The Big ADRONE Collider (BAC) has once again launched stable bunches of protons, marking the beginning of the 2024 season. The event took place on April 5 at 18:25 and signifies the start of the third year of the tank operating at full capacity for its third launch. An operating engineer at the Cern Management Center described this as a significant step for global science (source).
This year, scientists anticipate data from proton collisions with an energy of 13.6 TEW for a duration of six months, an increase in intensity compared to previous years. This will provide enhanced research opportunities, with experiments involving lead ions clashes scheduled for October.
Prior to initiating the tank, the entire Cern accelerator complex underwent preparations for a new data collection cycle. The process kicked off with the Linac4 accelerator, which received its first bundle two months ago. Each accelerator underwent a tuning stage to ensure control over various beam aspects such as energy, intensity, size, and stability. Furthermore, performance checks were conducted to address any potential issues.
The Cern control center stressed that achieving stable beams is the culmination of extensive work. The process involves injecting bundles into the tank, increasing their energy to the nominal 6.8 tech, and then compressing and aligning them using tank magnets to narrow and center the bundles, enhancing collision probabilities in detectors. Only after completing these operations can data collection commence.
This phase serves as a significant milestone in elucidating the fundamental laws of nature, leading to the exploration of new frontiers in particle physics.