LHC
The Large Hadron Collider
The worlds most complicated
scientific experiment, hope-
fully giving answers to what
existed at dawn of creation
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Abstract
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) , the particle accelerator at CERN, Geneva, is
the largest and probably the most complex scientific instrument ever built.
Superconductivity plays a a key role because the accelerator is based on the
reliable operation of almost 10 000 superconducting magnets cooled by 130
tonnes of helium at 1.9 and 4.2 º K, and containing a total stored magnetic
energy of about 15 000 MJ. The characteristics of the 1200 tonnes of high quality
Nb–Ti cables have met the severe requests in term of critical currents,
magnetization and inter-strand resistance. The magnets are built with
unprecedented uniformity, about 0.01% of variation in field quality among 1232
main dipoles, which are 15 m in length and 30 tonnes in weight.
What is expected ?
The LHC is a particle accelerator, designed to collide counter-circulating proton
beams up to 1 TeV (Terra electron volt) pr. beam. The collider receives particle
beams at low energy from its injectors when the field in the main dipoles is 0.54
T (Tesla). Once the two rings are filled with counter-circulating beams, the field
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in the main dipoles is increased in 20 min up to 8.3 T, meanwhile the RF cavities
accelerate each beam up to 7 TeV.
The LHC is then switched to collition mode, where the beams are tightly focused
and made to collide almost head–on to produce interesting events.
After 2-10 hours of beam collitions, the beam itself is exhausted, and it is
dumped.
The machine is designed to withstand some 20 000 such cycles in 20 year’s
lifetime, as well as 20-30 full thermal cycles. (1)
How to detect the events ?
The two largest of the LHC detectors, called
ATLAS and CMS, also use giant super-
conducting magnets to improve sensitivity.
These magnets have record characteristics,
too. One is the largest size super-
conducting magnet in the world, and the
other is the most powerful, in terms of
stored energy in a single circuit. (1)
The superconducting magnets
Superconductivity plays a fundamental role, because it allows magnetic fields in
excess of 8 T to be reached, combined with the curvature radius of the dipoles,
this field enables proton beams to reach energies of 7TeV, almost an order of
magnitude larger than previous accelerators. The LHC relies on 1734 large
magnets, including the accelerator backbone, the 1232 main dipoles (15 m long
and 30 tonnes) and 7724 smaller size superconducting corrector magnets.
The LHC magnet system, while still making use of the well-proven technology
based on NbTi Rutherford cables, cool the magnets to a temperature below 4.3
K, using superfluid helium (130 Tonnes) and operates at fields above 8 T. In
addition, space limitations in the tunnel and the need to keep costs down have
led to the adoption of the “two in one” or “twin-bore” design for almost all of the
LHC superconducting magnets. This design accomodates the windings for the
two beam channels in a common cold mass and cryostar, with magnetic flux
circulating in the opposite sense through the two channels. This makes the
magnet structure complicated, especially for the dipoles, for which the separation
of the two beam channels is small enough that they are coupled both
magnetically and mechanically. (2 )
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T
h
e
high frequency power supply
A maximum of 4800 KW of
RF-power will be generated
by sixteen 200 KW 400 MHz
klystrons.
The injected beam will be
captured, accelerated and
stored using a 400 MHz
super-conducting cavity
system, and the longitudinal
injection errors will be
dampened using the same
system.
The power supply for this
will be generated by sixteen
300 KW 400 MHz klystrons.
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The klystrons have been developed by a European company, according to CERN
specifications. (2)
The Vacuum system
The LHC has three vacuum systems : the insolation vacuum for cryomagnets ,
the insulation vacuum for helium distribution, and the beam vacuum.
The insulation vacuum before cool-down do not have better than 10-6 bar.
Equicalent hydrogengas densites should remain below 1015 H2 m-3 to ensure the
required 100 hours beam lifetime. In the interaction regions around the
experiment , the densities will be below 1013 H2 m-3 to minimize the background.
In the room temperature parts of the beam vacuum system , the pressure should
be in the range of 10-10 to 10-11 mbar.
The tragic accident
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On 19. september 2008 , the LHC had to be shut down just days after it was
switched on because an electric fault that led to helium gas being accidentally
released into the machine’s underground tunnel. The fault took £ 25 millions to
fix, but Cern’s engineers found that further work on the copper stabilizers
designed to soak up spare electrical current from the super-cooled magnets was
needed before the machine could go to full energy.
Cost estimates.
.
In the periodical “The independent”, Steve Connor writes ([Link] 2010) the
following : “However, the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), which
operates the £ 2600 millions atom–smasher on the French – Swiss border will
bring additional costs, doing it necessary to increase more.
Skien, [Link] 2010
Kjell W. Tveten
References :
(1) Superconductivity: its role, its success and its setbacks in the Large
Hadron Collider of CERN. Supercond. [Link].23, (2009, 16 pages.)
(2) The large hadron collider, Accelerator and equipment, Evans &
Bryant, aug. 2008, 143 pagees. [Link]
The two following pages brings pictures from a gallery you will find on
the web address
[Link]
giving you 23 excellent photos, connected to the Large Hadron Collider.
nsertion of the tracker in the heart of the CMS detector. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN)
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©
French, Swiss and CERN firemen move rescue equipment through the LHC tunnel. (Maximilien Brice,
Transporting the ATLAS Magnet Toroid End-Cap A between building 180 to ATLAS point 1. (Claudia
Marcelloni, © CERN)
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View of the CMS detector at the end of 2007. (Maximilien Brice, © CERN
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