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A test stand for the High-Luminosity LHC An impressive operation recently took place in CERN’s magnet test hall. The innovative cold powering system has been successfully installed in the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) Inner Triplet (IT) String test stand. This novel system comprises a long electrical transmission line, which has been specially developed to transport currents to the magnets across a wide range of temperatures. Its installation in the IT String follows on from the installation of the novel protection system and is an important milestone in the development of the HL-LHC. The High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) is a major upgrade of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which aims to increase the number of particle collisions (luminosity) and consequently boost the amount of physics data that can be collected, allowing further discoveries to be made. Innovative beam-focusing magnets, known as inner triplets, are a major part of this upgrade. These magnets will be deployed on both s…

New schedule for CERN's accelerators CERN has revised its schedule for its accelerator complex. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is currently in its third period of physics data taking (Run 3), and this will now be extended until July 2026. The third Long Shutdown (LS3) will then begin, seven and a half months later than originally planned. CERN’s other accelerators will continue to operate throughout July and August 2026 and will start their extensive programme of work in September 2026.  The aim of LS3 is to prepare for High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), when the LHC and its experiments will operate at higher luminosity, i.e. with an increased number of collisions in the LHC experiments. HL-LHC requires the installation of new key equipment, including more powerful focusing magnets, new superconducting cavities known as “crab cavities”, a reinforced protection system and innovative superconducting electrical transmission lines linking equipment in specially built technical galleries…

Happy 70th Birthday CERN! CERN flags are flying on the Mont Blanc Bridge in Geneva from 1 to 6 October to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Organization. There is also a temporary CERN exhibition at the Rotonde du Mont-Blanc from 1 to 31 October. (Image: CERN) A special high-level ceremony on 1 October crowned a year of celebrations for CERN's 70th anniversary, which are continuing across Europe and beyond. The ceremony, held at CERN Science Gateway, was attended by 38 national delegations and included speeches by Heads of State and Government from Bulgaria, Italy, Latvia, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland, Her Royal Highness the Princess Astrid of Belgium, and the President of the European Commission. In addition to the national delegations, many scientific, political and economic leaders were also present. A series of short films highlighted significant milestones in CERN’s history, and the event featured a performance from the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. CERN Dir…

Accelerator Report: Target reached, but compressor off In the last report, I highlighted that the LHC had successfully delivered 100 fb⁻¹ of integrated luminosity to ATLAS and CMS by 13 September 2024. Only ten days later, on 23 September, an additional 10 fb⁻¹ was integrated, reaching the 110 fb⁻¹ target set for 2024. A static VAR compensator (not the one that switched off). (Image: CERN) Shortly after achieving this milestone, however, one of the LHC’s static VAR compensators (SVC, see box) switched off unexpectedly. Fortunately, this didn’t affect the beams already circulating in the LHC. SVCs play a crucial role in stabilising the voltage of the electrical grid, particularly when large pulsed systems – like the magnets located in the transfer line between the SPS and the LHC – are used to inject new beams into the LHC. To inject new beams, it was necessary to turn this SVC back on. Experts were called in and they followed the established proced…

Three new members elected to the Senior Staff Advisory Committee (“the Nine”) in 2024 Klaus Hanke (left), Ludovico Pontecorvo (centre) and Thorsten Wengler (right), the new members of the Senior Staff Advisory Committee. (Image: CERN) The electronic voting process for the Senior Staff Advisory Committee (known as “the Nine”) closed at midnight on Tuesday, 10 September 2024. This time a second round of voting was held, as two of the candidates received the same amount of votes during the first round. The Senior Staff Advisory Committee was created in 1981 to serve as a channel of communication between the senior staff (grade 8 and above) and the Director-General. It is made up of nine members elected by the senior staff for a period of three years. The Nine share the ideas and feedback of the senior staff with the Director-General and offer advice on questions concerning scientific activities, organisational matters and use of resources. Elections for the Nine are held every year, en…

Computer Security: Happy Birthday, Virus!   35 years ago, on 9 October 1989, the CERN Computer Security team issued for the first time a “Computer Virus Warning to all users of IBM Compatible PCs” (see the memorandum on the right). While it was not even the first virus the world had seen (“Creeper” of 1971 for DEC mainframes inter-connected via the ARPANET, “Elk Cloner” of 1982 targeting Apple IIs via infected floppy disks, and “©Brain” going after DOS-based PCs were doing their evil deeds earlier), this 1989 virus was a precursor without a name for the ransomware attacks of today. And it warranted a CERN-wide warning. Only decades later did more powerful viruses, i.e. “Slammer” and “Blaster” of 2003 and 2005, respectively, hit harder. Things work the same way today, 35 years later. A virus, when activated, crawls through your documents and data, threatens to erase all the files from the hard disk and asks for “ransom” money (or threatens to delete that data if the payment is…

2024 Beamline for Schools winners at CERN and DESY From 12 to 26 September, CERN and DESY (the German electron synchrotron facility) welcomed the winners of the 2024 Beamline for Schools (BL4S) competition. Students from Estonia, Japan and the USA carried out their own experiments using accelerator beams at the facilities. “Mavericks”, the team from Estonia, and “Sakura Particles”, the team from Japan, came to CERN, while “SPEEDers”, the team from the United States, was invited to DESY. “Sakura Particles”, the team comprising pupils from different high schools in Japan, and “Mavericks”, the team made up of pupils from two schools in Estonia, were welcomed on stage during the CERN70 Community Event. (Image: CERN) “SPEEDers”, the team formed of pupils from a high school in the United States, carried out its experiment at a DESY beamline. (Image: DESY/BL4S) BL4S started in 2014 in the context of CERN’s 60th anniversary. Over the past ten years, more than 20 000 pupils from all o…

The new CERN Library, one year on One year ago, after 12 months of extensive renovation work, the new CERN Library was inaugurated. Discover what the new Library has to offer, as well as the many services that make reading and working easier. Psst: to celebrate our first year, visit the CERN Library to pick up a free tote bag, stickers and bookmarks. 1. Accessibility Over the past year, the Library has stepped up efforts to improve the accessibility of its services and to make reading and working more comfortable. For example, you now have access to magnifying glasses, noise-cancelling headphones and earplugs, plus a Kuppel chair for better sound isolation. Find out more about accessibility at the Library. The round structure of the Kuppel chair reduces background noise. (Image: CERN) 2. New features in the Library catalogue Librarians and colleagues from the IT department have also developed new tools, such as a self-checkout option to borrow books, and they have integrated the Lib…