Mar Capeáns, new director of CERN: “It is terrifying that we only know 5% of the universe” | Science | EUROtoday

Mar Capeáns, physician in Physics born in Santiago de Compostela 58 years in the past, is the brand new director of Operations of the biggest particle physics laboratory, the European Cern. Her principal activity on this new place will likely be that “everything works great,” as she summarizes. This is a superb problem in terms of an establishment that brings collectively 20,000 scientists from 110 nations, together with staunch enemies as Israel (which funds it), Iran and Palestine (that are educational collaborators). Spain is one among its 25 member states, and contributes 7% of the annual price range, which reaches a complete of about 1.2 billion euros.

Capeáns’ mandate begins in 2026 and ends in 2030. In these years the European Laboratory based mostly in Geneva (Switzerland) will face a few of the biggest challenges in its historical past, as multiply by 10 the ability of its principal particle accelerator, the LHC, which found in 2012 the final elementary particle that remained to be noticed: the Boson of Higgs. The building of the long run round colliding (FCC) can even be determined, a machine 3 times larger, which would be the new largest experiment. The expertise that should be utilized in its building isn’t but clear, nevertheless it might reveal what’s made as much as 25% of the universe, which continues to be unknown virtually every thing.

Making reminiscence, Capeáns believes that no different Spanish has arrived as excessive as she on this group, wherein he has been working for greater than 30 years. Next to it’ll serve 5 different administrators from different areas, akin to accelerators, expertise or worldwide relations, led by the British Mark Thomson, which occurs to the Italian Fabiola Gianotti as normal director. In this interview with El País, carried out by videoconference, the scientist journey which will be the subsequent discoveries of the World Physics Cathedral.

Ask. Does the present geopolitical stress threaten the way forward for CERN?

Answer. The state of affairs may be very tough. This laboratory has lived an period of wonderful stability in its 70 years of life. It has been attainable as a result of enhance in Member States that finance it [todos europeos menos Israel]. Here you can’t do something with out collaborating, and in that our power resides. We start to listen to that the price range gadgets will deviate from fundamental science, that there are contributions from nations that we have been doing, possibly they don’t arrive. It can be a disgrace to throw 70 years of successes, collaboration and share data. I consider that Europe in the present day is a supereuropa, the place collaboration, listening to others, being aggressive, however not leaving anybody out, are nonetheless basic values ​​which can be extra legitimate than ever.

P. Will Europe come to construct the FCC earlier than China, which plans a really related accelerator?

R. The CERN has three key goals: to make the most of the technical break of 2026-2029 to enhance the LHC, put together its restart in 2029 to acquire higher leads to particle physics, and outline the long-term future. Among the attainable choices is the FCC, an accelerator of 90 kilometers in diameter. Decisions should take into account sustainability, worldwide cooperation and technological improvement, since these initiatives require years of joint preparation and funding. This course of is superintendent and is being determined simply now, as a part of the European Particle Physics Strategy. It is a course of that comes from beneath, the place nations or scientists can start to say which of them they consider is the scientific set up that can reply the best questions we’ve got. And to that we should add the prices, and the coverage that entails. Probably, a machine as massive because the FCC would require increasing CERN, a unique governance mannequin and exterior financing that doesn’t come from member nations. All that’s being mentioned now, and it’ll attain a conclusion on the finish of the yr. It appears that there’s sufficient consensus relating to the associated fee and energy {that a} round machine can provide us. Probably, the Chinese arrive earlier than in building. But if you construct such a posh machine to make physics you want a cohesive scientific neighborhood, a historic infrastructure that we solely have in CERN and, as well as, a global neighborhood that’s pushing. If we put these three issues on the desk, I believe we get effectively.

P. You arrived at CERN in 1992. That yr, your professor, Georges Charpak, who had fought within the French resistance and suffered two years of internment in Dachau, after which he grew to become an engineer and specialised in physics, gained the Nobel Prize in Physics for making a particle accelerator that meant the bottom of the LHC. In 2012, this machine found the Boson of Higgs, which the Nobel Prize in Physics deserved solely a yr later. What can the subsequent nice discovery of this laboratory?

R. What all of us search for is darkish matter. There are different goals, akin to understanding the Higgs particle or the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, however what doesn’t let me sleep is that, after so a few years, we solely perceive 5% of the universe. It appears terrifying. We consider that with LHC, particularly in its subsequent section of excessive luminosity, we are able to uncover darkish matter, and that might already assist us clarify 25% extra of the universe. If I go away the CERN with that, I’m already comfortable. And absolutely there will likely be one other Nobel.

P. What would the LHC see precisely?

R. New particles. What we’d do is experimentally show that these particles exist, due to this fact, that darkish matter exists, and due to this fact, all theories which can be based mostly on that presence would routinely be validated. This is carefully associated to cosmology, with astrophysics … all of us look for a similar.

P. Could darkish vitality be found, which is the opposite 75% of the universe?

R. It is way more tough. There isn’t any consensus in what’s darkish vitality. We know it’s there, however we do not know the place to assault her.

P. Above these discoveries can be the speculation to unify gravity and quantum mechanics, is it attainable to display it?

R. The historical past of particle physics is to unify forces. It is without doubt one of the issues that appeal to me essentially the most from this area, which every thing tends to magnificence and ease. And there could possibly be nothing extra lovely and easy than having the 4 basic forces that exist inside a single idea. It is absolutely what we’re on the lookout for, a idea that explains every thing. With the units we’ve got in the present day it is vitally tough for us to confirm that it exists, however that’s the objective we pursue.

P. Some of those ideas are as broad and unsure as people who faith addresses, do you assume there’s a place for God on this complete universe?

R. They are utterly totally different points. There are individuals who want religion. Science, particle physics doesn’t search to grasp whether or not there may be God or not. What we wish to perceive is the origin of the universe from a standpoint of the legal guidelines of physics. And throughout the CERN neighborhood you’ve got all of the spectra and totally different religions, it’s great.

P. How does its appointment affect the function performed by Spain in CERN?

R. I’m satisfied that CERN is the Spanish laboratory in Switzerland. I carry the legacy of many Spaniards who’ve labored right here. Spain has a really highly effective scientific neighborhood and should be in every thing we’re going to do. I at all times fear that there are Spaniards in related positions; That drags younger individuals and it’s key that they see it. Many advances have already been achieved.

P. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatens to chop his worldwide science collaboration initiatives, included in CERN, how can this have an effect on this?

R. If confirmed, we could have issues. The United States is an important companion each financially and competencies. We work so much with them in particle detectors which can be very complicated, and depend upon them, in addition to different nations. I hope this stuff are corrected, and that the neighborhood of particle physics scientists within the United States doesn’t finish in a state of affairs of weak point for measures which can be very brief time period.

P. Is a CERN appropriate just like the one described with the upcoming reilitarization of Europe?

R. Yes, it needs to be. Europe can’t afford to cease doing fundamental and basic science. We should assist politicians perceive that fundamental science is a protracted -term dedication, for younger individuals and sustainability, with nice financial and industrial repercussions. It can be a flip to erase this from the map. I’ve been within the CERN for 30 years and it appears unimaginable that this isn’t understood. But you must be vigilant, as a result of fundamental science shouldn’t be negotiated.