First Collisions, First Light

What Discovery does

The Discovery center explores fundamental questions in particle physics and cosmology, such as:

• How was the universe created (which inflation scenario played out in the first split second, what happened during the quark-gluon plasma era)?
• What is the source of the mass spectrum of fundamental particles of matter and forces? The Standard Model does not tell the whole story.
• How do we reconcile particle physics with the existence of dark matter?

By which means?

The center uses three new international instruments which will provide extraordinary insights into these questions. These are ESAs PLANCK satellite and the experiments ATLAS and ALICE at CERNs LHC accelerator. The center is a joint  venture of the experimental and theoretical particle physics groups at the Niels Bohr Institute combining experimental prowess with bold new theoretical ideas.

Why do that?

Data from CERN's LHC accelerator and ESA's PLANCK satellite is the key to unlocking the most fundamental questions about our Universe

What next?
In March 2010 the LHC raised the energy of its colliding protons to 7 TeV, more than three times the world record, and the intensity of the proton beams are steadily increasing. The PLANCK satellite has meanwhile completed its first scan of the entire sky. These are first steps into unexplored territory. The first results from measurements at 7 TeV are already available (see ATLAS and ALICE public results)

Planck starts second All Sky Survey
The LHC is restarting
First ATLAS results at 7 TeV