升级粒子重启，探索未知物理领域.pdfVIP

Hopped-UpParticleAccelerator

PoisedtoVentureintotheRealm

ofExoticPhysics

WhentheupgradedLargeHadronColliderrestartsitwillbecapableofenergiesnever

beforeachieved,potentiallyunveilingnovelparticandopeningawindowontheinner

workingsoftheuniverse

March11,2015|ByClaraMoskowitz|Véaloenespañol

|

AninteriorviewofaparticledetectorontheCMS(CompactMuonSolenoid)experimentattheLarge

HadronCollider.

CMS/Cern

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Physicistsaregettingantsy.Theirmosthighlyprizedtoolforstudyingthe

smaltbitsofnature—theLargeHadronCollider(LHC)particleaccelerator—

hasbeenshutdownsincetheendof2012for$163millionworthofupgrades.But

withintwomonthsitwillbebackwithavengeance,collidingprotonsatmind-

numbingenergiesthathaveneverbeenachievedinaman-mademachine.

Physicistshopethattheseenergieswillbeenoughtoproducenewparticor

phenomenathatexposesecretstheuniversehasthusfarbeenunwillingtogive

up.Inparticular,theupcomingrunattheLHCcouldyieldevidenceforanidea

calledsupersymmetry,whichwouldbeupheldifextraparticanddimensions

ofmattershowup—andwhichwouldexinmanypuzzlingfacetsofthecosmos.

ThelargestmachineonEarth,theLHCcomprisesanundergroundloopwitha

这个环形隧道于2008年首次开放，的质子以相反方向加速至接近光速，然

后迎头相撞并。在碰撞后的残骸中，能量转化为物质形式的粒子——其中一

些是自然界中罕见的奇异粒子。例如，希格斯玻色子在2012年于对撞机中被发

现，而理论学家早在四十年前就预测了它的存在。现在，科学家们希望

LHC能够重现这一壮举，揭示新的粒子——或许