US accelerator projects

With the latest US Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise (“Snowmass 2021”) getting under way this autumn, our special In Focus report takes an in-depth look at progress across a number of large-scale accelerator projects in the US. Fermilab’s Proton Improvement Plan II is an ambitious reimagining of its accelerator complex that, upon completion in 2028, will drive a diverse experimental programme in particle physics. Elsewhere, the engagement of the international nuclear-physics community will be front-and-centre as the Electron–Ion Collider takes shape through the 2020s. Meanwhile, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams is about to open up new frontiers in the study of rare isotopes; SLAC’s LCLS-II upgrade will take X-ray science to the next level; and Berkeley Lab’s pioneering Cyclotron Road innovation initiative opens for applications. These and other projects, such as the Proton Power Upgrade at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source, demonstrate the continuing importance of accelerators for fundamental and applied research in the US and beyond.

All of the articles from the print edition are available online, or alternatively you can download a PDF version.