To recreate conditions similar to those of the very early universe, powerful accelerators make head-on collisions between massive ions, such as gold or lead nuclei. Learn more about CERN's heavy ion collisions here.
On 19 May, the LHC reached 1200 bunches per beam, a level that is considered meaningful for physics. The full intensity of 2460 bunches per beam could be achieved before the end of the week
Lead-ion physics at the LHC and the SPS North Area is already under way and progressing well. The final lead-ion user in the PS East Area started its physics run on 13 November
Using data from the first heavy-ion run of LHC Run 3 in 2023, the experiment presents the first-ever measurement of D0 meson production in photon-lead collisions
The physics run for the SPS North Area will start on 4 November, followed by the LHC lead-ion physics run on 6 November, and the PS East Area on 11 November
Using collisions between lead nuclei at the LHC, the ALICE collaboration has measured an interference pattern akin to that of the famous double-slit experiment