Scientists publish statement supporting the International Linear Collider

“A giant leap in scientific knowledge”

May 31st, 2018, Fukuoka, Japan - Scientists gathering in Fukuoka, Japan, for a scientific conference about a possible future particle physics project in Japan to complement the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its upgrade at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, are calling for a prompt realisation of the International Linear Collider (ILC) . Having expressed their strong support for the scientific justification of the International Linear Collider through a statement issued during a scientific workshop in Tokyo in 2015, the Linear Collider Collaboration (LCC) and participants to the 2018 Asian Linear Collider Workshop (ALCW2018) in Fukuoka, Japan, reconfirm the scientific importance of the ILC in an updated statement that takes into account changes that have been made to the project’s specifications.

Statement:

Statement on “Towards the realization of the International Linear Collider, an update”

31 May 2018, Fukuoka

Scientists who gathered for the Linear Collider Workshop in Tokyo in 2015 issued a statement confirming their strong support for the scientific justification for a prompt realization of the International Linear Collider (ILC). The Linear Collider Collaboration (LCC) and the worldwide participants at the 2018 Asian Linear Collider Workshop (ALCW2018) in Fukuoka, Japan, reconfirm the scientific importance of the ILC. We are closer to the realization of the project, but it is now in a critical phase.

1. Results to date from the CERN Large Hadron Collider indicate that we are at a crossroads in our quest to uncover the origin and history of the Universe. We now know that precision measurements, in particular of the properties of the Higgs boson, are an essential next step to advance our understanding. Precise measurements in electron-positron interactions at a center of mass energy of 250 GeV at the ILC will deliver a leap in our scientific knowledge and, together with future results from the LHC and SuperKEKB, will propel us toward the ultimate theory of particle physics and a deep understanding of the Universe itself.

2. We have been preparing for the ILC for many years, in collaboration with industries and in discussion with governments worldwide. The ILC is now the most mature and realizable electron-positron collider project, and offers the energy expandability of a linear collider. The successful operation of the European XFEL in Hamburg and recent advances in the superconducting R&D in Fermilab near Chicago and other laboratories, together with a cost reduction by changing the initial center of mass energy to 250 GeV, increases the ILC technical and financial feasibility whilst maintaining the physics potential of the machine at this energy. The superconducting technology being developed for the ILC has a great impact on industrial and medical applications of accelerators. We deeply appreciate the evaluation process by the Japanese government for the proposal based on the new ILC design.

3. The ILC can only be realized as an international project, and a nation who wishes to host the project should lead the international negotiations. A positive message from the Japanese government expressing readiness to initiate these discussions this year is critically important because work on the update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, including collaboration in the ILC construction, will start early next year. This update will have a large impact outside Europe on the future of high energy physics projects worldwide. While we will strongly present the scientific case for the ILC in these discussions, it is essential to hear a positive message from the Japanese government in a timely manner.

Lyn Evans

LCC Director

For scientists from LCC and ALCW2018

Background information: 

The International Linear Collider is a proposed particle accelerator whose mission is to carry out research about the fundamental particles and forces that govern the Universe. It would complement the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, where the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012, and shed more light on the discoveries scientists have made and are likely to make there in the coming years. The ILC will be one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated scientific endeavours. The realisation of the ILC will require truly global participation.

The Linear Collider Collaboration consists of scientists and engineers working on the Compact Linear Collider Study (CLIC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC). It is headed by former LHC Project Director Lyn Evans and coordinates the world-wide research and development for accelerators and detectors.

For more information, go to

The International Linear Collider Machine Staging Report 2017

Physics Case for the 250 GeV Stage of the International Linear Collider

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More information on the International Linear Collider: www.linearcollider.org