Historical experiment at CERN: These two substances are colliding for the first time! But why?

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN , the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, has achieved another first. For the first time in history, protons and oxygen ions were collided, starting a new experimental process. This series of experiments will not be limited to proton-oxygen collisions, and oxygen-oxygen and neon-neon collisions will also be carried out in the coming days.

The Large Hadron Collider, located near Geneva, Switzerland, is the only machine on Earth that can accelerate particles to levels close to the speed of light and collide them in a controlled manner. This special series of experiments, which started on June 29 and will continue until July 9, has a very critical place in the Large Hadron Collider's work schedule.

The program will include two days of proton-oxygen collisions, two days of oxygen-oxygen collisions, and one day of neon-neon collisions. In between each stage, special adjustments must be made to restructure the system.

SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE FIRST MOMENTS OF THE UNIVERSE

The main goal of these experiments is to better understand the fundamental building blocks of the universe and the properties of exotic matter, such asthe quark-gluon plasma that is thought to have formed just microseconds after the Big Bang. They will also examine fundamental physics issues such as the nature of cosmic rays and the strong nuclear force.

The project has actually been in the works for many years. The studies date back to the feasibility analyses conducted in 2019. Many systems have been customized throughout the facility for the production and acceleration of oxygen and neon ions.

THE MOST CHALLENGING PART: COLLIDING PROTONS AND OXYGEN

Colliding protons and oxygen ions is the most technically complex part, says Roderik Bruce, an expert at CERN. Because the two particles have different charge-to-mass ratios, which means that the electromagnetic field affects them differently. As a result, millimeter-level adjustments to speed and frequency are required to hit the right collision point.

These collisions take place at the four main experimental stations of the Large Hadron Collider: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. But they are not the only ones; the experiment called LHCf, which focuses on studying cosmic rays, also plays an active role in this process. LHCf will detect small-angle particles produced in proton-oxygen collisions with a detector specially placed 140 meters away from the ATLAS collision point.

This series of experiments is of great importance not only for the physical data but also for testing the technical infrastructure of the LHC. In particular, newly developedcrystal collimators for the management of "ion beams" will be tested. This technology allows particles that spill out of the beam to be directed more efficiently and increases beam safety.