This is a list of past and current experiments at the
CERN Super Proton Synchrotron
The Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is a particle accelerator of the synchrotron type at CERN. It is housed in a circular tunnel, in circumference, straddling the border of France and Switzerland near Geneva, Switzerland.
History
The SPS was d ...
(SPS) facility since its commissioning in 1976. The SPS was used as the main
particle collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
for many experiments, and has been adapted to various purpose ever since its inception. Four locations were used for experiments, the ''North Area'' (NA experiments), ''West Area'' (WA experiments), ''Underground Area'' (UA experiments), and the ''Endcap MUon'' detectors (EMU experiments).
The
UA1
The UA1 experiment (an abbreviation of Underground Area 1) was a high-energy physics experiment that ran at CERN's Proton-Antiproton Collider (SpS), a modification of the one-beam Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The data was recorded between 1 ...
and
UA2 experiments famously detected the
W and Z bosons
In particle physics, the W and Z bosons are vector bosons that are together known as the weak bosons or more generally as the intermediate vector bosons. These elementary particles mediate the weak interaction; the respective symbols are , , and ...
in the early 1980s. Following this,
Carlo Rubbia
Carlo Rubbia (born 31 March 1934) is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.
Early life and educat ...
and
Simon van der Meer
Simon van der Meer (24 November 19254 March 2011) was a Dutch particle accelerator physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Carlo Rubbia for contributions to the CERN project which led to the discovery of the W and Z part ...
won the
1984 Nobel Prize in Physics.
[
]
The list is first compiled from the
INSPIRE-HEP database, then missing information is retrieved from the online version CERN's ''Grey Book''. The most specific information of the two is kept, ''e.g.'' if the INSPIRE database lists ''November 1974'', while the ''Grey Book'' lists ''22 November 1974'', the ''Grey Book'' entry is shown. When there is a conflict between the INSPIRE database and the ''Grey Book'', the INSPIRE database information is listed, unless otherwise noted.
EMU experiments
''EMU = endcap muon''
NA experiments
''NA = north area''
UA experiments
''UA = underground area''
WA experiments
''WA = west area''
See also
;Experiments:
*
List of CERN experiments
*
List of Large Hadron Collider experiments
This is a list of experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC is the most energetic particle collider in the world, and is used to test the accuracy of the Standard Model, and to look for physics beyond the Standard Model such as s ...
;Facilities:
*
CERN: European Organization for Nuclear Research
**
PS: Proton Synchrotron
**
SPS: Super Proton Synchrotron
**
ISOLDE: On-Line Isotope Mass Separator
**
ISR
ISR may refer to:
Organizations
* Institute for Strategy and Reconciliation, a think tank, relief and development organization
* Institutional and Scientific Relations, a Directorate of the European Commission
* International Star Registry, a com ...
: Intersecting Storage Rings
**
LEP: Large Electron–Positron Collider
**
LHC
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and highest-energy particle collider. It was built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1998 and 2008 in collaboration with over 10,000 scientists and hundr ...
: Large Hadron Collider
**
AD: Antiproton Decelerator
References
*
*
External links
CERN websiteCERN Grey BookINSPIRE-HEP database
*
{{CERN
SPS
Particle experiments