The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine released a report on June 11, detailing a vision for the future of particle physics. This three-year study, named "Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond," was conducted at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. It aims to guide federal agencies, policymakers, and academics in research, funding, and planning decisions related to particle physics.
A key recommendation from the committee is the construction of a muon collider in the United States. This project would be hosted at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and could achieve particle collisions at ten times the energy level of CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The muon collider is expected to provide insights into dark matter and other fundamental questions in physics.
Michael Turner, Rauner Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Physics at UChicago and co-chair of the committee with Caltech physicist Maria Spiropulu, stated: “Humans are on the threshold of understanding the origin of matter, energy, space and time.” He emphasized that this vision outlines where the field could be in 40 years.
UChicago-affiliated scientists involved in this study include Young-Kee Kim, Marcela Carena, Bonnie Fleming, and Salman Habib. Kim also serves as Fermilab's director and remarked: “This long-awaited report sets a bold new vision for particle physics that would place Fermilab squarely at the forefront of next-generation scientific research and discovery."
The proposed muon collider would require extensive testing and planning before completion by midcentury. It promises to reveal more about the Higgs boson while having a smaller physical footprint than current proton collision experiments.
Turner noted: “Developing a U.S.-hosted muon collider—an unprecedented machine requiring considerable research, development, and a feasibility demonstrator—would solidify U.S. leadership in particle physics.”
The report highlights international collaboration as crucial for such large-scale projects. More than 20 countries were involved in constructing CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The committee also recommends U.S. participation in CERN's proposed "Higgs factory" project.
Turner pointed out one mystery: “Right now...one of the biggest mysteries is why the Higgs is the only fundamental particle that doesn’t have spin.”
Beyond accelerators like muon colliders or CERN projects, other experiments will contribute significantly to future discoveries in particle physics. These include cosmological surveys and underground experiments like the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
The committee stressed that scientific exploration yields practical benefits beyond knowledge itself: “The quest to understand nature at its most basic level has led to tools...from accelerators...to medical imaging devices...and [a] highly trained workforce.”