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Research at LEPP

aerial.jpg The Cornell University campus is home to the Cornell Electron Storage Ring and the CLEO particle detector. More...
cms_event.jpg The Large Hadron Collider and the International Linear Collider will explore nature at unparalleled energies. More...
cavity.jpg LEPP accelerator physicists are extending the capabilities of accelerators in particle physics and X-ray science. More...

CESR and CLEO and the Physics of Heavy Quarks

The Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) collides beams of electrons and positrons (anti-electrons). When collisions occur, new particles are produced, and the CLEO particle detector observes them. Together, CESR and CLEO have revealed the important properties of the bottom and charm quarks and the tau lepton. Now, with the CLEO-c program, they are delving further into the mysteries of the charm quark, making measurements that are critical for understanding the strong force, which binds protons and neutrons and governs quark behavior. In parallel, LEPP theorists are developing new techniques for calculating strong force phenomena. Some apply the power of computers to the strong force using so-called lattice gauge theory techniques, while others seek patterns that relate disparate strong interaction processes. You can learn more about CESR and CLEO and their science by taking a virtual tour of Wilson Laboratory, the Cornell lab where they are sited.

In addition to its role in particle physics, CESR is an intense source of x-rays. The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) provides these x-rays to scientists, from surface physicists to medical biologists, allowing them to study the microscopic structure of materials.

The Energy Frontier

In 2007, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is sited at the CERN Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland, will begin colliding beams of protons with an energy far beyond the energy of any previous accelerator. For the first time, we will glimpse the physics that lies at the TeV (pronounced "T" "E" "V") energy-scale. Physicists believe that TeV energies hold the answer to why electromagnetism is so powerful compared with its unification partner, the weak force. There are hints that the TeV energy scale will also reveal broad new vistas of physics -- perhaps new forms of matter or forces that we have never seen before. LEPP physicists are contributing to the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector, one of two enormous detectors that will view the collisions at the LHC. They are also engaged in exploring this physics theoretically.

The LHC will be followed by the International Linear Collider (ILC), which will explore the same energy range, but with the precision that is attainable only by colliding beams of electrons and positrons (anti-electrons). The ILC will be instrumental in understanding the TeV-energy scale phenomena. It might tell us, for example, whether new particles signal the discovery of supersymmetry or new dimensions of space and time. The ILC may also help explain the mysterious dark matter in the universe. LEPP physicists are deeply involved in the design of the ILC accelerator and in developing the technology for detectors capable of meeting the demands of the ILC. More on the science of the LHC and ILC.

We know now that the physics of the very small often governs the behavior of the very large: particle physics is inextricably linked to the physics of the universe itself. LEPP theorists approach this from both sides. Some are studying the physics that might be revealed at the TeV-energy scale, while others explore the physics of stars, gravity, and the links between string theory and the early expansion of the universe.

Accelerator Research

Physicists at LEPP have made numerous innovations in accelerator physics. These innovations are responsible for CESR's performance, and for making its collision rate is the highest ever achieved at its energy. LEPP physicists are now turning their attention to two challenging accelerators. One is the International Linear Collider (ILC), which will explore particle physics at the highest energies; the other is the Energy Recovery Linac (ERL), which will provide intense beams of x-rays to scientists studying the physics at atomic and molecular scales, including biologists, geologists, and medical scientists.

A major area of LEPP research in accelerator physics is Superconducting RF (SRF) technology, which provides the basis for many accelerators, including both the ILC and the ERL.