A brief note from the project coordinator
Felix Sefkow, 28/04/2020
In particle colliders like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, beams of particles collide at the centre of a particle detector, creating new particles that fly out in all directions. Different detecting subsystems, arranged in layers around the collision point, record their trajectory, momentum, and energy, allowing the particles to be individually identified. In modern particle detectors these subsystems are composed of tracking devices that record the trajectory of a particle, of calorimeters that measure the energy of a particle as it crosses the detector, and of dedicated detectors that use a range of techniques to identify the particles.
Detectors are thus complex systems that require a wide range of expertise and the latest technologies for their upgrade and development. At a moment when big decisions are being taken for the future of particle physics, AIDA-2020, a European Commission co-funded project coordinated by CERN, brings together leading European research infrastructures for the development and testing of detectors at accelerators. A number of partner institutes, universities, and technological centres provide the necessary expertise, in a total of 38 beneficiaries and 20 collaborating institutes.
In May 2020, AIDA-2020 comes to an end, after a 12-month extension granted by the European Commission, and the many advancements achieved by the community, as well as their applications beyond particle physics, are now featured in this special issue of On Track, the AIDA-2020 newsletter. In this issue, the AIDA-2020 community and the editors of On Track aim to highlight all that we have accomplished together for detectors at accelerators.
In particular, we recall that AIDA-2020 is co-funded by the European Commission under Horizon 2020, a Research and Innovation programme aimed at fostering competitiveness and growth, and increasing benefits to European research, economy and citizens. It is thus essential that AIDA-2020 take steps to facilitate the conversion of public investment into socio-economic benefits. The Innovation and Outreach team have identified results that could be implemented and proposes ways they could influence the market and future developments.
In second-to-last issue of On Track, we hope to give you just that: an overview of the results achieved by AIDA-2020, their potential for exploitation, as well as reporting on the fruitful collaborations created during the five years of AIDA-2020. We walk our readers’ through a knowledge transfer success story, highlighting a success story from our very own Proof-of-Concept funding, with the story of company BAQ. Finally, we hope to collect your feedback regarding the newsletter and recommendations on how we can best serve the community through our channels.
With that, happy reading and hoping to see you in the next project.