Jan/Feb 2020
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CERNJanuary/February 2020 cerncourier.com COURIERReporting on international high-energy physics WLCOMEE CERN Courier – digital edition Welcome to the digital edition of the January/February 2020 issue of CERN Courier. On the cover of this issue, NASA astronaut Drew Morgan is photographed AMS 400 km above Earth’s surface installing a new coolant system for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during a crucial spacewalk on 2 December. KEEPS Masterminded by charm–quark co-discoverer Sam Ting of MIT, and assembled and overseen by an international team at CERN, AMS has been attached to the International Space Station since 2011. Its various ITS subdetectors, which include a silicon tracker embedded in a 0.15 T magnet, have so far clocked up almost 150 billion charged cosmic rays with energies COOL up to the multi-TeV range and produced results that contradict conventional understanding. The new coolant system (which was delivered by an Antares rocket on 2 November) will extend the lifetime of AMS until the end of the decade, allowing more conclusive statements to be made about the origin of the unexpected observations. A full report on the unprecedented AMS intervention – and a taste of the experiment’s latest results – will appear on cerncourier.com following the final extravehicular activity by Drew and his colleagues in mid-January. Meanwhile, in this issue we investigate an intriguing anomaly in nuclear decay rates seen by the “Atomki” experiment, learn about the wider value of anomalies to phenomenologists, talk to theorist John Ellis about the past, present and future of the field, and explore high-level attempts to solve the flavour puzzle. KATRIN’s quest for the neutrino mass, outreach for visually impaired audiences, the latest results from the LHC experiments and careers in visual effects are among other highlights of this first issue of the 2020s. 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 Voyage to the neutrino mass DIGITAL EDITION CREATED BY IOP PUBLISHING Atomki anomaly rekindled Tackling the flavour puzzle CCJanFeb20_Cover_v4.indd 1 18/12/2019 15:28 CERNCOURIER WWW. V OLUME 6 0 N UMBER 1 J AARYN U /F EBRUARY 2 0 2 0 CERNCOURIER.COM IN THIS ISSUE V OLUME 60 N UMBER 1 J ANUARY /F EBRUARY 2 02 0 It’s Time for a New Generation of Power Solutions! MAGIC J Ordan/CERN-PHOTO-201907-192-1 DNEG/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./ FOR RESISTIVE AND SUPERCONDUCTING MAGNETS CQG 32 065001 CT-BOX Epic burst The MAGIC telescope detected Paradigm shift? John Ellis reflects on Gargantua The visual effects forInterstellar were the All-In-One Current Measurement and Calibration System photons of unrivalled energy. 10 the future of the field. 39 fruit of a collaboration with Kip Thorne. 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 Atomki anomaly Crystal calorimeter hones Twistors and loops Luigi Radicati 1919–2019 Full-Bipolar operation, Digital Control Loop, Ethernet Connectivity • Generating Device supported by Visual Easy-Driver software rekindled • BASE tests Higgs mass • LHCb on • PS turns 60 • Space– gargantuan effects • Jean-Pierre Blaser antimatter’s dark the Vcb puzzle • More time symmetries Oliver James of DNEG 1923–2019 side • Physics tops plasma quenching in • APPEC, ECFA and discusses trends in the • B V Sreekantan FAST-PS-M finance • LHC schedule wide jets •Extreme NuPECC join forces • fast-growing visual- 1925–2019. 51 Digital Monopolar Power Supplies - up to 100 A updated • Epic gamma- electromagnetic Higgs Couplings effects industry. 45 High-Precision Monopolar Power Converters with Gigabit Ethernet ray burst. 7 fields. 15 workshop. 19 Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software FEATURES KATRIN FAST-PS Tactile Collider Digital Bipolar Power Supplies - up to ±30 A and ±80 V FLAVOUR PHYSICS KATRIN EXPERIMENT OUTREACH Full-Bipolar, Digital Control Loop, High-Bandwidth, 10/100/1000 Ethernet Who ordered all A voyage to the Engaging with Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software of that? heart of the neutrino the invisible Recent work suggests KATRIN has begun The Tactile Collider that the flavour scale its seven-year-long project is helping FAST-PS-1K5 could be at a much lower programme to determine engagement with visually Digital Bipolar Power Supplies - up to ±100 A and ±100 V energy than previously the mass of the electron impaired and other 1.500 W, Paralleling via SFP/SFP+, 1 ppm/K TC, 10/100/1000 Ethernet thought. 23 antineutrino. 28 important audiences. 33 Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software NGPS OPINION DEPARTMENTS High-Stability 10-kW Power Supply - 200 A / 50 V VIEWPOINT INTERVIEW REVIEWS FROM THE EDITOR 5 Digital Control Loop, Paralleling via SFP/SFP+, 10/100/1000 Ethernet NASA Embedded Linux OS, device supported by Visual PS software Learning to love The Higgs, Ins and outs of NEWS DIGEST 13 anomalies supersymmetry collider calorimetry LETTERS 42 Ben Allanach says and all that Calorimetry for • APPOINTMENTS 46 the 2020s will sort John Ellis on Collider Physics & AWARDS current anomalies in supersymmetry in light • A history of ATLAS On the cover: Drew Morgan fundamental physics. 37 of the LHC. 39 • Maxwell’s Enduring performing maintenance RECRUITMENT 48 Legacy. 43 on the Alpha Magnetic BACKGROUND 54 Spectrometer in 2019. 5 www.caenels.com CERN COURIER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020 3 CernCourier_CAENels_December_BFC.indd 1 25/10/18 18:14 CCJanFeb20_Contents_v2.indd 3 18/12/2019 15:32 CERNCOURIER WWW. V OLUME 6 0 N UMBER 1 J AARYN U /F EBRUARY 2 0 2 0 CERNCOURIER.COM FROM THE Best Cyclotron Systems provides 15/20/25/30/35/70 MeV EDITOR Proton Cyclotrons as well as 35 & 70 MeV Multi-Particle (Alpha, Deuteron & Proton) Cyclotrons Currents from 100uA to 1000uA (or higher) depending on the particle beam are available on all BCS cyclotrons Extending the life of a unique experiment Best 20u to 25 and 30u to 35 are fully upgradeable on site NASA t’s not often that CERN Courier has the opportunity to fea- ture an astronaut on its cover, but events unfolding 400 km Cyclotron Energy (MeV) Isotopes Produced Iabove Earth’s surface in recent weeks more than merit 18F, 99mTc, 11C, 13N, 15O, such a decision. Photographed on 2 December, NASA astronaut Best 15 15 64Cu, 67Ga, 124I, 103Pd Drew Morgan is seen installing a new coolant system for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) – the unique cosmic-ray Best 15 + 123I, Best 20u/25 20, 25–15 detector masterminded by charm–quark co-discoverer Sam 111In, 68Ge/68Ga Matthew Ting of MIT and assembled by an international team at CERN. Chalmers AMS has been attached to the International Space Station (ISS) 123 Editor Best 30u Best 15 + I, since 2011 and initially was intended to operate for three years. 30 111 68 68 (Upgradeable) In, Ge/ Ga Never designed to be serviceable, some 25 bespoke tools had Greater production of to be developed for the procedure, which involved four high- profile extravehicular activities (EVAs) and years of preparation Best 35 35–15 Best 15, 20u/25 isotopes involving hundreds of astronauts, engineers and scientists on 201 81 81 plus Tl, Rb/ Kr t h e g r o u n d. It i s d e e m e d o n e o f t h e m o s t c o m pl e x i nt e r v e nt i o n s 82 82 123 67 in space since repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope and will Virtuoso Attached to a robotic arm of the ISS on 2 December, Sr/ Rb, I, Cu, Installation of Best 70 MeV Best 70 70–35 81 keep AMS operating until the end of the decade. ESA’s Luca Parmitano handles the new pump system for AMS. Kr + research Cyclotron at INFN, Legnaro, Italy Equipped with a transition-radiation detector, a silicon t r a c k e r e m b e d d e d i n a 0.15 T m a g n e t, a t i m e- o f-fl i g ht d e t e c t or, e x i s t i n g c o ol i n g b o x . O n 2 D e c e m b e r, d u r i n g t h e c r u c i a l “E VA3”, ring-imaging Cherenkov detector and an electromagnetic calo- Morgan and Parmitano successfully connected the lines to the r i m e t e r, A M S l o o k s l i k e s o m e t h i n g y o u w o u l d fi n d u n d e r g r o u n d new pump system and, as the Courier we nt to pre ss, a fi n a l E VA at the business-end of a particle beam. In the pristine envi- t o c h e c k t h e c o n n e c t io n s w a s pl a n n e d for m id-Ja nu a r y. T h e n e x t ronment of space, the 7.5 tonne apparatus tracks and measures issue (and on cerncourier.com as events unfold) will feature a particles from the depths of the universe, and so far its 300,000 f ul l repor t on t he unprecedented A M S i nter vent ion a nd offer a The BG-75 Biomarker Generator is a revolutionary 400 MeV Rapid Cycling Medical Synchrotron channels have clocked up almost 150 billion charged cosmic taste of this unique experiment’s latest results.