 |
| The
SLAC Linear Collider (SLC) |
In 1989, the world's first linear
collider, featuring beams of electrons
and positrons (anti-electrons), began
operating at Stanford Linear Accelerator
Center. The SLAC Linear Collider (SLC)
was based on new accelerator technology
and offered the possibility of reaching
higher-energy electron collisions
in a more cost-effective manner than
conventional ring designs. In 1998,
the first "disruption enhancement"
was achieved, in which beam density
is high enough to cause the beams
to shrink during the collision, an
effect that doubles luminosity. Because
of the high electron beam polarization
and very small beam size at the collision
point, SLC was able to make the world's
most precise measurements of several
key electroweak parameters—elements
of the Standard Model, physicists'
current understanding of matter and
the forces of nature. Since then,
a circular electron-positron collider
has been built at the limit of energy
possible for such a design. Operating
at its highest energy, this machine
may have seen evidence of the Higgs
boson, the last missing piece of the
Standard Model.
Scientific Impact:
The SLC enabled precision studies
that have contributed to important
recent advances in physics. This prototype
linear collider also points the way
to a larger collider that would enable
precision studies of the Higgs boson
and other ultraheavy particles thought
to have existed in profusion during
the Big Bang creation of the universe.
Social Impact: Such
facilities help answer questions about
the constituents and history of the
universe, extending human understanding
of nature and contributing to improvements
in science education. The development
and use of such facilities often has
practical implications; accelerators
have contributed to medical treatments,
for example.
URL:
http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/experiments/slc.html
Technical Contact:
Dr. Martin Breidenbach, mib@slac.stanford.edu
Press Contact: Jeff
Sherwood, DOE Office of Public Affairs,
202-586-5806
SC-Funding Office:
Office of High Energy and Nuclear
Physics |
