PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW OFFICE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW
OFFICE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

Through fundamental research, scientists have found that all physical matter is composed of apparently point-like particles, called leptons and quarks. These constituents of matter were created following the "big-bang" which originated our universe, and they are components of every object that exists today. We also understand a great deal about the four basic forces of nature: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity. For example, in the past we have learned that the electromagnetic and weak forces are two components of a single force, called the electro-weak force. This unification of forces is analogous to the unification in the mid-nineteenth century of electric and magnetic forces into electromagnetism. History shows that, over a period of many years, the understanding of electromagnetism has led to many practical applications that form the technical basis of modern society.

The goal of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) High Energy Physics (HEP) program is to provide mankind with new insights into the fundamental nature of energy and matter and the forces that control them. This program is a major component of the Department's fundamental research mission. Such fundamental research provides the necessary foundation that enables the nation to advance its scientific knowledge and technological capabilities, to advance its industrial competitiveness, and possibly to discover new and innovative approaches to its energy future.

Experimental research in HEP is largely performed by university scientists using particle accelerators located at major laboratories in the U.S. and abroad. Under the HEP program, the Department operates the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) near Chicago, IL and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) near San Francisco, CA. Furthermore, the Department has a significant role in the Large Hadron Collider project under construction at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. The Tevatron Collider at Fermilab is currently the world's highest energy accelerator. The Fermilab complex also includes the Main Injector, which can be used independently of the Tevatron to create high-energy particle beams for physics experiments and R&D work, including the world’s most intense neutrino beam. SLAC is dedicated to the design, construction and operation of state-of-the-art electron accelerators and related facilities for use in high-energy physics, condensed matter research, and related fields. SLAC HEP facilities include the 2 mile long Stanford Linear Accelerator and a high energy, high intensity electron-positron collider. While much progress has been made during the past five decades in our understanding of particle physics, future progress depends on a great degree of availability of new state-of-the-art technology for accelerators, colliders, and detectors operating at the high energy and/or high intensity frontiers.

Within HEP, the Advanced Technology subprogram supports the research and development required to extend relevant areas of technology in order to support the operations of highly specialized accelerators, colliding beam facilities, and detector facilities which are essential to the goals of the overall HEP program. The DOE SBIR program provides a focused opportunity and mechanism for small businesses to contribute new ideas and new technologies to the pool of knowledge and technical capabilities required for continued progress in HEP research, and to turn these novel ideas and technologies into new business ventures.

For additional information regarding the Office of High Energy Physics priorities, click here.

TOPICS:

29. High Energy Physics Data Acquisition and Processing

a. High-Speed Electronic Instrumentation

b. Large Scale Analysis Computer Systems

c. Distributed Collaborative Infrastructure and Distributed Data Management and Analysis Framework

d. Simulation and Modeling Techniques and Systems

30. Accelerator Technology for International Linear Collider

a. Superconducting Radiofrequency Systems

b. Beam Instrumentation and Feedback Systems

c. Magnet and Fast Kicker Technology

d. Polarized RF Photocathode Sources and Accelerator Magnet Technology