UK team starts phase two of LHC upgrade project

The High Luminosity LHC project (HL-LHC) will allow physicists to learn more about the properties of the Higgs Boson and look for evidence of Dark Matter.

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The project is led by Manchester University, alongside a collaboration of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), CERN, the Cockcroft Institute, the John Adams Institute, and eight other UK Universities.

Phase two of the UK project, called HL-LHC-UK2, will deliver hardware to the upgraded collider, with many parts expected to be sourced from the UK.

“This is a significant undertaking, yet one with fantastic benefits for the UK,” said Prof. Mark Thomson, particle physicist and Executive Chair of STFC. “The aim is for this project to involve UK industry at every stage, with specialist companies being invited to bid for contracts to manufacture high-tech components for the Large Hadron Collider.”

Phase two will also deliver supporting simulations for the LHC upgrade in five areas. These include studies into the dynamics of high-intensity and high-energy proton beams, the development of novel diagnostics to measure the beam’s properties, as well as R&D into so-called ‘crab cavities’ that enable the LHC’s particle beams to be angled, increasing the opportunity for collisions.