International Linear Collider
The International Linear Collider (ILC ) is a currently in- planning phase linear accelerator for elementary particles. However, it is not yet clear whether the money will be available. As the site Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan which is preferred. It will collide electrons with positrons planned center of mass energies of about 500 to 1000 GeV. Discussed is also the opportunity to start with a low energy and to increase this by an extension of the accelerator later. The highest energy of such collisions was previously at 209 GeV at LEP.
Parallel studies on the feasibility of the linear accelerator Compact Linear Collider ( CLIC ) are carried out at CERN, which is based on a different technology. This would be the same length allow a higher center of mass energy, but requires more development work than the ILC.
The accelerator
Unlike ring accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider ( LHC) accelerated particles can be used only once, so it must constantly new particles are accelerated. For this purpose, initially every 200 ms released a total of 1312 groups of electrons ( " Bunches " ) from a photocathode. These are accelerated to 5 GeV and arrive in a storage ring ( " Damping Ring" ) in which they are compressed within 200 ms. This is necessary to achieve the intended high collision rate. Subsequently, the electrons are conducted to an end of the long accelerator tunnel and then accelerated in the direction of the collision point.
After the acceleration section, the electrons are passed through an undulator, relying gamma radiation free. This will take you to a titanium plate, where generated via pair production positrons and electrons. The positrons are also fed into a storage ring and compacted within 200 ms. They are then guided to the other end of the accelerator tunnel and accelerates from there. You can reach the collision point 200 ms after the electron with which they were created - so they take on the electrons of the next cycle.
Between the acceleration sections and the collision point are each one built for electrons and positrons 2.2 km long "beam delivery system " that compresses the bunches to a length of 0.3 mm, a width of 700 nm and a height of 6 nm.
The accelerator tunnel, the main part of ILCs, should be longer than the times of the linear accelerator SLAC in California having a length of up to about 31 km more than ten. With the completion is not expected before 2019. The superconducting technology for the accelerator is already being tested in the free-electron laser FLASH at DESY in Hamburg and will find use in the XFEL X-ray laser European project.
It is planned to equip the ILC with two detectors. Since the particle beams collide at one point only, the detectors will be displaced laterally and can thus alternated with the measurements.
Research objectives
According to the representative of the International Linear Collider, DESY is to complete the discoveries of the LHC.
Thus, since elementary particles are accelerated in the ILC leptons, compared to the LHC energy is much more precise adjustable, so more detailed studies of the particle are possible. A disadvantage of the achievable energy is lower. In contrast to the LHC, the focus of the scientific program, therefore, should not be in the discovery of new heavy particles, but in precision measurements of the properties already found particles. In particular, are to be produced at an electron- positron collider at the ILC for the first time the top quark and Higgs bosons. Thus, their interactions with other particles could be determined much more accurately than at the LHC. The objectives of the ILC but also includes the search for undiscovered and unseen for the LHC particle.