Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy Board on Physics and Astronomy

1. Scientific Community Perspectives Physics Barry C Barish Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy Board on Physics and Astronomy Committee on Setting Priorities for NSF’s Large Research Facility Projects May 19-20, 2003 The National Academies Keck Center

2. NSF’s Large Research Facility Projects in Physics The first large NSF facility in physics Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) -- high-luminosity 6+6 GeV electron-positron collider at Cornell University. LIGO The centerpiece of NSF High Energy Physics Program for many years IceCube • B – Physics • Accelerator Physics • Synchrotron Radiation -- CHESS LHC CLEO Collaboration: NSF & DoE ~20 research groups 125 collaborators Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

3. Research in Fundamental Physics • We have many tools at our disposal from forefront accelerators to satellites in space to experiments deep under the surface of the earth. Accelerator LHC Magnet Subterranean The Soudan Mine Space Hard priority choices must be made! Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

4. NSF’s Large Research Facility Projects in Physics forefront of physics research Energy Frontier Gravitational Waves LIGO LHC Rare Decays Highest Energy Particle Astrophysics RSVP IceCube Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

5. Direct Detectionof Gravitational Waves Gravitational Wave Astrophysical Source Terrestrial detectors LIGO, TAMA, Virgo,AIGO Detectors in space LISA Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

6. LIGO: A New Window on the Universegravitational waves Gravitational Waves from the most astrophysical violent events – black hole collisions; supernovae; gamma ray bursts Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

7. LIGO: The Early Universe ‘Murmurs’ from the Big Bang Cosmic Microwave background WMAP 2003 Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

8. LIGOgravitational wave detection • The idea for using interferometers put forward in 1970s • Ambitious R&D technology development and demonstration program supported by NSF in the 1980s • Project construction approved in 1994; construction completed in 2000, on cost and schedule • NSF made a priority choice to support LIGO and to terminate the development program for future resonant bars • LIGO scientific collaboration now consists of 30 research groups, 7 countries, 400 scientists • Performance is approaching design goals and the initial science results have been recently reported • Future upgrades are being developed as international partnership (including PPARC) Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

9. LIGO Sensitivity Livingston 4km Interferometer May 01 Jan 03 Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

10. LIGOgravitational wave detection • The idea for using interferometers put forward in 1970s • Ambitious R&D technology development and demonstration program supported by NSF in the 1980s • Project construction approved in 1994; construction completed in 2000, on cost and schedule • NSF made a priority choice to support LIGO and to terminate the development program for future resonant bars • LIGO scientific collaboration now consists of 30 research groups, 7 countries, 400 scientists • Performance is approaching design goals and the initial science results have been recently reported • Future upgrades are being developed as international partnership (including PPARC) Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

11. LHC: The Energy Frontierthe origin of mass The Standard Model prefers a Higgs boson mass of less than 200 GeV, well within reach of the LHC Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

12. LHC: New Quantum Dimensionssupersymmetry • Unifies matter with forces. • Every known particle has a supersymmetric partner, waiting to be discovered atthe TeV scale. Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

13. U.S. LHC Detector Role • Joint DoE / NSF Funding & Oversight • Two detectors: Atlas, CMS • U.S. Atlas Leadership at Columbia University (NSF) • U.S. detector contributions are on time and schedule • Outstanding Outreach Program Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

14. LHCthe energy frontier • Highest priority scientific frontier of particle physics • HEPAP subpanel reports, ECFA, etc - worldwide consensus • U.S. participation in LHC • capitalizes on large U.S. R&D investments for SSC • enables the U.S.community to do research at the forefront of particle physics. • Joint participation through NSF and DoE on a large international project – • Highest priority project by HEPAP subpanels in the 1990s • U.S. detector construction is on schedule and cost • New development – “Grid Computing” can enable the NSF university community to effectively analyze data from their home institutions Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

15. IceCube: Point Sources of High Energy Neutrinos Extragalactic objects such as active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gamma ray bursts (GRBs) Galactic sources, such as pulsars and supernovae, are also possible sources. Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

16. IceCube: Sensitivity to Dark Matter Neutralinos are good candidates for dark matter. They may be indirectly detected indirectly through their annihilations in the Sun. The produced particles subsequently decay and yield high energy neutrinos. • Complementary to Direct Searches • Sensitive to higher masses • Sensitive to spin-dependent • neutralinos interactions • Similar sensitivity to direct searches Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

17. IceCubehigh energy neutrinos • Early developments under water (DUMAND) • South Pole development under ice – Amanda • Priority choice: Ice chosen technically due to implementation and characteristics of ice vs water. • New field: Particle Astrophysics • Emerging area of physics being initiated in NSF physics • High Priority given to science opportunities of ~km3 scale high energy neutrino detector in “Quarks to Cosmos” and recent NRC report “Neutrinos and Beyond” • Project • R&D and engineering development has led to a technically more robust project – digital readout and new ice drill • NSF Polar Program project with science support through Physics. • Pre-construction funding has been a problem Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

18. Very Rare Processes • Some very rare processes probe CP violation in the strange quark system. • Lepton flavor violation and proton decay are consequences of grand unification! K0 p0nn KOPIO  e MECO Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

19. RSVP: Very Rare Processesprobes beyond the standard model • Scientific opportunity to discovery potential for new physics by seeing “forbidden” decay channels • RSVP to be implemented (leveraged) on a DoE accelerator facility investment -- Brookhaven AGS • Scientific Community Role • Reviewed and approved through the AGS Program Advisory Committee, then proposed to NSF • NSF Review panel recommended for MREF • Recent HEPAP subpanel supports RSVP • New HEP priority committee, P5, will establish relative priorities of such projects among other HEP projects in future • Pre-construction support is a problem Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

20. Setting Priorities for Large NSF Facilitiesperspectives from physics community • Large projects are a crucial element in research at the forefront of physics • Large variety of projects and areas of physics • The science community must play the key role in making the hard priority choices in physics • Scientific assessments are being done in the community • Priority setting also is done and being improved – P5 • NSF reviews in physics have strong community input • Priority setting for physics projects vs other possible NSF initiatives is done and must be done by the NSF Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics

21. Setting Priorities for Large NSF Facilitiesperspectives from physics community • Interagency and international projects are becoming the norm and must be strongly supported • Large Projects: Birth to Death • Enabling R&D -- The most promising new possible scientific projects need to be “nurtured” to develop techniques and determine feasibility and costs. • Pre-construction support is essential to optimize technology, minimize risks, minimize costs and develop a robust management • Construction is well managed by the NSF – good record on cost/schedule and especially on facility performance. • Operations must be planned for each large project, but it is crucial to recognize that this is the research component of any project and is less predictable. Flexibility must exist to support evolving needs for the most successful projects and to be able to support new developments and opportunities. Scientific Community Perspectives: Physics