Physics Today, Aug. 2, 2024
Fermilab has twin laboratories that will probe superconducting qubits: QUIET is a new detector 100 meters underground and its counterpart is on the surface called LOUD, which began operations in 2022. The differences between the two detectors’ observations will allow researchers to assess how cosmic radiation affects qubit performance.
The new state-of-the-art QUIET laboratory will study the performance of qubits isolated from cosmic radiation. Its above ground counterpart is LOUD and together they will enable controlled experiments of quantum sensors.
Large, powerful magnets are a vital component of particle accelerators. The general rule is, the stronger the magnetic field, the better. For many particle accelerator applications, it is as important how fast a magnet can reach its peak strength and then ramp down again. A team at Fermilab now has achieved the world’s fastest ramping rates for accelerator magnets using high-temperature superconductors.
Fermilab signed three international arrangements in June with the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, known as INFN. The three arrangements are related to Fermilab’s Short Baseline Neutrino Program, the PIP-II particle accelerator and the EuPRAXIA advanced accelerator project.
Quantum bits acting as particle detectors offer a fast and highly reliable means of solving one of the great mysteries in physics: the nature of dark matter. This new method promises a more efficient way to detect dark matter candidates by improving the experimental signal-to-noise ratio.
Fermilab gives a sendoff to the final superconducting component for the LCLS-II particle accelerator at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. LCLS-II will be the world’s brightest and fastest X-ray laser. A partnership of particle accelerator technology, materials science, cryogenics and energy science, LCLS-II exemplifies cross-disciplinary collaboration across DOE national laboratories.
From Mirage, March 15, 2021: Sam Posen, scientist and deputy division head at Fermi and affiliate at CBB is included this story on creating more environmentally friendly accelerators for the future.
A Fermilab team has completed tests for a crucial superconducting segment for the PIP-II particle accelerator, the future heart of the Fermilab accelerator chain. The segment, called a cryomodule, will be one of many, but this is the first to be fully designed, assembled and tested at Fermilab. It represents a journey of technical challenges and opportunities for innovation in superconducting accelerator technology.
From Berkeley Lab, Feb. 17, 2021: Fermilab is part of a team of national labs that designed, built and fully tested a prototype magnet for today’s and tomorrow’s light sources. These light sources let scientists see things once thought impossible. They can use these visions to create more durable materials, build more efficient batteries and computers, and learn more about the natural world.
After more than 15 years of work, scientists at three DOE national laboratories have succeeded in creating and testing an advanced, more powerful superconducting magnet made of a niobium-tin compound for use in the next generation of light sources.