30 SRF cavities and related science using charged 1.500 W, Paralleling via SFP/SFP+, 1 ppm/K TC, 10/100/1000 Ethernet technologies. 35 and neutron beams. 39 Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software NGPS OPINION DEPARTMENTS High-Stability 10-kW Power Supply - 200 A / 50 V Digital Control Loop, Paralleling via SFP/SFP+, 10/100/1000 Ethernet VIEWPOINT INTERVIEW REVIEWS FROM THE EDITOR 5 Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software A unique period In pursuit of Weinberg on NEWS DIGEST 15 D Noelle/DESY for computing, the possible astrophysics APPOINTMENTS 50 but will it last? Giulia Zanderighi The foundations of & AWARDS Sverre Jarp looks at the discusses fundamental astrophysics How to • RECRUITMENT 51 impact and future of physics at the boundary find a Higgs boson.47 On the cover: Roll-out the PC in high-energy between theory and from a DESY cleanroom of a BACKGROUND 58 physics. 43 experiment. 45 3.9 GHz RF cavity string for the European XFEL. 35 www.caenels.com CERN COURIER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 3 Ottobre CAENels - rev.1.indd 1 01/08/17 15:20 CCNovDec20_Contents_v3.indd 3 21/10/2020 12:31 CERNCOURIER WWW. V OLUME 6 0 N UMBER 6 N OMBERV E /D ECEMBER 2 0 2 0 CERNCOURIER.COM FROM THE EDITOR Accelerator applications shine ens of thousands of particle accelerators are in oper- Unforeseen benefits ation worldwide – almost all of them in industry and Behind this march to higher SRF performance is the TESLA T clinical settings, with only a few percent used in Technology Collaboration (p35), which was established in 1990 research. In recent decades, particle physicists have perfected to advance technology for a linear electron–positron collider. Its the art of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) acceler- remit later expanded to cover the full diversity of applications, ation (the cover theme of this issue), whereby metallic cav- enabling the sharing of ideas, planning and testing across ities provide a pristine, resonant space in which to transfer associated projects, and all the major particle-physics labs are Matthew energy from high-power radio waves to a beam of charged members. Though the linear Chalmers particles. While both superconducting and normal-conduct- collider envisaged by TESLA Editor ing cavities still vie for inclusion in the biggest projects, as is yet to be built (p9), its cavity evidenced by the designs of the proposed electron–positron D Noelle/DESY technology is already estab- Higgs factories ILC and CLIC, SRF cavities store energy with lished at the European XFEL in very low losses and offer a high conversion efficiency from Germany and for other X-ray “plug- to beam-” power. free-electron lasers in the US SRF accelerator technology took hold in the mid-1980s with and China. It will be deployed bulk-niobium cavities at Cornell’s CESR facility. JLab’s CEBAF in neutron sources such as followed suit, while CERN turned to niobium-coated copper the ESS and in Fermilab’s cavities to extend the energy reach of LEP from the Z to the PIP-II linac, serving short- WW threshold. These days, niobium-copper cavities ramp the and long-baseline neutrino LHC’s protons to 6.5 TeV and keep them tightly bunched, while experiments. SRF “crab cavities” built entirely from ultra-pure niobium are Advanced accelerator undergoing tests for the high-luminosity LHC, where they will technology also continues tilt proton bunches to ensure maximum collision intensity. to impact the medical arena. SRF underpins the ALPI and SPIRAL2 (p39) linacs at INFN Normal-conducting X- and GANIL, and drives advanced X-ray and neutron sources. High impact SRF cavities drive band RF technology devel- Though to the untrained eye the RF cavity might look like a accelerators for applied research. oped for CLIC is now being si mple me t a l she l l, subt le m ater i a l effe c t s, f abr ic at ion te c h- applied to a first-of-a-kind niques, surface smoothness and, above all, surface clean- “FLASH-therapy” facility that uses electrons to destroy liness have a dramatic effect on its performance. In recent tumours (p7), while proton beams are being used for novel years, bulk-niobium SRF technology has seen big increases non-invasive treatments of cardiac arrhythmias (p49). A further in attainable accelerating gradients and quality factors due to p o w e r f u l e x a m pl e o f t h e u n pr e d i c t e d b e n e fit s o f f u n d a m e nt al Advanced nitrogen-doping or nitrogen-infusion, while CERN has con- research is the role of state-of-the-art neutrino detectors in accelerator tinued its R&D on coated cavities. Seamless niobium-copper nuclear safeguarding (p30). technology cavities built using a sophisticated electrodeposition tech- Elsewhere in the issue: hints of low-frequency gravitational nique are the basis of the recent HIE-ISOLDE energy upgrade, waves (p12), feebly interacting particles to the fore (p21), PCs continues to extending ISOLDE’s reach to heavier isotopes.