Scientists prepare to restart the large particle accelerator

Restarting the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this week after a temporary shutdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Rebooting the LHC is a complex process, and researchers at CERN are working on this mission to pave the way for dark matter research.

According to Mr. Rende Steerenberg, in charge of the control room at CERN, getting the LHC back up and running is not just about pressing a switch. Mr. Steerenberg emphasized that the LHC must act like a "symphony" and that for the radiation to surround it, all the magnets must function properly at the right time.

The LHC is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator built by CERN. The LHC is contained in a tunnel with a circumference of 27 km, at a depth of 175 m above ground level, near Geneva, Switzerland. Here will take place frontal collision experiments between protons.

The LHC particle collisions observed at CERN between 2010-2013 have yielded evidence for the existence of the Higgs molecular particle, or "God particle", which is believed to have played an important role in the formation of the universe after the Bing Bang explosion 13.7 billion years ago.

Physicists hope that reconstructing particle collisions will help them decipher the origin of matter, including dark matter. Dark matter is said to be five times more common than normal matter, but does not absorb, reflect or emit light.

According to Mr. Steerenberg, scientists will increase the number of collisions, through which new discoveries can be made. He added that the LHC plans to operate until its next decommissioning from 2025-2027.