The event, held in the historic center of Valencia, gathered around 180 participants in person, while more than 80 researchers followed the online sessions from different countries. The latter included many colleagues from the United States, some of whom were forced to cancel their travel plans because of the federal government shutdown by the United States.
This meeting was chaired by doctors Daniel Esperante Pereira and Adrián Irles Quiles (local committee) and Marcel Vos (program committee), members of the AITANA group at the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), located in the scientific-academic of the University of Valencia Science Park (PCUV) and joint centre of the Superior Council for Scientific Research and the University of Valencia. The committees were completed by a roster of leading scientists from both Spanish and international institutions. In particular, the Spanish community, through the network of future colliders, played a major role in the organization and definition of the scientific program of the event, strengthening the coordinated effort of Spanish groups in planning the next major accelerator particle physics project, which will succeed the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The conference brought a wealth of new results covering all aspects of the future installation of the collider, from the physics of the Standard Model and beyond to innovative detector designs and algorithms, to advanced collider designs based on novel wakefield plasma acceleration techniques. Specific plenary sessions discussed the sustainability of collider projects and prospects for early-stage researchers.
"Most surprising was the announcement that the CEPC project of an electron-positron collider has not been included in China’s next five-year plan. This will force the CERN European Centre for Particle Physics to move ahead of the competition", Marcel Vos, IFIC researcher
The chairman of the ongoing update on the European strategy for particle physics, Professor Karl Jakobs of the University of Fribourg, briefed the audience, while representatives from Japan, China and the US reviewed proposals for colliders in their regions. According to Marcel Vos, IFIC researcher and member of the organising committee, "the most surprising thing has been the announcement that the CEPC project for an electron-positron collider has not been included in China’s next five-year plan". "This will force the CERN European centre for particle physics to move ahead of the competition," he explains.
The conference also included a tribute to two scientists who have made key contributions to the linear collider and particle and accelerator physics: Michael Peskin of the Stanford Center for Linear Accelerators in the US, and Steinar Stapnes, of the European CERN laboratory. His presentations in the opening and closing plenary sessions were considered by many of the participants as one of the highlights of the conference.
"Once again, the interest of early-stage researchers in state-of-the-art instrumentation for both detectors and accelerators has been demonstrated. The future of the field is about keeping alive the enthusiasm of young people in present and future projects where they can be leaders", Adrián Irlis, researcher at IFIC
Daniel Esperante, IFIC researcher, and Adrián Irles (IFIC Doctor GenT), also co-organisers of the conference, underline the role of young researchers and their enthusiasm for promoting and participating in the development of new technologies and concepts: "Once again, the interest of early-stage researchers in state-of-the-art instrumentation, both detectors and accelerators, has been demonstrated. In particular, the sessions on advanced technologies for accelerators have been the most popular and active. The future of the field is to keep young people enthusiastic about present and future projects in which they can be leaders", says Irles.
The event was attended by Sergio Pastor Carpi, deputy director of IFIC, and Amparo Querol Simón, representing the CSIC Delegation in the Valencian Community, who contributed to the opening of the event with their welcome speeches.
Source: IFIC
Don’t miss the interview with Marcel Vos (IFIC) in our EuroPark section