CERN proposes a $17 billion particle collider, three times bigger than the Large Hadron Collider

Scientists Plan $17 Billion Super Collider to Unlock Dark Matter Secrets and Solve the Matter-Antimatter Mystery

TL;DR

CERN has unveiled plans for a 57-mile-long Future Circular Collider (FCC), costing $17 billion, to push the boundaries of particle physics. With an energy capacity of 100 tera electron volts, it aims to explore dark matter, dark energy, and the reason for the universe’s matter-antimatter imbalance. If approved, construction would begin, and the collider could be operational in the 2040s, revealing new particles and forces. Despite high hopes, some scientists are skeptical of its cost and potential for significant discoveries in the near term.

Scientists working at the world’s largest particle accelerator have suggested plans for an even bigger atom smasher.

The proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC), costing $17 billion, would stretch for 57 miles (91 kilometers), far surpassing the size of the current Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which spans 16.5 miles (27 kilometers) and is located at CERN, near Geneva.

Physicists aim to harness the increased size and power of the FCC to delve deeper into the edges of the Standard Model of particle physics, which is the best current theory explaining the behavior of the universe’s tiniest components. By accelerating particles to much higher energies (100 tera electron volts compared to the LHC’s 14), researchers hope to uncover new particles and forces, solve the mystery of why matter is more abundant than antimatter, and investigate the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two unseen forces thought to constitute 95% of the universe. “The FCC will not only enhance our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics and nature,” said CERN’s director-general, Fabiola Gianotti, during a press conference, “but it will also drive innovation, requiring advancements in fields like cryogenics, superconducting magnets, vacuum technologies, detectors, and instrumentation — all with significant potential to benefit society and yield socioeconomic gains.”

Particle accelerators such as the LHC smash protons together at nearly the speed of light, aiming to detect rare decay products that could reveal unknown particles or forces. This allows physicists to test and scrutinize the Standard Model of physics, which describes the fundamental building blocks of the universe and their interactions.

Although the Standard Model has enabled scientists to make groundbreaking predictions, such as the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson by the LHC, physicists are still unsatisfied and continue searching for new physics that may challenge or extend the model. This dissatisfaction stems from the fact that the model, despite being comprehensive, has significant gaps, making it incapable of explaining phenomena such as gravity, the composition of dark matter, and the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe.

To push these boundaries further, CERN scientists plan to use the FCC’s sevenfold increase in beam energy to accelerate particles even faster.

However, despite the promising developments, the detector is still far from being built. CERN’s proposals are part of a preliminary report on a feasibility study, expected to conclude next year. If the detector plan moves forward, CERN, which is operated by 18 European Union members along with Switzerland, Norway, Serbia, Israel, and the U.K., will likely seek additional funding from non-member nations.

While many have high expectations for the discoveries the new collider might yield, some scientists are skeptical about its potential for breakthroughs, given its significant cost. “The FCC would be more expensive than both the LHC and LIGO [Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory] combined, with less potential for discovery,” wrote Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist at the Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, in a 2019 post on X, formerly Twitter. “At the current level of knowledge and technology, it wouldn’t provide a good return on investment. There are better avenues to explore than high-energy physics right now.”

In 2028, member states will gather to determine whether the project will proceed. If approved, the first phase of the machine — designed to collide electrons with positrons (the antimatter counterparts of electrons) — would become operational in 2045, with proton-proton collisions beginning in the 2070s.