The world’s largest particle accelerator is restarting after a three-year hiatus

Overview of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France, July 23, 2014 / Reuters

Overview of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France, July 23, 2014 / Reuters

The world’s largest particle accelerator, the 27-kilometer Large Hadron Collider (LHC), relaunched on Friday after a break of more than three years to upgrade and maintain the COVID-19 background in search of “dark matter”.

Physicists hope that the resumption of collisions will help in their quest for so-called “dark matter”, which is beyond the visible universe. Dark matter is thought to be five times more common than ordinary matter, but it does not absorb, reflect, or emit light. So far, the search has been empty-handed.

“We will dramatically increase the number of collisions, and therefore the likelihood of new discoveries,” said Rende Steirenberg, who is in charge of operations in the LHC control room.

The particle accelerator, located below the Swiss-French border near Geneva, is perhaps best known for helping to confirm the subatomic Higgs boson in 2012.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) said two proton beams circulated in opposite directions around the accelerator on Friday, but high-intensity, high-energy collisions are still a few months away.

This is the third time of the collider. The first round of experiments took place from 2010 to 2012, and the second from 2015 to 2018. This round is expected to last until 2026.

“Machinery and equipment have undergone major improvements during the second long-term shutdown of CERN’s accelerator complex,” said Mike Lamont, CERN’s director of accelerators and technology.

He added that the collider “will now run at even higher energy” and will deliver significantly more data.

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(With information from AP, Reuters)