The electron-positron collider

R&D toward the International Linear Collider

The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a proposed next-generation electron-positron collider. It is currently at the planning stage, and scientists and engineers from around the world are working on the needed research and development under the auspices of the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA). The ILC will be a linear accelerator extending about 31 kilometers. The accelerated beams will collide at the extremely high energy of 500-billion electron volts (GeV). Such energetic particle collisions are expected to produce an array of new particles that could answer some of the most fundamental questions. The current baseline design allows for an upgrade to 1 trillion electron volts (TeV), and at this energy the ILC would produce conditions resembling the early universe right after the big bang. The great precision of its electron-positron beam collisions would allow precise measurement of the characteristics of new particles. The candidate particles include the Higgs particle, as well as elementary 'superparticles'. With these observations the scientists will examine the fundamental theories of particle physics and probe the processes at work during the beginning of the universe.

At KEK, R&D for advanced accelerating technologies is actively pursued. Those technologies include: creation and control of the super low-emittance beam, state-of-the-art detector technologies, precise control techniques for nano-beams, and superconducting radio frequency accelerating technologies. These are the technical basis for realizing the ILC, and they are also expected to have a wide range of applications for other accelerators and accelerator-based instruments.