Super Proton Synchrotron
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox particle accelerator Template:CERNaccelerators The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is a particle accelerator of the synchrotron type at CERN. It is housed in a circular tunnel, Template:Convert in circumference,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> straddling the border of France and Switzerland near Geneva, Switzerland.<ref>Information on CERN Sites Template:Webarchive. CERN. Updated 26 January 2010.</ref>
History
The SPS was designed by a team led by John Adams, director-general of what was then known as Laboratory II. Originally specified as a Template:Val accelerator, the SPS was actually built to be capable of Template:Val, an operating energy it achieved on the official commissioning date of 17 June 1976. However, by that time, this energy had been exceeded by Fermilab, which reached an energy of Template:Val on 14 May of that year.<ref>CERN courier</ref>
The SPS has been used to accelerate protons and antiprotons, electrons and positrons (for use as the injector for the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP)<ref>The LEP Collider – from Design to Approval and Commissioning Template:Webarchive, by S. Myers, section 3.8. Last accessed 28 February 2010.</ref>), and heavy ions.
From 1981 to 1991, the SPS operated as a hadron (more precisely, proton–antiproton) collider (as such it was called [[Proton-Antiproton Collider|SpTemplate:OverlineS)]], when its beams provided the data for the UA1 and UA2 experiments, which resulted in the discovery of the W and Z bosons. These discoveries and a new technique for cooling particles led to a Nobel Prize for Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer in 1984.
From 2006 to 2012, the SPS was used by the CNGS experiment to produce a neutrino beam to be detected at the Gran Sasso laboratory in Italy, Template:Convert from CERN.
Later operations
Template:See also The SPS is used as the final injector for high-intensity proton beams for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which began preliminary operation on 10 September 2008, for which it accelerates protons from Template:Val. The LHC itself then accelerates them to several teraelectronvolts (TeV).
Operation as an injector allows continuation of the ongoing fixed-target research program, where the SPS provides Template:Val proton beams for a number of active fixed-target experiments, including COMPASS, NA61/SHINE and NA62.
The SPS has served, and continues to be used as a test bench for new concepts in accelerator physics. In 1999 it served as an observatory for the electron cloud phenomenon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2002 and 2004, SPS produced gold nuclei from lead targets.<ref name="Cecchini et al 2002">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Scheidenberger et al 2004">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="CERN press release 2025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2003, SPS was the first machine where the Hamiltonian resonance driving terms were directly measured.<ref>Measurement of resonance driving terms Template:Webarchive</ref> And in 2004, experiments to cancel the detrimental effects of beam encounters (like those in the LHC) were carried out.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The SPS RF cavities operate at a center frequency of Template:Val.
Major discoveries
Major scientific discoveries made by experiments that operated at the SPS include the following.
- 1983: The discovery of W and Z bosons in the UA1 and UA2 experiments.<ref name="wz">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 1984 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer for the developments that led to this discovery.
- 1999: The discovery of direct CP violation by the NA48 experiment.<ref name="NA48">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Upgrade for high luminosity LHC
The Large Hadron Collider will require an upgrade to considerably increase its luminosity during the 2020s. This would require upgrades to the entire linac/pre-injector/injector chain, including the SPS.
As part of this, the SPS will need to be able to handle a much higher intensity beam. One improvement considered in the past was increasing the extraction energy to Template:Val.<ref>Super-SPS</ref> However, the extraction energy will be kept at Template:Val while other systems are upgraded. The acceleration system will be modified to handle the higher voltages needed to accelerate a higher intensity beam. The beam dumping system will also be upgraded so it can accept a higher intensity beam without sustaining significant damage.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Notes and references
External links
Template:CERN Template:SPS experiments Template:Hadron colliders