Revolutionizing fundamental physics with artificial intelligence, the Large Hadron Collider is set to undergo a major transformation thanks in part to AI’s ability to detect incredibly rare events and analyze complex data.
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The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is set to undergo a major transformation, thanks in part to the power of artificial intelligence. According to Prof. Mark Thomson, Cern’s next director general, AI is paving the way for huge advances in particle physics that promise to be comparable to the AI-powered prediction of protein structures that earned Google DeepMind scientists a Nobel prize in October.
The Role of AI in Particle Physics
At the LHC, advanced techniques such as machine learning are being used to detect incredibly rare events that hold the key to how particles came to acquire mass in the first moments after the big bang. These events are so rare that they require complex data analysis, which is where AI comes in. ‘It’s going to be quite transformative for our field,’ said Prof. Thomson. ‘Complex data, just like protein folding – that’s an incredibly complex problem – so if you use an incredibly complex technique, like AI, you’re going to win.’
Unlocking the Secrets of the Higgs Boson
One area where AI is expected to make a significant impact is in understanding the properties of the Higgs boson, nicknamed the God particle. This subatomic particle grants mass to other particles and binds the universe together. By analyzing data from the LHC, scientists hope to measure how the Higgs particle gives mass to itself for the first time – a phenomenon called Higgs self-coupling.
“This is a very deep fundamental property of the universe,” said Prof. Thomson. ‘If we saw the Higgs self-coupling being different from our current theory, that would be another massive discovery.’
The Future of Particle Physics
Subatomic particles are the building blocks of matter and energy.
They include electrons, protons, neutrons, quarks, and leptons.
Protons and neutrons make up atomic nuclei, while electrons orbit around them.
Quarks combine to form protons and neutrons.
Leptons do not participate in strong nuclear interactions and have no electric charge.
The study of subatomic particles has led to a deeper understanding of the structure of matter and the fundamental forces of nature.
While some have expressed skepticism about the need for new particle colliders, Prof. Thomson believes that AI has provided fresh impetus to the hunt for new physics at the subatomic scale. ‘These are not incremental improvements – these are very, very, very big improvements people are making by adopting really advanced techniques,’ he said.
The Future Circular Collider (FCC) is a proposed particle collider that would dwarf the LHC in size and capability. While some have questioned its affordability, Prof. Thomson believes that AI has made it possible to tackle even more complex problems than previously thought possible. ‘We’ve already seen significant advances in our understanding of the universe thanks to AI,’ he said. ‘I’m confident that we’ll see major discoveries occur after 2030 when a major upgrade will boost the LHC’s beam intensity by a factor of ten.’
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a powerful particle accelerator located at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
It smashes protons together at nearly the speed of light to recreate conditions found in the early universe.
The LHC has led to numerous groundbreaking discoveries, including the Higgs boson, a fundamental particle that explains how other particles acquire mass.
Since its activation in 2008, the LHC has operated continuously, with upgrades and improvements made regularly to increase its capabilities.
The Potential for Breakthroughs
AI is being injected into every aspect of the LHC operation, from deciding which data to collect to how it should be interpreted. ‘We’re already doing better with the data that we’ve collected than we thought we’d be able to do with 20 times more data ten years ago,’ said Dr. Katharine Leney, who works on the LHC‘s Atlas experiment. ‘So we’ve advanced by 20 years at least. A huge part of this has been down to AI.’
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a rich history dating back to 1956 when the term was first coined at a conference in Dartmouth.
Since then, AI has made significant progress with major breakthroughs in machine learning and deep learning.
Today, AI is integrated into various industries such as healthcare, finance, transportation, and customer service.
According to Gartner, by 2025, AI will create 2.3 million new jobs while eliminating 1.8 million.
The global AI market is projected to reach $190 billion by 2025.
The potential for breakthroughs is vast, and scientists are hopeful that AI will help them unlock some of the universe’s deepest secrets. As Prof. Thomson said, _’You can start to ask more complex, open-ended questions… Rather than searching for a particular signature, you ask the question: ‘Is there something unexpected in this data?
