Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

A new 500 GeV to 1 TeV total energy electron-positron colliding beam accelerator is currently under advanced planning stages as the next particle physics world facility. Particle physicists are convinced that the future International Linear Collider (ILC) will be essential to extend the discoveries made at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and to make precision measurements for an improved understanding of physics at the subatomic level. Both accelerators are needed to develop a comprehensive theory of fundamental particles and interactions. The Global Design Effort group is working to finalize the ILC accelerator design while the ILC detector R&D is being coordinated by the World Wide Study Group. The target date to complete both technical design reports is 2010. With site selection and the international funding in place, the construction could begin by 2012 with ILC operational for physics by 2019. Canadian researchers have been quite active in ILC detector R&D for some time and have made important contributions in developing the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) for charged particle tracking. The next major milestone will be to construct a 1-meter large prototype TPC and test it under realistic conditions by 2010 - an essential prelude to writing the design specifications of the much larger ILC TPC. A request for funds for this activity is the main component of this grant proposal. The proposal also requests support for an R&D initiative in the area of ILC calorimetry where Canadian groups have considerable previous experience. We expect that the Canadian ILC group will grow as the ILC approaches the approval and construction phases. Support from NSERC will allow Canada to be an important player in one of the most exciting scientific projects in the early 21st century.