Director's Corner
3 August 2005
Barry Barish
The Worldwide Study of the Physics and Detectors for Future e+e- Linear Colliders (WWS) has played a key role in organizing the global efforts on physics and detectors for the ILC. The WWS has received more than 2700 signatures in support of the linear collider as result of their "Linear Collider Report from the Worldwide Study," a very strong and important statement of community support for the ILC.
The WWS helps coordinate the work of the three regional studies: the European (ECFA) Study, the North American (ALCPG) Study and the Asian (ACFA) Study. Results from these studies are combined in the Linear Collider Workshops (LCWS). Since 1998 these have been the LCWS '99 in Sitges, Spain; 2000 at Fermilab; 2002 in Jeju, Korea; 2004 in Paris; and 2005 at Stanford University. At this last workshop I accepted the invitation of ICFA Chair Jonathan Dorfan to become the GDE director. The next LCWS workshop will be held March 9-15, 2006 in Bangalore, India. Make your plans!
The regional and WWS studies have produced three detector concepts for the ILC. These three concepts are being studied to determine the technical detector requirements to meet the physics goals for the ILC. These WWS studies are very important in determining what R&D is needed to develop detectors capable of addressing ILC physics goals. This work is a precursor to developing the future collaborations and detector proposals that will eventually replace these studies. In the GDE, we plan to work closely with the WWS to help gain and focus support for the necessary detector R&D. I have asked the WWS to develop the arguments, in the form of a white paper, that motivate their present thinking that the ILC should have two detectors. The first draft of this white paper will be presented and discussed at Snowmass.
As we enter into the global accelerator design for the ILC, we will need to closely integrate our work with the detector plans and requirements. For example, we need to design the beam delivery systems to bring the nanometer beams into the detectors. That requires a close liaison between the accelerator and detector physicists. We will need to simulate the physics performance of the combined accelerator and detectors as we determine the detailed accelerator design.
hese are just a couple of the reasons why I feel so strongly that the detector and accelerator efforts for the ILC should be brought closer together. As I talk to my detector friends, however, I have heard some concerns that the detector effort will lose its independence. They should not worry! We do not intend to direct the detector activities, but rather to bring these efforts closer together in a way that should be beneficial to both the accelerator and detector efforts.
The present co-chairs of the WWS are Jim Brau of the University of Oregon, Hitoshi Yamamoto of Tohoku University and newly appointed Francois Richard of Orsay. The outgoing co-chair is David Miller of University College, London. I have invited all four to join the GDE with David Miller to participate at least through the period of reaching our baseline configuration by the end of this year. I am happy to report that all four have accepted my invitation and I look forward to working closely with them.