Higgs discovery prompts proposals for bigger, better particle experiments

Nature : After the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 at the 27-km-circumference Large Hadron Collider (LHC), bigger and better facilities have been proposed to continue the search for new particles. Among them are the 31-km-long International Linear Collider to be built in Japan and two 50 km to 100 km circular colliders, one for protons and the other for electrons and positrons, in China. However, all will cost considerable money to build, and any one project could drain international funding from the others. A less expensive option, proposed by CERN’s director-general Fabiola Gianotti, would be to increase the power of the LHC by installing new superconducting magnets. Rather than turning to powerful colliders, some physicists are hoping novel experiments will lead to the discovery of new physics. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment under construction at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, will analyze neutrino oscillations and look for new types of neutrinos beyond the currently known three.