Have a safe day!

Wednesday, Feb. 6

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

4 p.m.
Fermilab Colloquium - One West
Speaker: Bradford Benson, University of Chicago
Title: Going to the End of the Earth to Learn About the Beginning of the Universe

Thursday, Feb. 7

11 a.m.
Computing Techniques Seminar - One North
Speaker: Tim Bell, CERN
Title: CERN Computing Infrastructure Evolution

2 p.m.
Computing Techniques Seminar - FCC1W
Speaker: Jakob Blomer, CERN
Title: CERN VM-FS – A Scalable and Low Maintenance Software Distribution Service

2:30 p.m.
Theoretical Physics Seminar - Curia II
Speaker: Prateek Agrawal, Fermilab
Title: The Cosmological Constant Problem in Scalar Gravity

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

THERE WILL BE NO ACCELERATOR PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR TODAY

Click here for NALCAL,
a weekly calendar with links to additional information.

Ongoing and upcoming conferences at Fermilab

Take Five

Extended forecast
Weather at Fermilab

Secon Level 3

Flags at full staff

Wednesday, Feb. 6

Wilson Hall Cafe Menu

Wednesday, Feb. 6
Lunch
- Spicy black bean and sausage calzone
- Confetti corn salad
- Pineapple flan

Friday, Feb. 8
Dinner
- Bacon, boursin and spinach soufflé
- Filet mignon with morel sauce
- Grilled asparagus
- Herbed new potatoes
- Pear tart

Chez Leon Menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

Fermilab Today

Director's Corner

Frontier Science Result

Physics in a Nutshell

Tip of the Week

User University Profiles

Related content

Fermilab Today
is online at:
www.fnal.gov/today/

Send comments and suggestions to:
today@fnal.gov

Visit the Fermilab
homepage

Unsubscribe from Fermilab Today

What's next for the Large Hadron Collider?

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider made a major discovery, but the world's highest-energy particle accelerator is just getting started. Image: CERN

The Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle accelerator in the world, started colliding particles more than three years ago. Since then, scientists have published more than 700 papers detailing the knowledge they have gained at the cutting edge of particle physics.

Undisputedly, the most famous insight so far has been the discovery of what could be the long-sought Higgs boson. This particle is thought to arise from the fluctuation of the invisible "Higgs field" that pervades the universe, imparting mass to particles that interact with it. Without the Higgs field, our world would be a much different place.

Even during the excitement of that discovery, thousands of scientists—more than 1,800 of whom are based in the United States—continued the important work of analyzing the continuing flood of new data pouring out of their detectors.

There is still much to learn about the new, Higgs-like particle. And there is still much more territory to cover in the search for new physics. The LHC will expand its reach dramatically when scientists crank its energy from 4 trillion to 6.5 trillion electronvolts in 2015.

Read more

—Ashley WennersHerron and Kathryn Jepsen

UChicago panel on Higgs boson discovery - Feb. 7

On Thursday, Feb. 7, the University of Chicago will host "Critical Mass: How the Higgs Boson Discovery Swept the World," a panel discussion on the recent discovery of a Higgs-like particle at CERN. The event takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Chicago's David and Reva Logan Center.

The panel of experts from the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab will explain the significance of the Higgs boson and why this discovery marks the beginning of a new era in particle physics research. Fermilab Deputy Director Young-Kee Kim will moderate the discussion. The panelists are Marcela Carena, Fermilab and University of Chicago; Tom LeCompte, Argonne; Patricia McBride, Fermilab; Mark Oreglia, University of Chicago. For more information visit the event website.

Shiltsev and team receive Silver Archer Award

Fermilab scientist Vladimir Shiltsev is presented with the Silver Archer Award in the science and education category. The Silver Archer Award is given annually in recognition of contributions to the development of Russian-American relations. Shiltsev was part of a five-person U.S.-Russia-Canada team that was recognized for reconstructing Mikhail Lomonosov's discovery of Venus' atmosphere. Shiltsev spoke at the award ceremony, which took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In this photo, he holds an over-200-year-old telescope similar to the kind that Lomonosov used for his research. Read more about the discovery of Venus' atmosphere in Shiltsev's article in the February issue of Physics Today (article may be available only to subscribers and on-site readers). Photo courtesy of Vladimir Shiltsev, APC

CERN set to study sterile neutrinos

From Science, Feb. 5, 2013

A new experimental facility to detect a hypothetical particle that many physicists think probably doesn't exist could be up and running at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, within 3 years, assuming that the lab's member states approve spending roughly $110 million to build it.

Read more

Viewpoint: particle physics in the sky

From Physics, Feb. 4, 2013

In the cosmos, the most weakly interacting particles may have the strongest presence. Dark matter particles are estimated to constitute more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe, but are so weakly interacting with other matter that physicists have been unable to figure out what they are. Likewise, neutrinos are the most difficult to detect of the known particles, yet they are known to dominate the late stages of a star's evolution and likely drive the supernova explosion that follows the core collapse of a dying massive star.

Read more

Fermilab CMS group busy with data analysis and detector upgrades during shutdown

Patricia McBride

Patricia McBride, head of the CMS Center, wrote this column.

The LHC and its experiments at CERN will be entering a long shutdown from mid-February to early 2015. The work on the accelerator complex scheduled for the shutdown will enable the LHC to reach its design energy of 14 TeV.

The shutdown will be a busy time for CMS scientists around the world, including the Fermilab CMS group. The collaboration will continue its analysis of the data collected in 2012. The CMS computers worldwide are expected to process analysis, simulation and commissioning tasks throughout the shutdown period.

We also plan to take advantage of the shutdown period to work on the CMS detector, one of the largest particle detectors at the LHC. The long shutdown provides an excellent opportunity to access the detector and to make improvements.

Preparations are already under way for the recording and analysis of data produced during the 14-TeV run. In 2015, at the end of the shutdown, we will re-commission the detector to prepare it for the record number of proton-proton collisions we expect to record.

Fermilab has been part of the team working to add two endcap muon chamber stations in the CMS detector hall. Fermilab had the responsibility of procuring and processing the copper panels for the cathode planes. The panels were cut and engraved at Fermilab before they were shipped to CERN. The chambers were assembled and tested at CERN and will be installed in the detector hall during the long shutdown.

Fermilab personnel are also part of the international team preparing to replace the photodetectors on the forward and outer sections of the CMS hadron calorimeter. Fermilab scientists and engineers have been studying and testing the new silicon photomultipliers for the outer part of the calorimeter and are preparing for the installation of the new photomultipliers for the forward calorimeter.

The Fermilab Pixel Group will focus on the construction and installation of a pilot pixel system during this long shutdown. This work is in preparation for the replacement of the pixel detector system during the next long shutdown.

Throughout the shutdown period, the CMS group will continue R&D and planning for future upgrades in anticipation of high-luminosity operations. The next long shutdown is planned for 2018.

ESH&Q weekly report, Feb. 5

This week's safety report, compiled by the Fermilab ESH&Q section, contains five incidents.

An employee experienced numbness in one finger after using a computer mouse.

An employee experienced pain in his left knee, requiring first-aid treatment.

An employee was splashed in the face while fixing a leak in a sewer pipe.

An employee has shown a standard threshold shift in both ears. This claim is pending.

An employee noticed increased neck pain after working long hours. This claim is pending.

Financial and procurement systems down - Feb. 6-11

UChicago panel discussion on Higgs discovery - Feb. 7

English country dancing Sundays - Feb. 10

Budker Seminar - Feb. 11

Sneak preview of Fermilab documentary - Feb. 11

No on-site prescription safety eyewear - Feb. 13

Employee art show applications - due Feb. 20

Fermilab Lecture Series: Engineering Biology - Feb. 22

Fermilab Gallery Series: Dios no Choro (Brazilian flute and guitar)

URA Visiting Scholars Program deadline - Feb. 25

2013 FRA scholarship applications accepted until April 1

Professional development courses

2013 standard mileage reimbursement rate

Scottish country dancing Tuesday evenings in Kuhn Barn

Indoor soccer

Employee discounts