Innovations linked to CERN include advances in medical imaging, computing and large-scale data processing, says Vincent Marchand, engineer and Head of Technical Maintenance at CERN

After the Second World War, European physics research had been severely weakened, despite having enjoyed a period of splendour a few years earlier. In this context, the French physicist Louis de Broglie proposed, during the European Conference on Culture held in Lausanne in 1949, the creation of a large European scientific laboratory. In 1952, eleven European governments decided to found CERN, officially known as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The complex is located a few kilometres from Geneva, straddling the Franco-Swiss border. Its accelerator rings extend under French territory. We were able to visit this place and speak with Vincent Marchand, engineer and head of technical maintenance at CERN. Interview: Irina Rybalchenko For the general public, CERN often evokes a mythical name rather than a concrete reality. What exactly does the organisation do on a day-to-day basis, how is its work organised, and what really happens in its buildings, technical centres and underground laboratories? CERN is an international research centre dedicated to understanding the fundamental structure of matter and the laws of the Universe. Its scientists study what particles are made of, how forces interact and what happened right after the Big Bang. On a day-to-day basis, CERN functions as a vast scientific and technical ecosystem. Thousands of physicists, engineers, computer scientists, technicians, electricians, cryogenic specialists, safety experts and administrative staff collaborate to design, operate and maintain extremely complex research infrastructures. At the heart of CERN’s activities is the accelerator complex, in particular the Large Hadron Collider, a 27 km tunnel, the most powerful accelerator ever built, in which particles are accelerated to close to the speed of light before colliding. These collisions recreate conditions similar to those that existed just after the Big Bang, allowing researchers to study rare particles and fundamental physical phenomena. The four largest detectors, such as ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb, record the results of these collisions, which are analysed by scientists around the world. A large part of CERN’s work takes place underground. Beneath the surface are not only the accelerator tunnels and detector caverns, but also technical galleries containing electrical systems, cooling infrastructure, fibre-optic networks and safety equipment essential for the machines to operate 24 hours a day. On the surface, CERN resembles an international campus spread across Switzerland and France. It includes workshops, offices, data centres, control rooms and visitor facilities. The control centres permanently monitor the operation of the accelerators, while the workshops manufacture and test highly specialised components with extreme precision. In short, CERN is not an isolated or mysterious laboratory, but a large international collaboration where science, engineering and technology meet every day to explore some of the most fundamental questions about the Universe. What do you think is the biggest question about the Universe that remains most open — the one that could, if answered, profoundly change our understanding of reality? One of the biggest open questions today concerns the nature of dark matter. We know that it exists because we observe its gravitational effects on galaxies, but we still do not yet know what it is made of. If we were able to identify dark matter, it could profoundly transform our understanding of fundamental physics and the composition of the Universe. It could reveal entirely new particles, new forces of nature, or even indicate that our current theory of gravity is incomplete. In many ways, dark matter sits at the intersection of cosmology and particle physics, and solving this mystery could open the door to an entirely new view of reality. What is really going on inside the Large Hadron Collider? What allows us to see this that we could not observe otherwise? Inside the Large Hadron Collider, two beams of particles travel at close to the speed of light before being smashed together. In this sense, the LHC acts as a microscope of the Universe at its smallest scales. Every major discovery seems to be a moment of celebration at CERN. We have seen, in the CERN control centre, champagne bottles, each of which represents an important discovery, and there are many of them! What, in your opinion, are the most outstanding discoveries made so far? Since its creation, CERN has been a pioneer in the field of particle physics, marking history with important discoveries and innovations. Examples include the following: In 1983, the W and Z particles were discovered. These two elementary particles are the force carriers of the weak force. Simon van der Meer and Carlo Rubbia received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery in 1984. In 1989, the World Wide Web was born. Tim Berners-Lee, a CERN scientist, developed the World Wide Web, revolutionising the way information is shared and accessed on a global scale. In 2012, the Higgs boson was discovered. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed an essential part of the Standard Model of particle physics, and it gained worldwide recognition. CERN’s contributions extend far beyond particle physics, however. Innovative technologies developed at CERN have led to advances in fields such as computing, medical imaging and data processing. What next discovery could have the same impact as these groundbreaking discoveries? While it is difficult to predict what the “next big thing” will be, it is likely that one of the major breakthroughs will come from the discovery of dark matter particles, the emergence of new physics beyond the Standard Model, or the understanding of the asymmetry between matter and antimatter. What is the order of magnitude of CERN’s annual budget today, and how does it arbitrate between two priorities that sometimes seem to be competing: building ever more powerful machines or imagining new experimental and theoretical approaches? CERN explores all the avenues of fundamental physics. Through the European Strategy for Particle Physics process, the scientific community defines which areas of research should be prioritised, as well as the machines needed to achieve this. CERN has an annual budget of approximately 1 billion euros. Beyond large accelerators, CERN is developing a research and development programme for alternative accelerator technologies, such as the muon collider or AWAKE. CERN is also conducting a study to fully exploit the scientific potential of its accelerator complex, known as “Physics Beyond Colliders”. In an era when social expectations are high, how can investment in a science that explores the invisible, the fundamental and the very long term be justified to the public and policymakers? Investing in fundamental science such as CERN research is justified because it helps us understand the fundamental laws of nature, as well as questions about the composition and functioning of the Universe. Although the results are often long-term, this type of research expands human knowledge and provides the foundation for future discoveries. It is also justified because history shows that fundamental physics often leads to unexpected technological and societal benefits. Innovations linked to CERN include advances in medical imaging, computing and large-scale data processing. Thus, even research focused on the “invisible” and theoretical can, over time, generate concrete applications and lasting value for society. Another important argument is education and human capital. CERN trains thousands of students, engineers, technicians and scientists from all over the world. Many then apply their skills in sectors such as healthcare, digital technologies, finance, energy, aerospace and other industries. In this sense, investing in fundamental science also means investing in highly skilled people and in future innovation ecosystems. At a time when societal expectations are high, how can investment in a science that explores the invisible, the fundamental, and the very long term be justified to the public and decision-makers? Investing in fundamental science, such as the research conducted at CERN, is justified because it helps us understand the fundamental laws of nature, as well as the composition and functioning of the Universe. Although the results are often visible only in the long term, this type of research expands human knowledge and provides the foundation for future discoveries. It is also justified because history shows that fundamental physics often leads to unexpected technological and societal benefits. Innovations linked to CERN include advances in medical imaging, computing, and large-scale data processing. Thus, even research focused on the “invisible” and on theory can eventually produce concrete applications and lasting value for society. Another important argument concerns education and human capital. CERN trains thousands of students, engineers, technicians, and scientists from all over the world. Many of them later apply their skills in sectors such as healthcare, digital technologies, finance, energy, aerospace, and other industries. In this sense, investing in fundamental science also means investing in highly qualified people and in future innovation ecosystems. Vincent Marchand and Bruno Ciroussel, mathematician and designer of the Aitek platform The LHC is nearing the end of its Run 3 before giving way to a long phase of transformation towards the High-Luminosity LHC. For a non-specialist reader, what will this increase in power change specifically: more collisions, more precision, or the possibility of finally detecting phenomena that are still invisible today? The High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HiLumi LHC) project aims to transform the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to increase its discovery potential after 2030. The goal is to maximise the performance of the LHC, increasing the integrated luminosity by a factor of 10 compared to its nominal value. Luminosity is an important indicator of the performance of an accelerator: it is proportional to the number of collisions that occur over a given period of time. The higher the luminosity, the more data the experiments collect, which allows scientists to observe rare processes. The High-Luminosity LHC, which is expected to be operational by the mid-2030s, will allow physicists to study known mechanisms, such as the Higgs boson, in greater detail and to observe possible new, extremely rare phenomena. For example, the High-Luminosity LHC could produce about 380 million Higgs bosons, compared to approximately 55 million Higgs bosons produced since the start of the LHC. Its implementation involves replacing 1.2 kilometres of the LHC with entirely new and innovative components. The Future Circular Collider project, a much larger ring than the LHC, is currently part of major strategic debates in particle physics. Why do we want to build an even bigger machine? Why do future major discoveries require a leap in scale? The idea behind the Future Circular Collider is motivated by the fact that the Higgs boson is a particle unlike any other we know. It could be a gateway to new physics, but understanding it properly requires far more precise measurements than the Large Hadron Collider can provide. This alone justifies a so-called “Higgs factory” phase for such a machine. Furthermore, history suggests that progress in particle physics often comes from exploring higher energy scales. The Standard Model works extremely well, but it is also incomplete, failing to explain, for example, dark matter, neutrino masses or the asymmetry between matter and antimatter. A more powerful collider would increase the chances of directly producing new particles linked to these mysteries.The post Innovations linked to CERN include advances in medical imaging, computing and large-scale data processing, says Vincent Marchand, engineer and Head of Technical Maintenance at CERN first appeared on All PYRENEES.