CERN Shuts LHC for Upgrade, Targeting 7 Times More Data by 2030
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 21
CERN Shuts LHC for Upgrade, Targeting 7 Times More Data by 2030
3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Jul 21
Summary
Thousands of scientists and engineers have halted collisions at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider and begun a long shutdown to rebuild it into the High-Luminosity LHC, due to restart around 2030.
The upgrade aims to deliver about seven times more data over its lifetime, giving physicists enough collisions to probe subtle Higgs boson behavior and hunt for signs of new particles or forces.
Up to 200 proton-proton interactions per beam crossing at the upgraded machine will force Atlas and CMS to rely on new silicon trackers and precision timing detectors that can separate overlapping events.
Those tools are meant to capture rare processes still largely out of reach today, including Higgs decays to two muons or charm quarks and, more ambitiously, Higgs boson pair production.
CERN says the overhaul could open a new era of precision Higgs physics, testing the standard model more stringently and potentially shedding light on dark matter and the matter-antimatter imbalance.
After billions spent upgrading the LHC, what if its quest for new physics beyond the Standard Model finds nothing at all?
With leading dark matter theories failing, can precision Higgs data reveal the universe’s greatest invisible mystery?
The High-Luminosity LHC Upgrade: Transforming CERN’s Collider for 10x More Data and a New Era of Discovery
Overview
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) began its third Long Shutdown (LS3) on June 29, 2026, marking a pivotal moment in its scientific journey. This four-year upgrade period is a temporary farewell to the LHC as we know it, paving the way for the High-Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC). The main goal of LS3 is to prepare the accelerator and its experiments for operation by 2030. With the HiLumi LHC, the collider’s performance will be significantly enhanced, extending its scientific adventure far into the future and enabling new discoveries in particle physics.