strongmarkes: Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide

We've seen the Large Hadron Collider running at a record-breaking 7 TeV for short periods, but now CERN is turning it up a notch (to 4 TeV from 3.5) for the rest of the year. The decision comes after an annual performance workshop last week in Chamonix and a report from the CERN Machine Advisory Committee (CMAC). The increase may seem modest compared to the knee-trembling levels of 7 TeV, but it's all part of a broader optimization strategy. Scientists state the new approach should increase the data collected in 2012 to 15 inverse femtobarns -- a three-fold jump from 2011. Even more encouraging is a statement from CERN's Research Director, Sergio Bertolucci, who claims that we should finally know for sure about the existence of the Higgs boson -- either way -- before the LHC enters a temporary shut-down period at the end of the year. Beam yourself over the break for the full press release.

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Large Hadron Collider to increase beam energy: Higgs boson can run, not hide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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