Cern News

Computer Security: Don’t get socially engineered

“Social engineering” is the art of manipulating you to perform actions you would not normally perform. Like transferring money to someone you don’t know (“LOGISTICS SUPPORT REQUEST”). Disclosing sensitive information (“I have problems displaying that doc”). Opening doors to an unknown third party (“I forgot my access card”). Or handing out your CERN password, e.g. during our annual clicking campaigns (“Action Required – Warning!!”) intended to raise security awareness.

In order to achieve their goals, attackers try to forge a close connection with you. “Greetings to you and your family. How are you doing?” is still a very basic try, but given the information that can be found online about you, your family and social circle, your work and your hobbies, social engineers might delve much, much deeper. Just think of the information available about you on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and CERN’s many webpages (“The symbiosis of your life”). How easily can your life be reconstructed from that information? (Here and here are two nice videos about this topic.) How much “juicy” stuff is out there to allow them to connect with you, build up a trust relationship and lure you into actions you wouldn’t normally perform for a stranger? This social engineering is a long process, but an attacker is ready to go the distance if the outcome – i.e. you disclosing sensitive information, handing over your password or transferring money – is worth it. Think about your role in this Organization: there is definitely something worth attacking you for. Access to accelerator controls to conduct sabotage if you work in the accelerator sector; access to money or personal information if you work in finance and administration; or access to computing services, data and databases if you are an IT administrator.

Below is an attempt to connect with some of our colleagues, in this case using WhatsApp:

 

It wouldn’t be the first time that the Director-General’s authority has been abused for social engineering purposes. And it won’t be the last. Here, we can’t tell how that conversation would have continued, but usually it leads to a demand for a money transfer (“CEO fraud”).

So, be vigilant if you are contacted by people you don’t know or receive requests that are unusual, from unsolicited contacts. Be careful if you are asked to perform tasks you usually only perform in the execution of your job but never on direct request. “STOP ─ THINK – DON’T CLICK” when you get a link in an email, text message, WhatsApp message or through a QR code. And, maybe, rethink the plethora of information you voluntarily make public via your social channels – check your privacy and publication settings! − or on CERN webpages. Maybe a bit less information would do your privacy good and protect you a bit more from social engineering?

______

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

anschaef Wed, 08/09/2023 - 21:54 Byline Computer Security team Publication Date Wed, 08/09/2023 - 21:52

Computer Security: Don’t get socially engineered

“Social engineering” is the art of manipulating you to perform actions you would not normally perform. Like transferring money to someone you don’t know (“LOGISTICS SUPPORT REQUEST”). Disclosing sensitive information (“I have problems displaying that doc”). Opening doors to an unknown third party (“I forgot my access card”). Or handing out your CERN password, e.g. during our annual clicking campaigns (“Action Required – Warning!!”) intended to raise security awareness.

In order to achieve their goals, attackers try to forge a close connection with you. “Greetings to you and your family. How are you doing?” is still a very basic try, but given the information that can be found online about you, your family and social circle, your work and your hobbies, social engineers might delve much, much deeper. Just think of the information available about you on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and CERN’s many webpages (“The symbiosis of your life”). How easily can your life be reconstructed from that information? (Here and here are two nice videos about this topic.) How much “juicy” stuff is out there to allow them to connect with you, build up a trust relationship and lure you into actions you wouldn’t normally perform for a stranger? This social engineering is a long process, but an attacker is ready to go the distance if the outcome – i.e. you disclosing sensitive information, handing over your password or transferring money – is worth it. Think about your role in this Organization: there is definitely something worth attacking you for. Access to accelerator controls to conduct sabotage if you work in the accelerator sector; access to money or personal information if you work in finance and administration; or access to computing services, data and databases if you are an IT administrator.

Below is an attempt to connect with some of our colleagues, in this case using WhatsApp:

 

It wouldn’t be the first time that the Director-General’s authority has been abused for social engineering purposes. And it won’t be the last. Here, we can’t tell how that conversation would have continued, but usually it leads to a demand for a money transfer (“CEO fraud”).

So, be vigilant if you are contacted by people you don’t know or receive requests that are unusual, from unsolicited contacts. Be careful if you are asked to perform tasks you usually only perform in the execution of your job but never on direct request. “STOP ─ THINK – DON’T CLICK” when you get a link in an email, text message, WhatsApp message or through a QR code. And, maybe, rethink the plethora of information you voluntarily make public via your social channels – check your privacy and publication settings! − or on CERN webpages. Maybe a bit less information would do your privacy good and protect you a bit more from social engineering?

______

Do you want to learn more about computer security incidents and issues at CERN? Follow our Monthly Report. For further information, questions or help, check our website or contact us at Computer.Security@cern.ch.

anschaef Wed, 08/09/2023 - 21:54 Byline Computer Security team Publication Date Wed, 08/09/2023 - 21:52

With FLOTUS, aerosol precursor vapours age more quickly

Located at the heart of CERN’s East Area, the CLOUD experiment studies interactions between cosmic rays (simulated by a pion beam from the PS) and aerosol particles present in Earth’s troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere) in order to understand better the mechanisms at play in the formation of aerosols and the clouds they seed. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have significantly increased the quantity of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, but they remain persistently uncertain in global climate models, giving rise to a wide range of projections of climate warming.

The CLOUD experiment simulates selected regions of Earth’s atmosphere. The 26 cubic meter stainless steel chamber is filled with humidified ultra-pure synthetic air, made from evaporated cryogenic nitrogen and oxygen into which the experimenters inject various vapours found in the atmosphere in minute concentrations (ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitric acid, ammonia, organic vapours, iodine, etc.). By adjusting parameters such as vapour concentrations, temperature, humidity, ultraviolet illumination and cosmic rays, the experimenters can simulate and very precisely control the atmospheric conditions they wish to study.

FLOTUS lit up by its UV system. FLOTUS is essentially a mini version of CLOUD, with independent control of all experimental parameters.(Image: CERN)

Due to losses of vapours and particles when they come into contact with the wall of the CLOUD chamber, the experiments can only last a few hours. “This gives us time to study many mechanisms like the role of iodic acids in the formation of aerosols [study performed in 2021], but not to take into account the slow transformation that some vapours undergo in the atmosphere over the course of a few days,” says Jasper Kirkby, spokesperson of the CLOUD experiment.

And that is where FLOTUS (FLOw TUbe System) comes in. This new, 60-litre quartz chamber, which was added to the CLOUD experiment in November 2022, allows organic vapours to be “pre-aged” before being injected into the main CLOUD chamber, where their ability to form and grow aerosol particles can be studied in detail. “Organic vapours present in the atmosphere may pass through several oxidation steps in the presence of the sun’s beams, ozone, nitrogen oxide etc. This process can occur over the course of several days,” Jasper Kirkby explains. “With FLOTUS, we can accelerate this oxidation process to the point where we can reproduce, in the space of a minute, the level of oxidation reached in several days in the atmosphere.”

FLOTUS was commissioned in April during a four-week technical run, and it achieved its design performance. “Building and installing FLOTUS was a huge technical challenge, brilliantly executed by the EN and EP departments”, Jasper Kirkby adds. “Operating FLOTUS and CLOUD together has doubled the complexity of the experiments, making our research work all the more fun!” The next run, this time for physics, will be in the autumn. Watch this space.

_____

To find out more about the operation of CLOUD (before the arrival of FLOTUS), check out this video: https://videos.cern.ch/record/2154271

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:38 Byline Anaïs Schaeffer Publication Date Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:34

With FLOTUS, aerosol precursor vapours age more quickly

Located at the heart of CERN’s East Area, the CLOUD experiment studies interactions between cosmic rays (simulated by a pion beam from the PS) and aerosol particles present in Earth’s troposphere (the lowest layer of the atmosphere) in order to understand better the mechanisms at play in the formation of aerosols and the clouds they seed. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have significantly increased the quantity of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, but they remain persistently uncertain in global climate models, giving rise to a wide range of projections of climate warming.

The CLOUD experiment simulates selected regions of Earth’s atmosphere. The 26 cubic meter stainless steel chamber is filled with humidified ultra-pure synthetic air, made from evaporated cryogenic nitrogen and oxygen into which the experimenters inject various vapours found in the atmosphere in minute concentrations (ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitric acid, ammonia, organic vapours, iodine, etc.). By adjusting parameters such as vapour concentrations, temperature, humidity, ultraviolet illumination and cosmic rays, the experimenters can simulate and very precisely control the atmospheric conditions they wish to study.

FLOTUS lit up by its UV system. FLOTUS is essentially a mini version of CLOUD, with independent control of all experimental parameters.(Image: CERN)

Due to losses of vapours and particles when they come into contact with the wall of the CLOUD chamber, the experiments can only last a few hours. “This gives us time to study many mechanisms like the role of iodic acids in the formation of aerosols [study performed in 2021], but not to take into account the slow transformation that some vapours undergo in the atmosphere over the course of a few days,” says Jasper Kirkby, spokesperson of the CLOUD experiment.

And that is where FLOTUS (FLOw TUbe System) comes in. This new, 60-litre quartz chamber, which was added to the CLOUD experiment in November 2022, allows organic vapours to be “pre-aged” before being injected into the main CLOUD chamber, where their ability to form and grow aerosol particles can be studied in detail. “Organic vapours present in the atmosphere may pass through several oxidation steps in the presence of the sun’s beams, ozone, nitrogen oxide etc. This process can occur over the course of several days,” Jasper Kirkby explains. “With FLOTUS, we can accelerate this oxidation process to the point where we can reproduce, in the space of a minute, the level of oxidation reached in several days in the atmosphere.”

FLOTUS was commissioned in April during a four-week technical run, and it achieved its design performance. “Building and installing FLOTUS was a huge technical challenge, brilliantly executed by the EN and EP departments”, Jasper Kirkby adds. “Operating FLOTUS and CLOUD together has doubled the complexity of the experiments, making our research work all the more fun!” The next run, this time for physics, will be in the autumn. Watch this space.

_____

To find out more about the operation of CLOUD (before the arrival of FLOTUS), check out this video: https://videos.cern.ch/record/2154271

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:38 Byline Anaïs Schaeffer Publication Date Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:34

CERN Science Gateway: science and fun for kids (and everyone else) Rendering of the future Science Gateway labs. (Credit: Renzo Piano Building Workshop in partnership with Brodbeck Roulet architectes associés)

CERN Science Gateway will soon be opening its doors to the general public, and we're already looking forward to the excitement that will reign there: a huge number of visitors, of all ages and from all walks of life, are expected. Among them, the youngest visitors, aged 5 to 19, will be given special treatment: a tailor-made educational programme awaits them at Science Gateway.

“Many of the educational activities on offer have been developed especially for Science Gateway,” explains Julia Woithe, CERN Science Gateway education labs coordinator. “Before that, the S'Cool LAB, CERN's hands-on particle physics learning lab and education research facility [which closed its doors in 2022 in anticipation of the opening of Science Gateway], could only accommodate young people aged 15 and over. We therefore had to adapt and create activities for children aged 5 to 15 – a colossal task, but our team rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm.” Some school groups in the local area, as well as the children from the Jardin des Particules (CERN's school) – a particularly discerning audience! –, were invaluable in fine-tuning the activities.

Educational activities (for kids and everyone else) fall into three main categories: lab workshops, science shows and online content.

A wide range of workshops will be offered in the educational labs at CERN Science Gateway. Find out more at: https://visit.cern/labs. (Image: CERN)

The labs
On the first floor of the reception building, two laboratories for up to 24 participants each will allow school groups, families and individual visitors to conduct hands-on experiments supported by CERN guides. School groups will be able to take part in various workshops lasting between 45 and 90 minutes, in many different languages and adapted to the age of the participants. The aim is to encourage teamwork and to make links with authentic research challenges and objects highlighted in the various Science Gateway exhibitions.

Science shows
Scheduled in the Science Gateway auditorium or in the Globe of Science and Innovation(1), the science shows are aimed at a very wide audience, while being adaptable to different categories of visitors. The shows, a mixture of demonstrations and interactive stories on subjects as varied as the states of matter, particle detectors and “Frozen”, are given in English and French and last from 30 to 45 minutes.

Online learning
“Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to come to Science Gateway in person, and it has always been important for us to offer rich and varied educational content online,” continues Julia Woithe. “These resources will also be invaluable for those who want to learn more after their visit, particularly teachers and students.” This material will soon be available online on a dedicated website: educational videos, online courses, DIY projects… – everything will be there to encourage independent learning.

Without wishing to turn all visitors into particle physicists (even if there’s the secret hope to awaken a vocation in one or two of them), the Science Gateway educational programme aims to change the image of scientists, by showing them as they are (and CERN guides(2) have a wonderful role to play in this!) – because science suits everyone.

______

(1) If you’re curious to know more about CERN and Science Gateway’s architectural concepts, read this article.

(2) Don't hesitate, sign up to become a guide! (If you want to discover the unlikely benefits of being a CERN guide, click here!)

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:19 Byline Anaïs Schaeffer Publication Date Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:16

CERN Science Gateway: science and fun for kids (and everyone else) Rendering of the future Science Gateway labs. (Credit: Renzo Piano Building Workshop in partnership with Brodbeck Roulet architectes associés)

CERN Science Gateway will soon be opening its doors to the general public, and we're already looking forward to the excitement that will reign there: a huge number of visitors, of all ages and from all walks of life, are expected. Among them, the youngest visitors, aged 5 to 19, will be given special treatment: a tailor-made educational programme awaits them at Science Gateway.

“Many of the educational activities on offer have been developed especially for Science Gateway,” explains Julia Woithe, CERN Science Gateway education labs coordinator. “Before that, the S'Cool LAB, CERN's hands-on particle physics learning lab and education research facility [which closed its doors in 2022 in anticipation of the opening of Science Gateway], could only accommodate young people aged 15 and over. We therefore had to adapt and create activities for children aged 5 to 15 – a colossal task, but our team rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm.” Some school groups in the local area, as well as the children from the Jardin des Particules (CERN's school) – a particularly discerning audience! –, were invaluable in fine-tuning the activities.

Educational activities (for kids and everyone else) fall into three main categories: lab workshops, science shows and online content.

A wide range of workshops will be offered in the educational labs at CERN Science Gateway. Find out more at: https://visit.cern/labs. (Image: CERN)

The labs
On the first floor of the reception building, two laboratories for up to 24 participants each will allow school groups, families and individual visitors to conduct hands-on experiments supported by CERN guides. School groups will be able to take part in various workshops lasting between 45 and 90 minutes, in many different languages and adapted to the age of the participants. The aim is to encourage teamwork and to make links with authentic research challenges and objects highlighted in the various Science Gateway exhibitions.

Science shows
Scheduled in the Science Gateway auditorium or in the Globe of Science and Innovation(1), the science shows are aimed at a very wide audience, while being adaptable to different categories of visitors. The shows, a mixture of demonstrations and interactive stories on subjects as varied as the states of matter, particle detectors and “Frozen”, are given in English and French and last from 30 to 45 minutes.

Online learning
“Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to come to Science Gateway in person, and it has always been important for us to offer rich and varied educational content online,” continues Julia Woithe. “These resources will also be invaluable for those who want to learn more after their visit, particularly teachers and students.” This material will soon be available online on a dedicated website: educational videos, online courses, DIY projects… – everything will be there to encourage independent learning.

Without wishing to turn all visitors into particle physicists (even if there’s the secret hope to awaken a vocation in one or two of them), the Science Gateway educational programme aims to change the image of scientists, by showing them as they are (and CERN guides(2) have a wonderful role to play in this!) – because science suits everyone.

______

(1) If you’re curious to know more about CERN and Science Gateway’s architectural concepts, read this article.

(2) Don't hesitate, sign up to become a guide! (If you want to discover the unlikely benefits of being a CERN guide, click here!)

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:19 Byline Anaïs Schaeffer Publication Date Tue, 08/08/2023 - 22:16

Accelerator Report: Leak repaired, cooling in progress The interconnection between the Q1 (left) and Q2 (right) magnets when closed. (Image: CERN)The same interconnection when opened, revealing the various lines for cables, helium and beam vacuum. The arrow indicates the location of the leak. (Image: CERN)

In our last Accelerator Report, we referred to a quench of an inner triplet magnet located to the left of Point 8 (LHCb) that had caused a small leak in the insulation vacuum of the inner triplet assembly. This vacuum barrier is crucial for preventing heat transfer from the surrounding LHC tunnel to the interior of the cryostat. We now know that the quench was triggered by the quench protection system (QPS) following an electrical disturbance on the general electricity grid.

The insulation vacuum reached atmospheric pressure on the morning of Monday, 17 July, but it took another week to bring the magnets to room temperature, ready for a possible intervention. During that week (week 29), the cryogenic and vacuum teams identified the source of the leak, located between the magnet cold mass and the insulation vacuum. The size of the leak was estimated at approximately 1 mm2, sufficiently large to “hear” the sound of the gas leaking out.

Now, before I go any further, let me remind you what an inner triplet is. Before they enter an experiment detector, particles must be squeezed closer together in order to increase the collision rate – this is the job of the inner triplets. Three quadrupoles are used to create an inner triplet. There are eight inner triplets in the LHC, two on either side of the four large LHC detectors: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb.

Equipment to measure sensitive vibrations was installed in the inner triplet in question, in the interconnections between the quadrupoles, which indicated that the probable location of the leak was at the interconnection between the Q1 (the closest quadrupole to the LHCb interaction point) and the Q2 quadrupoles.

In parallel, the cryogenic team drew up various possible recovery scenarios. The standard procedure would have implied the full warm-up to room temperature of the entire sector, in which case more than three months would have been required to bring the sector back to beam conditions. So an alternative, less restrictive, scenario was developed: the sector would be left to drift up slowly in temperature with all liquid helium removed from the magnets and all cryogenic lines depressurised for a limited duration intervention – estimated at 10 days maximum.

The new bellow is in place. (Image: CERN)

Just one week after the incident, the magnet and vacuum teams opened the large bellows around the interconnection between Q1 and Q2. The exact location of the leak was identified that same day: it was located on a flexible bellow installed on one of the lines between the two magnets. The decision was taken to perform an in-situ intervention to replace the faulty bellow with a spare one.

Easier said than done… as this type of bellow is delivered as an integral part of the triplet magnets. A completely new in-situ welding strategy had to be developed as the work progressed. Despite challenging working conditions for the welders, the new bellow was in place and the absence of a leak confirmed by the end of the week. On the evening of Friday, 28 July, the interconnection was closed again.

Over the weekend, the vacuum team successfully pumped down the insulation vacuum. After a final high pressure and electrical integrity test, cool-down started on Tuesday, 1 August, just in time to avoid a complete warm-up.

As I write this article, cool-down is in progress. Despite the challenges and the unprecedented nature of the incident, we succeeded in limiting its impact on the run: LHC beam operation is expected to resume in the first half of September, in time for the 2023 LHC ion run. Once again, this was made possible by the hard work and collaborative spirit of all the teams involved.

______

Take a look at the various stages of this incredible operation in pictures, and for full technical details, watch this video interview with Paul Cruikshank, from the TE department.

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 21:58 Byline Jorg Wenninger Publication Date Mon, 08/07/2023 - 21:56

Accelerator Report: Leak repaired, cooling in progress The interconnection between the Q1 (left) and Q2 (right) magnets when closed. (Image: CERN)The same interconnection when opened, revealing the various lines for cables, helium and beam vacuum. The arrow indicates the location of the leak. (Image: CERN)

In our last Accelerator Report, we referred to a quench of an inner triplet magnet located to the left of Point 8 (LHCb) that had caused a small leak in the insulation vacuum of the inner triplet assembly. This vacuum barrier is crucial for preventing heat transfer from the surrounding LHC tunnel to the interior of the cryostat. We now know that the quench was triggered by the quench protection system (QPS) following an electrical disturbance on the general electricity grid.

The insulation vacuum reached atmospheric pressure on the morning of Monday, 17 July, but it took another week to bring the magnets to room temperature, ready for a possible intervention. During that week (week 29), the cryogenic and vacuum teams identified the source of the leak, located between the magnet cold mass and the insulation vacuum. The size of the leak was estimated at approximately 1 mm2, sufficiently large to “hear” the sound of the gas leaking out.

Now, before I go any further, let me remind you what an inner triplet is. Before they enter an experiment detector, particles must be squeezed closer together in order to increase the collision rate – this is the job of the inner triplets. Three quadrupoles are used to create an inner triplet. There are eight inner triplets in the LHC, two on either side of the four large LHC detectors: ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb.

Equipment to measure sensitive vibrations was installed in the inner triplet in question, in the interconnections between the quadrupoles, which indicated that the probable location of the leak was at the interconnection between the Q1 (the closest quadrupole to the LHCb interaction point) and the Q2 quadrupoles.

In parallel, the cryogenic team drew up various possible recovery scenarios. The standard procedure would have implied the full warm-up to room temperature of the entire sector, in which case more than three months would have been required to bring the sector back to beam conditions. So an alternative, less restrictive, scenario was developed: the sector would be left to drift up slowly in temperature with all liquid helium removed from the magnets and all cryogenic lines depressurised for a limited duration intervention – estimated at 10 days maximum.

The new bellow is in place. (Image: CERN)

Just one week after the incident, the magnet and vacuum teams opened the large bellows around the interconnection between Q1 and Q2. The exact location of the leak was identified that same day: it was located on a flexible bellow installed on one of the lines between the two magnets. The decision was taken to perform an in-situ intervention to replace the faulty bellow with a spare one.

Easier said than done… as this type of bellow is delivered as an integral part of the triplet magnets. A completely new in-situ welding strategy had to be developed as the work progressed. Despite challenging working conditions for the welders, the new bellow was in place and the absence of a leak confirmed by the end of the week. On the evening of Friday, 28 July, the interconnection was closed again.

Over the weekend, the vacuum team successfully pumped down the insulation vacuum. After a final high pressure and electrical integrity test, cool-down started on Tuesday, 1 August, just in time to avoid a complete warm-up.

As I write this article, cool-down is in progress. Despite the challenges and the unprecedented nature of the incident, we succeeded in limiting its impact on the run: LHC beam operation is expected to resume in the first half of September, in time for the 2023 LHC ion run. Once again, this was made possible by the hard work and collaborative spirit of all the teams involved.

______

Take a look at the various stages of this incredible operation in pictures, and for full technical details, watch this video interview with Paul Cruikshank, from the TE department.

anschaef Tue, 08/08/2023 - 21:58 Byline Jorg Wenninger Publication Date Mon, 08/07/2023 - 21:56

The LHC leak repair: a short photostory

At 1 a.m. on Monday, 17 July, the LHC beams were dumped due to an electrical perturbation. Approximately 300 milliseconds later, several magnets lost their superconducting state (“quenched”). During a quench, the magnet warms up, which in turn warms and pressurises the liquid helium that surrounds it.

While not common, this sequence of events is a normal occurrence that protects the superconducting cable of the magnet when an electrical glitch occurs; the mechanical stress exerted on different parts of the magnet can be quite strong. 

Among the magnets that quenched on 17 July were the inner triplet magnets located to the left of Point 8 of the LHC, which play a crucial role in focusing the beams for the LHCb experiment. Unfortunately, on this occasion, the quenches led to a helium leak in these magnets and put a halt to regular LHC operations.

Scroll through the photo diary below to relive the ten-day race against the clock to repair the leak.

Monday, 17 July, 1 a.m.: ROOT CAUSE
The reason for the electrical glitch that caused the safety systems in the LHC to dump the beam and several magnets to quench was found: a tree on the Swiss side (about 55 km from CERN in the Canton of Vaud) fell on the power lines and disrupted the power system.
 Monday, 17 July, 11 a.m.: A CHILLING DISCOVERY
Ten hours later, on entering the tunnel, the investigating team found that the cryostats* of the triplet magnets near Point 8 were partly covered in ice. Tests quickly confirmed that a small amount of helium had escaped through a leak and filled the insulation vacuum.
Action was taken immediately: the adjacent magnets were electrically isolated, circuits were locked off and grounded, and the quench heaters for this sector were switched off. Additionally, to allow work to be done on the triplet, the 3 km of superconducting magnets in the affected sector were stabilised at a temperature of 20 K, instead of their usual 2 K (-271°C).

*All LHC superconducting magnets are housed in cryostats. During normal operation the external wall of the cryostat is at room temperature, while the magnet operates at 2 K. The cryostat is designed to maintain the magnet at such a low temperature by minimising the in-flow of heat – and insulation vacuum is essential to achieve that.
​​​Tuesday, 18 July – Wednesday,  19 July: LOOKING FOR THE LEAK
The exact position of the helium leak in the 50-m-long cryostat was still unknown. By Tuesday, 18 July, vibration and acoustic tests had been performed. Attaching accelerometers and microphones, the intervening team detected a clear signal in the interconnection zone between the first quadrupole magnet (Q1) and the second  (Q2). Additional X-ray scans showed that the spacing of the bellows ridges on one of the pipes in the superconducting magnets appeared to be stretched. Bellows are employed in the physical connections between two magnets, giving flexibility. In this case the stretched bellows were on the M2 pipe, which contains the instrumentation connections.
 Thursday, 20 July - Sunday 23 July: PREPARING TO OPEN
The intervening teams agreed that the Q1-Q2 interconnection between the two quadrupole magnets would have to be opened for further investigation and repairs. To make a safe intervention possible, the sector around the magnets was emptied of liquid helium. In parallel, an electrical quality assessment showed that the electrical circuits of the triplet were fine – the problem was thus elsewhere.
Teams of experts from different CERN groups (safety, vacuum, cryogenics, magnets, engineering, powering, magnet protection, survey, beam instrumentation, operations) discussed how to tackle a problem that had never been encountered before on a 15-year-old string of magnets and established a procedure on the spot.
 Monday, 24 July: OPENING THE TRIPLETS 
The whole triplet cryostat reached room temperature. The external bellows and inner thermal shields at the Q1-Q2 interconnection were removed so that the inner helium lines could be inspected.
 Monday 24 July: GOTCHA!
The leaking bellows in the M2 pipe.
 Monday, 24 July, afternoon: SMALL BUT MIGHTY
The teams located the M2 bellows that were suspected to be at the root of the problem and, indeed, found that there was a 1.6-mm-long crack on it, which was the source of the helium leak. An action plan was put in place: remove the broken bellows, replace them, do all the necessary tests, close up again and start the cooldown… 

…all in under 10 days. Otherwise, a complete warm-up of the affected LHC sector could not be avoided, and this would put an end to the whole LHC physics programme for 2023.
​​​​​Tuesday, 25 July: WORKING THE BELLOWS
While the broken bellows were cut out, the vacuum team conducted pressure and leak tests on spare bellows to test their resilience and provide a replacement unit for the tunnel repair.
 Thursday, 27 July: TEAMWORK...
Experts led by Sandrine Le Naour and Said Atieh discussed the possible repair solutions on site.   
 ...MAKES THE DREAM WORK
The new bellows were installed. On the far left: threading the instrumentation through the new bellows. In the middle: many hands make light work! On the right: skilled welders do their magic.
 ILLUMINATED
Graeme Barlow looking at the open interconnection, with the various pipes inside visible. The M lines allow the helium to be transported between magnets (M1 contains the busbar for the electrical connection, M2 contains the instrumentation connections, and M4 has a cryogenic function). In the middle sits the beampipe where the particles circulate. The M2 bellows are just visible between the M1 and the beampipe.
 THE REPAIR ZONE
 NEXT STEPS
The vacuum and mechanical teams discussed the action plan while the repairs were in progress.
 WORK IN PROGRESS
Two teams were often at work at the same time: on the left, reinstalling beam position monitor (BPM) cables, on the right, starting the leak test on the new bellows.
 LEAKPROOF
The vacuum team installing the leak-test tooling.
 Graeme Barlow of the vacuum team installing the leak-test machine with Paul Cruikshank.
 Paul Cruikshank, leader of the LHC vacuum intervention, together with his team, starting the leak test on the newly installed bellows.
 RECONNECT
During the opening of the Q1-Q2 interconnection, the beam position monitoring (BPM) cables had to be removed. Here, the cable reinstallation is under way.
 The reinstalled bellows required several new welds. Each required a dedicated leak test to avoid any bad surprises once the interconnection was reclosed.
Sandrine Le Naour (far right) assessing the progress. She coordinated the mechanical interventions to open the magnet interconnections and then had to prepare the careful reclosure. 
 Paul Cruikshank with the vacuum team and expert welder Didier Lombard. On the right, a close-up view of a clamshell-leak testing tool (a technology developed at CERN to leak-test the entire LHC during its installation) used by the team to leak-testnew welds. This CERN innovation (also used by industry today) enables the vacuum quality of a tube to be checked from the outside, which is a great advantage when the objects to be tested are very long and difficult to remove: something that is very typical in the 27-km-long LHC vacuum systems.
 FINAL LEAK TEST UNDER WAY...
Wim Maan and Marcel Knoch checking the tightness of the final weld.
 FULLY REPAIRED
The M2 bellows fully repaired. The bellows are surrounded by external shells to support and guide them when the helium is pressurised during different operational phases of the LHC.
 TEAM SUCCESS!
The bellows were repaired and the leak test was successfully completedwithin the ten day deadline. Although there’s still plenty to do to reclose the interconnection, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight! After the teams have repumped the vacuum and cooled down the magnets, the LHC can restart.
The LHC operations team is confident of seeing the first beam back in early September.
​​​​​

For more information on this story, watch a video interview with Paul Cruikshank, one of the coordinators of the repair operation:

ndinmore Tue, 08/08/2023 - 16:53 Publication Date Fri, 08/11/2023 - 10:04

The LHC leak repair: a short photostory

At 1 a.m. on Monday, 17 July, the LHC beams were dumped due to an electrical perturbation. Approximately 300 milliseconds later, several magnets lost their superconducting state (“quenched”). During a quench, the magnet warms up, which in turn warms and pressurizes the liquid helium that surrounds it.

While not common, this sequence of events is expected to happen to protect the superconducting cable of the magnet when an electrical glitch occurs; the mechanical stress exerted on different parts of the magnet can be quite strong. 

Among the magnets that quenched on 17 July were the inner triplet magnets located to the left of Point 8 of the LHC, which play a crucial role in focusing the beams for the LHCb experiment. Unfortunately, this time, the quenches led to a helium leak in these magnets and stopped regular LHC operations.

Scroll through the photo diary below to re-live the ten day race against the clock to successfully repair the leak.

 

Monday 17 July, 1 a.m.: ROOT CAUSE
The reason for the electrical glitch that caused the security systems in the LHC to dump the beam and several magnets to quench was found: a tree on the Swiss side (about 55 km from CERN in the Canton of Vaud) fell on the power lines and perturbed the power system.
 Monday 17 July, 11 a.m.: A CHILLING DISCOVERY
Ten hours later, on entering the tunnel, the investigating team found that the cryostats* of the triplet magnets near Point 8 were partly covered in ice. Tests quickly confirmed that a small amount of helium had escaped through a leak and filled the insulation vacuum.
Action was taken immediately: the adjacent magnets were electrically isolated, circuits were locked-off and grounded, and the quench heaters for this sector switched off. Additionally, to be able to work on the triplet, the 3 km of superconducting magnets in the affected sector were stabilised at a temperature of 20 K, instead of their usual 2 K (-271°C).

*All LHC superconducting magnets are housed in cryostats. Under normal operation the external wall of the cryostat is at room temperature, whilst the magnet operates at 2 K. The cryostat is designed to maintain the magnet at such a low temperature by minimising in-flow of heat – and insulation vacuum is essential to achieve that. ​​​​​
​​​Tuesday 18 July - Wednesday 19 July: LOOKING FOR THE LEAK
The exact position of the helium leak in the 50 m long cryostat was still unknown. By Tuesday 18 July, vibration and acoustic tests had been performed. Attaching accelerometers and microphones, the intervening team detected a clear signal at the interconnection zone between the first quadrupole magnet (Q1) and the second quadrupole magnet (Q2). Additional x-ray scans showed that the spacing of the bellows ridges on one of the pipes in the superconducting magnets appeared stretched. Bellows are employed in the physical connections between two magnets, giving flexibility. In this case the stretched bellows was on the M2 pipe, which contains the instrumentation connections.
 Thursday 20 July - Sunday 23 July: PREPARING TO OPEN
The intervening teams agreed that the Q1-Q2 interconnection between the two quadrupole magnets would have to be opened for further investigation and repairs. To make a safe intervention possible, the sector around the magnets was emptied of the liquid helium. In parallel, an electrical quality assessment showed that the electrical circuits of the triplet were fine – the problem was thus elsewhere.
Teams of experts from different CERN groups (safety, vacuum, cryogenics, magnets, engineering, powering, magnet protection, survey, beam instrumentation, operations) discussed how to tackle a problem never encountered before on a 15-year-old string of magnets, creating a procedure on the spot.
 Monday 24 July: OPENING THE TRIPLETS 
The whole triplet cryostat reached room temperature. The external bellows and inner thermal shields at the Q1-Q2 interconnection were removed to inspect the inner helium lines.
 Monday 24 July: GOTCHA!
The leaky bellows in the M2 pipe.
 Monday 24 July, afternoon: SMALL BUT MIGHTY
The teams located the suspicious M2 bellows and indeed, there was a crack on it: with a length of 1.6 mm, it was the source of the helium leak. An action plan was put into place: remove the broken bellows, replace it, go through all necessary tests, close again and start the cool down… 

…all in under 10 days. Otherwise, a complete warm-up of the affected LHC sector could not be prevented, and this would stop the whole LHC physics programme for 2023.
​​​​​Tuesday 25 July: WORKING THE BELLOWS
While the broken bellows was cut out, the vacuum team conducted pressure and leak tests on spare bellows to test their resilience and provide a replacement unit for the tunnel repair.
 Thursday 27 July: TEAMWORK...
Experts led by Sandrine Le Naour and Said Atieh discussed the possible repair solutions on site.  
 ...MAKES THE DREAM WORK
The new bellows was installed. On the far left: threading the instrumentation through the new bellow. In the middle: many hands make light work! On the right: skilled welders do their magic.
 ILLUMINATED
Graeme Barlow looking at the open interconnection, with the various pipes inside visible. The M lines allow the helium to be transported between magnets (M1 contains the busbar for electrical connection, M2 contains the instrumentation connections, and M4 has a cryogenic function). In the middle sits the beampipe where the particles circulate. The M2 bellows is just visible between the M1 and the beampipe.
 THE REPAIR ZONE
 NEXT STEPS
The vacuum and mechanical teams discussed the action plan during ongoing repairs.
 WORK IN PROGRESS
Often, two teams were at work at the same time: on the left, reinstalling beam position monitor (BPM) cables, on the right, starting the leak test on the new bellows.
 LEAKPROOF
The vacuum team installing the leak test tooling.
 Graeme Barlow of the vacuum team installing the leak test machine with Paul Cruikshank.
 Paul Cruikshank, leading the LHC vacuum intervention, together with his team, starting the leak test on the newly installed bellows.
 RECONNECT
During the opening of the Q1-Q2 interconnection, the beam position monitoring (BPM) cables had to be removed. Here, the cable reinstallation is ongoing.
 The reinstalled bellows required several new welds. Each required a dedicated leak test to avoid any leak surprises once the interconnection was reclosed.
Sandrine Le Naour (far right) assessing the progress. She coordinated the mechanical interventions to open the magnet interconnections and then had to prepare the careful reclosure. 
 Paul Cruikshank with the vacuum team and expert welder Didier Lombard. On the right, a closeup view of a clam shell leak testing tool (technology developed at CERN to leak test the entire LHC during its installation) used by his team once more for leak testing of new welds. This CERN-born innovation (also used by industry today) enables checking the vacuum quality of a tube from the outside, which is a great advantage when the objects to test are very long and difficult to evacuate, very typical in the 27 km long LHC vacuum systems.
 FINAL LEAK TEST UNDERWAY...
Wim Maan and Marcel Knoch checking the tightness of the final weld.
 FULLY REPAIRED
M2 bellows fully repaired. The bellows is surrounded by external shells to support and guide it when the helium is pressurised during different operational phases of the LHC.
 TEAM SUCCESS!
The bellows is repaired and the leak test was successful within the ten day deadline. Although there’s still plenty to do to reclose the interconnection, the light at end of the tunnel is in sight! After the teams repump the vacuum and cool down the magnets, the LHC can restart.
The LHC operations team is confident to see the first beam back in early September.
  ndinmore Tue, 08/08/2023 - 16:53 Publication Date Fri, 08/11/2023 - 10:04

Bright minds unite: 2023 CERN Webfest celebrates two winning projects and successful collaborations

Last week’s hackathon gave rise to five amazing projects, on which 19 bright young people from across CERN worked together to develop useful apps that support science, research and education. The ideas covered in the 2023 CERN Webfest included web applications that facilitate the research process, quiz-like educational games and useful upgrades to pre-existing apps.

The projects were carefully assessed by a panel of four distinguished judges, and two teams were named the winners. “All projects were fascinating and creative, so it was a hard call – especially the two winning projects, SciFeed and CERNbot, which were both exceptionally impressive and well executed,” says Alberto Di Meglio, the head of the Innovation section in the IT department and a jury member.

In only two days, participants had to come up with an idea for a project, assemble a team, describe the project’s purpose, identify its technical requirements and work towards developing a fully functioning app. “Having only 48 hours to finish a project forces you to come up with practical solutions quickly, which puts your problem-solving skills to the test,” says Angelo Petrellese, a member of CERNbot, one of the winning teams.

The hackathon not only offers participants the chance to develop their project ideas but also fosters networking and collaboration. More than 10 nationalities were represented in this year’s Webfest, with people from various cultural backgrounds coming together to create something unique, exchange knowledge and learn from each other.

The projects were judged based on their originality, level of technical sophistication and potential for positive social impact. The highest score for the technical solution went to CERNbot, which is an interactive mobile application game that allows you to handle CERN robots in augmented reality.

The other winning project, SciFeed, in addition to being very strong technically, was also rated highly for the educational value it provides for the wider community. SciFeed is an online platform that curates content to allow students and STEM enthusiasts to engage with the science of CERN. “I am genuinely grateful for the recognition our idea received from the judges. Winning will always be a cherished memory that we will share as a team but, more importantly, it will serve as a driving force, motivating us to delve deeper into our concept and explore its potential for further development,” says Viona Cafo, a SciFeed member.

If you are interested in finding out more about the other 2023 CERN Webfest projects, visit the Webfest website.

ndinmore Wed, 08/02/2023 - 09:39 Byline Marina Banjac Publication Date Wed, 08/02/2023 - 09:34

Bright minds unite: 2023 CERN Webfest celebrates two winning projects and successful collaborations

Last week’s hackathon gave rise to five amazing projects, on which 19 bright young people from across CERN worked together to develop useful apps that support science, research and education. The ideas covered in the 2023 CERN Webfest included web applications that facilitate the research process, quiz-like educational games and useful upgrades to pre-existing apps.

The projects were carefully assessed by a panel of four distinguished judges, and two teams were named the winners. “All projects were fascinating and creative, so it was a hard call – especially the two winning projects, SciFeed and CERNbot, which were both exceptionally impressive and well executed,” says Alberto Di Meglio, the head of the Innovation section in the IT department and a jury member.

In only two days, participants had to come up with an idea for a project, assemble a team, describe the project’s purpose, identify its technical requirements and work towards developing a fully functioning app. “Having only 48 hours to finish a project forces you to come up with practical solutions quickly, which puts your problem-solving skills to the test,” says Angelo Petrellese, a member of CERNbot, one of the winning teams.

The hackathon not only offers participants the chance to develop their project ideas but also fosters networking and collaboration. More than 10 nationalities were represented in this year’s Webfest, with people from various cultural backgrounds coming together to create something unique, exchange knowledge and learn from each other.

The projects were judged based on their originality, level of technical sophistication and potential for positive social impact. The highest score for the technical solution went to CERNbot, which is an interactive mobile application game that allows you to handle CERN robots in augmented reality.

The other winning project, SciFeed, in addition to being very strong technically, was also rated highly for the educational value it provides for the wider community. SciFeed is an online platform that curates content to allow students and STEM enthusiasts to engage with the science of CERN. “I am genuinely grateful for the recognition our idea received from the judges. Winning will always be a cherished memory that we will share as a team but, more importantly, it will serve as a driving force, motivating us to delve deeper into our concept and explore its potential for further development,” says Viona Cafo, a SciFeed member.

If you are interested in finding out more about the other 2023 CERN Webfest projects, visit the Webfest website.

ndinmore Wed, 08/02/2023 - 09:39 Byline Marina Banjac Publication Date Wed, 08/02/2023 - 09:34

Looking for sterile neutrinos in the CMS muon system The muon system of the CMS experiment (Image: CERN)

The CMS collaboration has recently presented new results in searches for long-lived heavy neutral leptons (HNLs). Also known as “sterile neutrinos”, HNLs are interesting hypothetical particles that could solve three major puzzles in particle physics: they could explain the smallness of neutrino masses via the so-called “see-saw” mechanism, they could explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe, and at the same time they could provide a candidate for dark matter. They are however very difficult to detect since they interact very weakly with known particles. The current analysis is an example of researchers having to use increasingly creative methods to detect particles that the detectors were not specifically designed to measure.

Most of the particles studied in the large LHC experiments have one thing in common: they are unstable and decay almost immediately after being produced. The products of these decays are usually electrons, muons, photons and hadrons - well-known particles that the big particle detectors were designed to observe and measure. Studies of the original short-lived particles are performed based on careful analysis of the observed decay products. Many of the flagship LHC results were obtained this way, from the Higgs boson decaying into photon pairs and four leptons to studies of the top quark and discoveries of new exotic hadrons.

The HNLs studied in this analysis require a different approach. They are neutral particles with comparatively long lifetimes that allow them to fly for metres undetected, before decaying somewhere in the detector. The analysis presented here focuses on cases where an HNL would appear after the decay of a W boson in a proton-proton collision, and would then itself decay somewhere in the muon system of the CMS detector.

The muon system constitutes the outermost part of CMS and was designed - as its name suggests - to detect muons. Muons produced in the LHC proton-proton collisions traverse the whole detector, leaving a trace in the inner tracking system and then another one in the muon system. Combining these two traces into the full muon track lets physicists identify muons and measure their properties. In the HNL search, a muon is replaced by a weakly interacting heavy particle that leaves no trace - until it decays. If it decays in the muon system it can produce a shower of particles clearly visible in the muon detectors. But - unlike a muon - it leaves no trace in the inner tracking detector, and no other activity in the muon system. This analysis is based on looking for “out-of-nowhere” clusters of tracks in the muon detectors.

The analysis started by selecting collision events with a reconstructed electron or muon from the decay of the W boson and an isolated cluster of traces in the muon system. Then, the analysis required the removal of cases where standard processes could imitate the HNL signal. After the full analysis, no excess of signal above expectation has been observed. As a result, a range of possible HNL parameters was excluded, setting the most stringent limits to date for HNLs with masses of 2-3 GeV.

Read more in the CMS publication here.

ndinmore Fri, 07/28/2023 - 16:24 Byline Piotr Traczyk Publication Date Fri, 07/28/2023 - 16:23

Looking for sterile neutrinos in the CMS muon system The muon system of the CMS experiment (Image: CERN)

The CMS collaboration has recently presented new results in searches for long-lived heavy neutral leptons (HNLs). Also known as “sterile neutrinos”, HNLs are interesting hypothetical particles that could solve three major puzzles in particle physics: they could explain the smallness of neutrino masses via the so-called “see-saw” mechanism, they could explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe, and at the same time they could provide a candidate for dark matter. They are however very difficult to detect since they interact very weakly with known particles. The current analysis is an example of researchers having to use increasingly creative methods to detect particles that the detectors were not specifically designed to measure.

Most of the particles studied in the large LHC experiments have one thing in common: they are unstable and decay almost immediately after being produced. The products of these decays are usually electrons, muons, photons and hadrons - well-known particles that the big particle detectors were designed to observe and measure. Studies of the original short-lived particles are performed based on careful analysis of the observed decay products. Many of the flagship LHC results were obtained this way, from the Higgs boson decaying into photon pairs and four leptons to studies of the top quark and discoveries of new exotic hadrons.

The HNLs studied in this analysis require a different approach. They are neutral particles with comparatively long lifetimes that allow them to fly for metres undetected, before decaying somewhere in the detector. The analysis presented here focuses on cases where an HNL would appear after the decay of a W boson in a proton-proton collision, and would then itself decay somewhere in the muon system of the CMS detector.

The muon system constitutes the outermost part of CMS and was designed - as its name suggests - to detect muons. Muons produced in the LHC proton-proton collisions traverse the whole detector, leaving a trace in the inner tracking system and then another one in the muon system. Combining these two traces into the full muon track lets physicists identify muons and measure their properties. In the HNL search, a muon is replaced by a weakly interacting heavy particle that leaves no trace - until it decays. If it decays in the muon system it can produce a shower of particles clearly visible in the muon detectors. But - unlike a muon - it leaves no trace in the inner tracking detector, and no other activity in the muon system. This analysis is based on looking for “out-of-nowhere” clusters of tracks in the muon detectors.

The analysis started by selecting collision events with a reconstructed electron or muon from the decay of the W boson and an isolated cluster of traces in the muon system. Then, the analysis required the removal of cases where standard processes could imitate the HNL signal. After the full analysis, no excess of signal above expectation has been observed. As a result, a range of possible HNL parameters was excluded, setting the most stringent limits to date for HNLs with masses of 2-3 GeV.

Read more in the CMS publication here.

ndinmore Fri, 07/28/2023 - 16:24 Byline Piotr Traczyk Publication Date Fri, 07/28/2023 - 16:23

CERN and NASA join forces to commit to a research future that is open and accessible for all

Participants at the first CERN–NASA open science conference (Image: CERN)

This year, 2023, has been declared the Year of Open Science. This is why, for the first time, over 100 open science practitioners and policy-makers gathered at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation from 10 to 14 July. Co-organised by CERN, Europe’s leading particle physics laboratory, and NASA, the USA’s largest scientific agency, it brought together experts to discuss and learn how scientific bodies can promote and accelerate the adoption of open science. Over 70 different institutes were represented from five different continents.

Open science is when institutes make their research freely available to other scientists and collaborators and, to some extent, the public. This encompasses sharing data from experiments, open-source hardware, open-source software and open infrastructure. It also involves a commitment to education and outreach. These should all be made available according to FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable – practices, leading to ease of collaboration, reproducibility of scientific results and efficient advancement of science.

In the context of the global challenges we face, it has never been a more appropriate time to push for a way of doing science that is more open and collaborative. “In late 2022, a small group got together and started thinking: CERN and NASA both have open science policies. What can we do to push open science forward and make a difference?” explains Chelle Gentemann, leader of NASA’s Transform to Open Science mission and conference co-chair. While NASA and CERN are both large scientific organisations with already-developed open science policies, many attendees of the conference came from institutes that are just beginning to bring these values to the forefront of their organisations. However, the summit offered an opportunity for all to learn from each other and harmonise open science practices across borders.

The conference itself consisted of daily talks, each focused on a different aspect of open science. Those plenary talks and panel discussions were broadcasted to 200 registered remote participants. Crucially, the afternoons were reserved for more hands-on workshops and for opportunities for representatives from different institutions to dive into how open science works in action, according to their own specific laws, limitations and sensitivities.

“We’re having conversations that many people here have not necessarily had before, and addressing issues that may not yet have been addressed,” says Kamran Naim, Head of Open Science at CERN and conference co-chair. “As an organisation, we believe we have an obligation to share what we have learned and our technologies like Zenodo across the scientific community, not because it’s the politically right thing to do for CERN, but because it’s the right thing to do for science.”

While the concept of open science is relatively new, the same values of openness and collaboration have been enshrined in the CERN Convention since its creation in 1953. “CERN is an example of the power of collaboration,” says Charlotte Warakaulle, CERN Director for International Relations. “We need to work together to promote open science. We hope this summit will serve to foster new links and new collaborations in support of open science.”

While it is the first of its kind, this summit marks the beginning of a work in progress: a new era where open, FAIR, efficient and collaborative science can be practised in the same way across borders and disciplines. The team hope to follow up with the participants in six months’ time to see how open science has been implemented in their institutes. “We hope that this conference offers the opportunity to engage and develop links in open science across diverse groups,” says Kevin Murphy, Chief Science Data Officer at NASA. “We need everyone to be able to transform to an open, equitable and transformative scientific future.”

 

Read more:

• CERN Open Science Portal
• “Accelerating the Adoption of Open Science” on Indico
• CERN Publishes Comprehensive Open Science Policy

ndinmore Fri, 07/28/2023 - 11:27 Byline Naomi Dinmore Publication Date Fri, 07/28/2023 - 11:20

CERN and NASA join forces to commit to a research future that is open and accessible for all

Participants at the first CERN–NASA open science conference (Image: CERN)

This year, 2023, has been declared the Year of Open Science. This is why, for the first time, over 100 open science practitioners and policy-makers gathered at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation from 10 to 14 July. Co-organised by CERN, Europe’s leading particle physics laboratory, and NASA, the USA’s largest scientific agency, it brought together experts to discuss and learn how scientific bodies can promote and accelerate the adoption of open science. Over 70 different institutes were represented from five different continents.

Open science is when institutes make their research freely available to other scientists and collaborators and, to some extent, the public. This encompasses sharing data from experiments, open-source hardware, open-source software and open infrastructure. It also involves a commitment to education and outreach. These should all be made available according to FAIR – findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable – practices, leading to ease of collaboration, reproducibility of scientific results and efficient advancement of science.

In the context of the global challenges we face, it has never been a more appropriate time to push for a way of doing science that is more open and collaborative. “In late 2022, a small group got together and started thinking: CERN and NASA both have open science policies. What can we do to push open science forward and make a difference?” explains Chelle Gentemann, leader of NASA’s Transform to Open Science mission and conference co-chair. While NASA and CERN are both large scientific organisations with already-developed open science policies, many attendees of the conference came from institutes that are just beginning to bring these values to the forefront of their organisations. However, the summit offered an opportunity for all to learn from each other and harmonise open science practices across borders.

The conference itself consisted of daily talks, each focused on a different aspect of open science. Those plenary talks and panel discussions were broadcasted to 200 registered remote participants. Crucially, the afternoons were reserved for more hands-on workshops and for opportunities for representatives from different institutions to dive into how open science works in action, according to their own specific laws, limitations and sensitivities.

“We’re having conversations that many people here have not necessarily had before, and addressing issues that may not yet have been addressed,” says Kamran Naim, Head of Open Science at CERN and conference co-chair. “As an organisation, we believe we have an obligation to share what we have learned and our technologies like Zenodo across the scientific community, not because it’s the politically right thing to do for CERN, but because it’s the right thing to do for science.”

While the concept of open science is relatively new, the same values of openness and collaboration have been enshrined in the CERN Convention since its creation in 1953. “CERN is an example of the power of collaboration,” says Charlotte Warakaulle, CERN Director for International Relations. “We need to work together to promote open science. We hope this summit will serve to foster new links and new collaborations in support of open science.”

While it is the first of its kind, this summit marks the beginning of a work in progress: a new era where open, FAIR, efficient and collaborative science can be practised in the same way across borders and disciplines. The team hope to follow up with the participants in six months’ time to see how open science has been implemented in their institutes. “We hope that this conference offers the opportunity to engage and develop links in open science across diverse groups,” says Kevin Murphy, Chief Science Data Officer at NASA. “We need everyone to be able to transform to an open, equitable and transformative scientific future.”

 

Read more:

• CERN Open Science Portal
• “Accelerating the Adoption of Open Science” on Indico
• CERN Publishes Comprehensive Open Science Policy

ndinmore Fri, 07/28/2023 - 11:27 Byline Naomi Dinmore Publication Date Fri, 07/28/2023 - 11:20

AWAKE introduces a stronger wave to accelerate particles

“Plasma wakefield acceleration is like surfing,” says Edda Gschwendtner, leader of the AWAKE accelerator R&D project at CERN.

AWAKE is all set to begin its second phase of data taking on 31 July – with a brand-new plasma source. While various future collider proposals aim to increase the size of an accelerator to increase the energy of the particles, AWAKE would help to figure out the opposite: how to shrink the size of a particle accelerator while still achieving higher energies, using a new way of accelerating particles.

“Imagine a boat on a lake and surfers waiting for a wave. The boat passes by the surfers and creates waves, the surfers jump on the wave and also get accelerated. We do the same in plasma wakefield acceleration. We have plasma (the lake) in which the beam (the boat) drives waves, and then we inject particles (surfers) on the waves to get accelerated,” explains Gschwendtner in her TEDxCERN talk.

A plasma wakefield is a type of wave generated by particles travelling through a plasma. AWAKE sends proton beams from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) through plasma cells to generate these fields. A second beam – the “witness” electron beam (the surfers) – is then accelerated by the wakefields, gaining up to several gigavolts of energy. Striving to demonstrate the benefits of plasma wakefield acceleration over conventional technologies such as radiofrequency cavities, AWAKE has implemented new plasma-source prototypes and approaches.  

AWAKE’s new rubidium vapour plasma source is 10 metres long, similar to that used in previous runs, but this time it introduces a density step that allows stronger wakefields to be obtained. This new plasma source is split into segments whose temperature can be controlled independently along its entire length.

AWAKE's new plasma source based on rubidium vapour introduces a density step that allows to get stronger wakefields. (Image: CERN)

The old plasma source was removed from the tunnel a few months ago to welcome the upgraded version, which was developed jointly by the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, Germany and Wright Design in the UK. This also offered a unique opportunity to test another prototype: the discharge plasma source, developed by IST-Lisbon in Portugal and the Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings group at CERN. The discharge plasma source is a potential candidate for AWAKE’s operation after CERN’s third long shutdown. It has the potential to be scaled up beyond 10 metres to achieve multi-stage acceleration like in conventional accelerators, while remaining considerably shorter overall.

“The longer the plasma source, the higher the energy of the witness beam would be,” says Alban Sublet, an applied physicist in the Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings group, on the advantage of a scalable plasma source. “We managed to perform a variety of measurements during the test with the discharge plasma source, for example we investigated how different gases such as helium or xenon, different gas pressures and different plasma lengths affect the proton beam and the wakefields.”

Both the rubidium vapour source and the discharge plasma source aim to achieve the same properties of the plasma but in different ways: by laser ionisation for the rubidium source and by pulsed direct current (DC) discharge in different gases for the discharge plasma source. Thanks to its clear scientific roadmap, AWAKE has already come a long way and is looking ahead to its first particle physics applications for the next decade.

“The AWAKE experiment started in 2016 and the first two years were proof of concept. We managed to show that indeed we can use the proton beam from the SPS to drive the wakefield in a 10-metre-long plasma source. We also managed to accelerate electrons already to a very high energy. We were very happy about that,” says Gschwendtner. “Now we are moving on to the next phase in the experiment, in which we want to demonstrate that we can accelerate electrons to high energies and control the beam quality. This is very important because this is what we need for a real accelerator for particle physics applications.”

Watch CERN's latest Youtube video to find out more about AWAKE. 

ckrishna Thu, 07/27/2023 - 15:24 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Thu, 07/27/2023 - 16:00

AWAKE introduces a stronger wave to accelerate particles

“Plasma wakefield acceleration is like surfing,” says Edda Gschwendtner, leader of the AWAKE accelerator R&D project at CERN.

AWAKE is all set to begin its second phase of data taking on 31 July – with a brand-new plasma source. While various future collider proposals aim to increase the size of an accelerator to increase the energy of the particles, AWAKE would help to figure out the opposite: how to shrink the size of a particle accelerator while still achieving higher energies, using a new way of accelerating particles.

“Imagine a boat on a lake and surfers waiting for a wave. The boat passes by the surfers and creates waves, the surfers jump on the wave and also get accelerated. We do the same in plasma wakefield acceleration. We have plasma (the lake) in which the beam (the boat) drives waves, and then we inject particles (surfers) on the waves to get accelerated,” explains Gschwendtner in her TEDxCERN talk.

A plasma wakefield is a type of wave generated by particles travelling through a plasma. AWAKE sends proton beams from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) through plasma cells to generate these fields. A second beam – the “witness” electron beam (the surfers) – is then accelerated by the wakefields, gaining up to several gigavolts of energy. Striving to demonstrate the benefits of plasma wakefield acceleration over conventional technologies such as radiofrequency cavities, AWAKE has implemented new plasma-source prototypes and approaches.  

AWAKE’s new rubidium vapour plasma source is 10 metres long, similar to that used in previous runs, but this time it introduces a density step that allows stronger wakefields to be obtained. This new plasma source is split into segments whose temperature can be controlled independently along the entire length of the source.

AWAKE's new plasma source based on rubidium vapour introduces a density step that allows to get stronger wakefields. (Image: CERN)

The old plasma source was removed from the tunnel a few months ago to welcome the upgraded version, which was developed jointly by the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Germany and Wright Design in the UK. This also offered a unique opportunity to test another prototype: the discharge plasma source, developed by IST-Lisbon in Portugal and the Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings group at CERN. The discharge plasma source is a potential candidate for AWAKE’s operation after CERN’s third long shutdown. It has the potential to be scaled up beyond 10 metres, but would not need to be on the tens-of-kilometre scale required by conventional accelerator technologies.

“The longer the plasma source, the higher the energy of the witness beam would be,” says Alban Sublet, an applied physicist in the Vacuum, Surfaces and Coatings group, on the advantage of a scalable plasma source. “We managed to perform a variety of measurements during the test with the discharge plasma source, for example we investigated how different gases such as helium or xenon, different gas pressures and different plasma lengths affect the proton beam and the wakefields.”

Both the rubidium vapour source and the discharge plasma source aim to achieve the same properties of the plasma but in different ways: by laser ionisation for the rubidium source and by pulsed direct current (DC) discharge in different gases for the discharge plasma source. Thanks to its clear scientific roadmap, AWAKE has already come a long way and is looking ahead to its first particle physics applications for the next decade.

“The AWAKE experiment started in 2016 and the first two years were proof of concept. We managed to show that indeed we can use the proton beam from the SPS to drive the wakefield in a 10-metre-long plasma source. We also managed to accelerate electrons already to a very high energy. We were very happy about that,” says Gschwendtner. “Now we are moving on to the next phase in the experiment, in which we want to demonstrate that we can accelerate electrons to high energies and control the beam quality. This is very important because this is what we need for a real accelerator.”

Watch CERN's latest Youtube video to find out more about AWAKE. 

ckrishna Thu, 07/27/2023 - 15:24 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Thu, 07/27/2023 - 16:00

IUPAP holds the 8th edition of the International Conference on Women in Physics

The global scientific union dedicated to physics, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), holds the International Conference on Women in Physics every three years. This year, the 8th edition was organised by India as the host country, in the form of a virtual event organised by the Gender in Physics working group of the Indian Physics Association and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

The conference brings together men and women from around the world with a mandate to monitor the situation of women in physics in their countries and suggest means to increase gender diversity and inclusion in the practice of physics. The Conference Proceedings available online become a key source of statistics and good practice worldwide. This year, over 500 participants from 70 countries attended. The conference underlined the role of physics education and issues of access and equity in the classroom and assessed practices in physics through an intersectionality lens. Some resolutions also came out of this year’s edition.

“A key resolution that was made was to maintain a gender balance in decision-making bodies. Countries like Thailand and Myanmar are known to have more women in science than men according to the latest UN report and it would certainly be interesting to explore the practices in these countries,” say Vandana Nanal and Srubabti Goswani from the Gender in Physics working group, the co-organisers of this year’s conference.

Over the years, CERN and IUPAP have forged a long-standing partnership. Recently, CERN became a corporate associate member of IUPAP.

The Women in Physics (WIP) working group was founded in 1999 to survey the situation of women in physics, report to the IUPAP Council and Liaison Committees and suggest recommendations for improvements.

“Initially, the IUPAP WIP working group had members from just three continents but today all the geographical continents are represented to embrace a broader cultural spectrum and a rich scope of collaboration,” says Lilia Meza Montes, Vice-Chair of the WIP working group. “The working group has created bonds with unions from different disciplines, giving rise to multidisciplinary worldwide actions such as the project, A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences.”

At CERN, the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programme is also working towards a “25 by ’25” goal to boost the nationality and gender diversity of the staff and fellows population over the next five years. D&I reports a 7.5% increase in female employees in the five years from 2018 to 2022. The progression is even greater for roles in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), with an increase from 15.5% of women in STEM roles in 2018 to 23.3% in 2022.

IUPAP celebrated its centennial last year and continues to develop and to expand its global reach with other initiatives beyond WIP. IUPAP was the driving force behind the proclamation of the International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) by the United Nations. CERN Science Gateway, a new flagship project for science education and outreach opening this year, expects to host the IYBSSD closing ceremony to conclude the year celebrating basic sciences from all disciplines.

Watch the video to find out more about IUPAP and its mission.

 

 

ckrishna Mon, 07/24/2023 - 09:34 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Mon, 07/24/2023 - 11:00

IUPAP holds the 8th edition of the International Conference on Women in Physics

The global scientific union dedicated to physics, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), holds the International Conference on Women in Physics every three years. This year, the 8th edition was organised by India as the host country, in the form of a virtual event organised by the Gender in Physics working group of the Indian Physics Association and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

The conference brings together men and women from around the world with a mandate to monitor the situation of women in physics in their countries and suggest means to increase gender diversity and inclusion in the practice of physics. The Conference Proceedings available online become a key source of statistics and good practice worldwide. This year, over 500 participants from 70 countries attended. The conference underlined the role of physics education and issues of access and equity in the classroom and assessed practices in physics through an intersectionality lens. Some resolutions also came out of this year’s edition.

“A key resolution that was made was to maintain a gender balance in decision-making bodies. Countries like Thailand and Myanmar are known to have more women in science than men according to the latest UN report and it would certainly be interesting to explore the practices in these countries,” say Vandana Nanal and Srubabti Goswani from the Gender in Physics working group, the co-organisers of this year’s conference.

Over the years, CERN and IUPAP have forged a long-standing partnership. Recently, CERN became a corporate associate member of IUPAP.

The Women in Physics (WIP) working group was founded in 1999 to survey the situation of women in physics, report to the IUPAP Council and Liaison Committees and suggest recommendations for improvements.

“Initially, the IUPAP WIP working group had members from just three continents but today all the geographical continents are represented to embrace a broader cultural spectrum and a rich scope of collaboration,” says Lilia Meza Montes, Vice-Chair of the WIP working group. “The working group has created bonds with unions from different disciplines, giving rise to multidisciplinary worldwide actions such as the project, A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical, Computing, and Natural Sciences.”

At CERN, the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programme is also working towards a “25 by ’25” goal to boost the nationality and gender diversity of the staff and fellows population over the next five years. D&I reports a 7.5% increase in female employees in the five years from 2018 to 2022. The progression is even greater for roles in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), with an increase from 15.5% of women in STEM roles in 2018 to 23.3% in 2022.

IUPAP celebrated its centennial last year and continues to develop and to expand its global reach with other initiatives beyond WIP. IUPAP was the driving force behind the proclamation of the International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development (IYBSSD) by the United Nations. CERN Science Gateway, a new flagship project for science education and outreach opening this year, expects to host the IYBSSD closing ceremony to conclude the year celebrating basic sciences from all disciplines.

Watch the video to find out more about IUPAP and its mission.

 

 

ckrishna Mon, 07/24/2023 - 09:34 Byline Chetna Krishna Publication Date Mon, 07/24/2023 - 11:00