Long-term future particle accelerators

Abstract

Particle accelerators have enabled forefront research in high energy physics and other research areas for more than half a century. Accelerators have directly contributed to 26 Nobel Prizes in Physics since 1939 as well as another 20 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, Medicine and Physics with X-rays. Although high energy physics has been the main driving force for the development of the particle accelerators, accelerator facilities have continually been expanding applications in many areas of research and technology. For instance, active areas of accelerator applications include radiotherapy to treat cancer, production of short-lived medical isotopes, synchrotron light sources, free-electron lasers, beam lithography for microcircuits, thin-film technology and radiation processing of food. Currently, the largest and most powerful accelerator is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which accelerates protons to multi-TeV energies in a 27 km high-vacuum ring. To go beyond the maximum capabilities of the LHC, the next generation of circular and linear particle colliders under consideration, based on radiofrequency acceleration, will require multi-billion investment, kilometric infrastructure and a massive power consumption. These factors pose serious challenges in an increasingly resource-limited world. Therefore, it is important to look for alternative and sustainable acceleration techniques. This review article pays special attention to novel accelerator techniques to overcome present acceleration limitations towards more compact and cost-effective long term future accelerators.