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List of accelerators in particle physics
...A list of particle accelerators used for particle physics experiments. Some early particle accelerators that more properly did nuclear physics, but existed prior to the separation of particle physics from that field, are also included. Although a modern accelerator complex usually has several stages of accelerators, only accelerators whose output has been used directly for experiments are listed.
Early accelerators
These all used single beams with fixed targets. They tended to have very briefly run, inexpensive, and unnamed experiments.
Cyclotrons
| Accelerator | Location | Years of operation |
Shape | Accelerated Particle | Kinetic Energy |
Notes and discoveries made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9-inch cyclotron | University of California, Berkeley | 1931 | Circular | H+ 2 |
1.0 MeV | Proof of concept |
| 11-inch cyclotron | University of California, Berkeley | 1932 | Circular | Proton | 1.2 MeV | |
| 27-inch cyclotron | University of California, Berkeley | 1932–1936 | Circular | Deuteron | 4.8 MeV | Investigated deuteron-nucleus interactions |
| 37-inch cyclotron | University of California, Berkeley | 1937–1938 | Circular | Deuteron | 8 MeV | Discovered many isotopes |
| 60-inch cyclotron | University of California, Berkeley | 1939–1962 | Circular | Deuteron | 16 MeV | Discovered many isotopes. |
| 88-inch cyclotron | Berkeley Rad Lab, now Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | 1961–Present | Circular (Isochronous) | Hydrogen through uranium | MeV to several GeV | Discovered many isotopes. Verified two element discoveries. Performed the world's first single event effects radiation testing in 1979, and tested parts and materials for most US spacecraft since then. |
| 184-inch cyclotron | Berkeley Rad Lab | 1942–1993 | Circular | Various | MeV to GeV | Research on uranium isotope separation |
| Calutrons | Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, TN | 1943– | "Horseshoe" | Uranium nuclei | Used to separate Uranium 235 isotope for the Manhattan project. After the end of World War II used for separation of medical and other isotopes. | |
| 95-inch cyclotron | Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory | 1949–2002 | Circular | Proton | 160 MeV | Used for nuclear physics 1949 – ~ 1961, development of clinical proton therapy until 2002 |
| JULIC | Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany | 1967–present | Circular | Proton, deuteron | 75 MeV | Now used as a preaccelerator for COSY and irradiation purposes |
The magnetic pole pieces and return yoke from the 60-inch cyclotron were later moved to UC Davis and incorporated into a 76-inch isochronous cyclotron which is still in use today[1]
Other early accelerator types
| Accelerator | Location | Years of operation |
Shape and size |
Accelerated particle |
Kinetic Energy |
Notes and discoveries made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linear particle accelerator | Aachen University, Germany | 1928 | Linear Beamline | Ion | 50 keV | Proof of concept |
| Cockcroft and Walton's electrostatic accelerator |
Cavendish Laboratory | 1932 | See Cockroft- Walton generator |
Proton | 0.7 MeV | First to artificially split the nucleus (Lithium) |
| Betatron | Siemens-Schuckertwerke, Germany | 1935 | Circular | Electron | 1.8 MeV | Proof of concept |
Synchrotrons
| Accelerator | Location | Years of operation |
Shape and size | Accelerated particle |
Kinetic Energy | Notes and discoveries made | INSPIRE link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmotron | BNL | 1953–1968 | Circular ring (72 meters around) |
Proton | 3.3 GeV | Discovery of V particles, first artificial production of some mesons | INSPIRE |
| Birmingham Synchrotron | University of Birmingham | 1953–1967 | Proton | 1 GeV | |||
| Bevatron | Berkeley Rad Lab | 1954–~1970 | "Race track" | Proton | 6.2 GeV | Strange particle experiments, antiproton and antineutron discovered, resonances discovered | INSPIRE |
| Bevalac, combination of SuperHILAC linear accelerator, a diverting tube, then the Bevatron | Berkeley Rad Lab | ~1970–1993 | Linear accelerator followed by "race track" | Any and all sufficiently stable nuclei could be accelerated | Observation of compressed nuclear matter. Depositing ions in tumors in cancer research. | INSPIRE | |
| Saturne | Saclay, France | 3 GeV | INSPIRE | ||||
| Synchrophasotron | Dubna, Russia | December 1957 – 2003 | 10 GeV | INSPIRE | |||
| Zero Gradient Synchrotron | ANL | 1963–1979 | 12.5 GeV | INSPIRE | |||
| U-70 Proton Synchrotron | IHEP, Russia | 1967–present | Circular ring (perimeter around 1.5 km) |
Proton | 70 GeV | INSPIRE | |
| Proton Synchrotron | CERN | 1959–present | Circular ring (628 meters around) |
Proton | 26 GeV | Used to feed ISR (until 1984), SPS, LHC, AD | INSPIRE |
| Proton Synchrotron Booster | CERN | 1972–present | Circular Synchrotron | Protons | 1.4 GeV | Used to feed PS, ISOLDE | INSPIRE |
| Super Proton Synchrotron | CERN | 1976–present | Circular Synchrotron | Protons and ions | 450 GeV | COMPASS, OPERA and ICARUS at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso | INSPIRE |
| Alternating Gradient Synchrotron | BNL | 1960–present | Circular ring (808 meters) |
Proton (unpolarized and polarized), deuteron, helium-3, copper, gold, uranium | 33 GeV | J/ψ, muon neutrino, CP violation in kaons, injects heavy ions and polarized protons into RHIC | INSPIRE |
| Proton Synchrotron (KEK) | KEK | 1976–2007 | Circular ring | Proton | 12 GeV | ||
| COSY | Juelich, Germany | 1993–present | Circular ring (183.47 m) | Protons, Deuterons | 2.88 GeV | The legacy of the experimental hadron physics programme at COSY | INSPIRE |
| ALBA | Cerdañola del Vallés, Spain | 2011–present | Circular ring (270 m) | Electrons | 3 GeV | INSPIRE | |
| Sirius | São Paulo State, Brazil | 2018–present | Circular ring (518.4 m) | Electrons, Au, Sn, TiO2 | 3 GeV | INSPIRE | |
| Australian Synchrotron | Monash University, Melbourne | 2007–present | Circular ring (216 m) | Electrons | 3 GeV | INSPIRE |
Fixed-target accelerators
More modern accelerators that were also run in fixed target mode; often, they will also have been run as colliders, or accelerated particles for use in subsequently built colliders.
High intensity hadron accelerators (Meson and neutron sources)
| Accelerator | Location | Years of operation |
Shape and size | Accelerated Particle | Kinetic Energy | Notes and discoveries made | INSPIRE link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Current Proton Accelerator Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (originally Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility) | Los Alamos National Laboratory | 1972–Present | Linear (800 m) and Circular (30 m) |
Protons | 800 MeV | Neutron materials research, proton radiography, high energy neutron research, ultra cold neutrons | INSPIRE |
| PSI, HIPA High Intensity 590 MeV Proton Accelerator | PSI, Villigen, Switzerland | 1974–present | 0.8 MeV CW, 72 MeV Injector 2,
590 MeV Ringcyclotron |
Protons | 590 MeV, 2.4 mA, =1.4 MW | Highest beam power, used for meson and neutron production with applications in materials science | INSPIRE |
| TRIUMF Cyclotron | TRIUMF, Vancouver BC | 1974–present | Circular | H-ion | 500 MeV | World's largest cyclotron, at 17.9m | INSPIRE |
| ISIS neutron source | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, | 1984–present | H- Linac followed by proton RCS | Protons | 800 MeV | INSPIRE | |
| Spallation Neutron Source | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | 2006–Present | Linear (335 m) and Circular (248 m) |
Protons | 800 MeV – 1 GeV | Produces the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. | INSPIRE |
| J-PARC RCS | Tōkai, Ibaraki | 2007–Present | Triangular, 348m circumference | Protons | 3 GeV | Used for material and life sciences and input to J-PARC main ring | INSPIRE |