High Energy Physics explores the most fundamental questions about the nature of the universe. The Office of High Energy Physics supports a program focused on three frontiers of scientific discovery. At the energy frontier, powerful accelerators investigate the constituents and architecture of the universe. At the intensity frontier, astronomically large amounts of particles and highly sensitive detectors offer a second, unique pathway to investigate rare events in nature. At the cosmic frontier, natural sources of particles from space reveal the nature of the universe. Together these three interrelated discovery frontiers create a complete picture, advancing Department of Energy missions through the development of key cutting-edge technologies and the training of future generations of scientists.
Announcements
May 6, 2013
The Office of High Energy Physics announces the launch of its new Accelerator R&D Stewardship web pages. Accelerators are critical to many areas beyond their traditional role in discovery science, and they influence our everyday lives in myriad ways. The Office of High Energy Physics looks forward to addressing some of the key economic and societal issues confronting our nation. Click here to go the new web pages.
The summary report of the Workshop on Ion Beam Therapy, held January 9-11, 2013, is now available on line by clicking here
(429KB).
The summary report of the Workshop on Laser Technology for Accelerators, held January 23-27, 2013, is now available on line by clicking here (4.1MB).
April 24, 2013
Berkeley scientist Jean-Luc Vay awarded the 2013 US Particle Accelerator School (USPAS) Prize for Achievement in Accelerator Physics and Technology. The USPAS prize honors individuals by recognizing their outstanding achievements over the full range of accelerator physics and technology. The Award Citation reads: “For original contributions to the development of novel methods for simulating particle beams, particularly the Lorentz boosted frame techniques, and for the successful application of these methods to multi-scale, multi-species problems.” Thanks to the boosted frame technique, simulations that formerly took thousands of hours of computation time can now be performed in a fraction of that time.
July 31, 2012
The Office of Science of the Department of Energy announces the fiscal year 2013 Early Career Research Program. The funding opportunity for researchers in universities and DOE national laboratories was announced July 20, 2012. (More . . .)
July 24, 2012
The White House has announced the winners of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Two of the awardees, Christopher Hirata and Jesse Thaler, were nominated by the Office of High Energy Physics. For the complete list of the 2011 Office of Science PECASE awardees, please go here (30KB).
May 16, 2012
The report of the workshop Fundamental Physics at the Intensity Frontier, sponsored by the Office of High Energy Physics and held November 30 through December 2, 2011, is now available online. Click on the links below:
• Workshop report on arXiv
• Executive Summary (749KB)
Announcements Archive
Research Areas
In the news . . .
At Old Mine, Hopes Of Striking Gold With Dark Matter
August 1, 2012
by Charles Michael Ray
In Lead, S.D., a steel cage drops almost a mile below ground into the Sanford Underground Laboratory. It's formerly the deepest underground gold mine in North America, and when it closed a decade ago, state officials hoped that an underground science laboratory along with on-site university classes could spur economic development. (Read more . . .) |
BELLA Laser Achieves World Record Power at One Pulse Per Second
July 27, 2012
By Paul Preuss
As Berkeley Lab’s laser plasma accelerator project BELLA nears completion, its drive laser has delivered one petawatt – a quadrillion watts – of peak power once each second, a world record for laser performance (Read more . . .) |
FACET’s Accelerator Revolution
July 2012
By Lori Ann White
A new test bed for accelerator technology has thrown open its doors, with the goals of making particle accelerators smaller, cheaper and more efficient—and of expanding their role in society. (Read more . ..) |
Features
Accelerator Applications:
Food Packaging
Low-energy electron beams from particle accelerators are an environmentally friendly way to sterilize food packaging—one that uses less material and energy, produces less waste and leaves no chemical residues.
Sponsored by the International Committee for Future Accelerators, Beacons of Discovery presents a vision of the global science of particle physics at the dawn of a new light on the mystery and beauty of the universe.