CERN Proton Synchrotron

CERN Proton Synchrotron. The Proton Synchrotron (PS) is a particle accelerator located at the CERN laboratory near Geneva. First operated in 1959, it was the world's first synchrotron to achieve an energy of 28 GeV, making it the highest-energy accelerator of its time. For decades, it has served as a crucial workhorse, pre-accelerating beams for larger machines like the Super Proton Synchrotron and the Large Hadron Collider, while also conducting its own pioneering physics research.

History and development

The PS was approved by the CERN Council in 1953, following the success of the smaller Proton Synchrotron Booster and the Cosmotron at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its design was led by a team including John Adams and Simon van der Meer, who would later win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Construction began in 1954 on the Meyrin site, with the first beam successfully circulating on 24 November 1959, a landmark achievement for European physics. The machine's rapid success established CERN as a leading center for high-energy physics and paved the way for the Intersecting Storage Rings and subsequent projects.

Technical specifications

The accelerator is a ring-shaped synchrotron with a circumference of 628.3 meters, buried approximately 12 meters underground. It accelerates protons to a maximum energy of 28 GeV, using a combination of 100 electromagnets for bending and focusing the beam. The radiofrequency system operates at a frequency of around 9.5 MHz. Over its lifetime, the PS has been adapted to handle not only protons but also heavier ions like oxygen and lead, as well as antiprotons for experiments like the Antiproton Decelerator. Its injection chain typically involves the Proton Synchrotron Booster and the Linac 4.

Operation and scientific contributions

As a pre-injector, the PS provides intense beams to the Super Proton Synchrotron, the Large Hadron Collider, and facilities like ISOLDE. Its own experimental areas have hosted landmark discoveries, including the first direct observation of CP violation in kaon decays by the NA31 experiment. The PS was instrumental in the discovery of W and Z bosons by the UA1 and UA2 experiments, which led to the 1984 Nobel Prize in Physics for Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer. It also supplied beams for early antiproton physics and continues to serve fixed-target experiments studying neutrino physics and nuclear structure.

Upgrades and future prospects

The PS has undergone continuous upgrades since the 1970s, including the major PS Complex renovation in the 2000s to improve beam intensity and reliability for the Large Hadron Collider. Key projects include the Linac 4 upgrade and the implementation of the LHC Injectors Upgrade program. These enhancements ensure its critical role in the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider project. While future CERN strategy may eventually see its functions superseded by newer accelerators like the proposed Future Circular Collider, the PS remains an indispensable part of the laboratory's accelerator complex.

See also

* Super Proton Synchrotron * Large Hadron Collider * John Adams (physicist) * Simon van der Meer * Antiproton Decelerator * ISOLDE * CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso

Category:Particle accelerators Category:CERN