Exploring the Mysteries of the Proton in the LHC

In summary: I'm not up on the high energy anti-proton/proton interactions, but I would imagine they are different than proton-proton.
  • #1
Nick.M
8
0
Hi
why scientists picked up proton for LHC?
 
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  • #2
It's charged which means it can be accelerated across an electric potential and deflected by a magnetic field, unlike a neutron which is neutral.

It is a baryon, as opposed to a lepton.

It is easier to get it up to TeV than say a deuteron, He-3, He-4, . . . nuclei. There are experiments with accelerated nuclei.

It's relatively simple - a single particle. Multinucleon nuclei would produce many different types of reactions, and comparatively a proton-proton collision is pretty clean.
 
  • #3
I expect accelerating protons to be easier than accelerating antiprotons, but I don't really know the technical reasons. Is it because of the vacuum requirements, or is it because a "clean beam" is more difficult ? And what about the physics : is there a difference between proton-proton and proton-antiproton collision above the TeV ?
 
  • #4
Accelerating antiprotons is no harder than accelerating protons (it's actually incrementally easier). The issue is that you have to make the antiprotons: the Tevatron luminosity is already limited by antiproton production. This shortage of pbars would be even more acute at the LHC.
 
  • #5
I believe accelerating anti-protons is the same as protons, however there is ready access to protons, but anti-protons have to be made by proton-proton collisions then separated from the protons.

I'm not up on the high energy anti-proton/proton interactions, but I would imagine they are different than proton-proton.
I think the number of charged particles coming of an proton-antiproton interaction is greater than for a proton-proton interacting at the same energies - http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~rfield/cdf/chgjet/chgjet_intro.html

Some interesting papers here - http://hep-www.px.tsukuba.ac.jp/research/thesis_d.html [Broken]

The single proton has the highest charge to mass ratio when compared to composite particles of nucleon, i.e. deuteron, triton and atomic nuclei of the other elements.

This might be of interest - http://www-bd.fnal.gov/public/antiproton.html [Broken]

and this - Search for Electroweak Single Top Quark Production
http://www-cdf.fnal.gov/thesis/cdf8013_thesis_berndstelzer.pdf
 
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  • #6
Thanks Vanadium and Astro for your answers.
Vanadium 50 said:
Accelerating antiprotons is no harder than accelerating protons (it's actually incrementally easier).
Is accelerating antiproton incrementally easier because of free electrons in the cavities, or for some other reasons ? For the remainder of the technical difficulties, I gather that only the production is more challenging, especially if you are interested in luminosity.

The links above indeed state that at a few TeV, there is no more difference in [itex]pp[/itex] and [itex]p\bar{p}[/itex]. I would be extremely interested in the very rare events where the 3 quarks annihilate each other. But independantly of whether BH will be produced, this (say for instance) [itex]p\bar{p}\rightarrow\gamma\gamma[/itex] would be impossible to see, and probably dominated by FFs anyways...
 
  • #7
humanino said:
Thanks Vanadium and Astro for your answers.Is accelerating antiproton incrementally easier because of free electrons in the cavities, or for some other reasons ?

It's because the emittance - essentially, the size of the beam - is smaller for antiprotons than for protons. Antiprotons sit in an accumulator for ~24 hours, continually being cooled, but protons come out of a bottle. So you have better initial beam quality for the antiprotons, and that is (like I said, incrementally) helpful.
 
  • #8
Vanadium 50 said:
It's because the emittance - essentially, the size of the beam - is smaller for antiprotons than for protons. Antiprotons sit in an accumulator for ~24 hours, continually being cooled, but protons come out of a bottle. So you have better initial beam quality for the antiprotons, and that is (like I said, incrementally) helpful.
Ah, I see what you meant, thank you for the precision. However, nothing in principle (except cost of course) prevents you from doing the same with protons !
 
  • #9
humanino said:
However, nothing in principle (except cost of course) prevents you from doing the same with protons !

That's right, it doesn't have to be that way. It just is.
 
  • #10
Thanks for all of your answers
Astronuc said:
and comparatively a proton-proton collision is pretty clean.
Why other collisions are not pretty clean?
 

1. What is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and why is it important in studying protons?

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator. It is located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland and it was built to study the fundamental building blocks of matter and the forces that govern them. The LHC is important in studying protons because it allows scientists to accelerate protons to incredibly high energies and collide them together, providing insights into the mysteries of the proton.

2. How does the LHC study protons?

The LHC uses powerful magnets to accelerate protons to nearly the speed of light. These protons are then directed to collide with each other in designated areas within the collider. The collisions release an enormous amount of energy, which allows scientists to study the resulting particles and their interactions. By analyzing the data from these collisions, scientists can gain a better understanding of the internal structure and behavior of protons.

3. What are some of the mysteries surrounding protons that the LHC is helping to unravel?

One of the main mysteries surrounding protons is the origin of their mass. According to the Standard Model of particle physics, protons should be massless, but they actually have a significant amount of mass. The LHC is helping to investigate this mystery by studying the Higgs boson, a particle believed to give mass to other particles. The LHC is also studying the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for holding protons together in the nucleus of an atom.

4. What are some potential practical applications of studying protons in the LHC?

While the primary goal of the LHC is to advance our understanding of the universe, the knowledge gained from studying protons could also have practical applications. For example, the technology developed for the LHC, such as advanced computing and data analysis techniques, could be used in other fields such as medicine and engineering. Additionally, the LHC may help us better understand the behavior of protons in extreme conditions, which could have implications for future energy production and storage technologies.

5. Are there any potential risks associated with the experiments conducted in the LHC?

The LHC has undergone extensive safety reviews and has been deemed safe by the scientific community. The energy levels and collisions produced in the LHC are similar to those that occur naturally in space, and the collider has multiple safety systems in place to prevent any potential hazards. Additionally, all experiments conducted in the LHC undergo rigorous ethical and safety evaluations before being approved.

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