The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research gave the go-ahead on 5 February for the TESLA X-ray laser to be built at DESY as a European project. At the same time, it pledged continued support for R&D on the TESLA linear collider, while recognizing that decisions on the location of such a machine must be made at an international level. These decisions were part of a package to support large-scale projects in basic research, worth €1.6 billion, which also includes approval of a new accelerator complex at the GSI laboratory in Darmstadt.
DESY is to receive half the costs of the TESLA X-ray laser, which total €673 million, from the German government. The next step will be for DESY to work with interested European partners to develop the appropriate financial, technological and organizational framework for the project. The aim will be to make a decision within about two years on the construction of the machine, which will take around six years.
The Ministry also recognized the importance of the TESLA linear collider for Germany, by agreeing continued support for R&D work at DESY. This will allow DESY to continue working at an international level on the coordination and decision processes, which are currently in progress around the world.
Albrecht Wagner, chairman of the DESY Directorate, has welcomed the decisions. “The possibility to realize the TESLA X-ray laser as a European project at DESY opens up outstanding research possibilities”, he said after the announcement by the Ministry. “For the linear collider for particle physics, which is being planned on a longer term basis, DESY is able to continue the international research work.” Wagner also said that the decisions represent “a great recognition of the achievements of the TESLA collaboration, which have been widely acknowledged throughout the world.”
