CERN Accelerating science

LHC and P2 news:

• LHC
  Last week the LHC successfully completed the 2024 lead run, delivering an integrated luminosity close to 2 nb-1 to ALICE, ATLAS and CMS. This is an impressive achievement by the machine, going beyond the initial optimistic projections. The result is even more remarkable since the beam operations have been prematurely stopped on Saturday 23rd morning by a large quench involving more than 20 main dipoles in Sector 81. The recovery from this event took almost 1.5 days, and it was deemed too risky to resume beam operations in the last hours before the planned start of the EYETS on Monday 25th morning.
  
  The machine is now in EYETS mode, and beam operations will resume next year at the beginning of April.
  
   
• P2 Operations
  ALICE has completed the Pb-Pb physics data taking. We recorded an integrated luminosity of about 1.54 nb^-1 in good physics runs, for a corresponding delivered luminosity of about 1.91 nb^-1. The last days of the data taking were a bit less efficient than usual due to some recurring trips of the TPC field cage, most likely linked to a sudden drop of the atmospheric pressure.
  
  Nevertheless, the data taking has been very successful, with a collected statistics similar to the one available from the 2023 Pb-Pb run. The performances of the LHC as well as the ALICE detectors and central systems were excellent, giving confidence that the Run 3 targets are achievable in the next year(s).
  
  The 2024/25 EYETS has now started. The magnets are turned off and the cavern is open in general access for the planned maintenance activities.
  
  We take this opportunity to thank all the SRCs, system experts, on-callers and central shifters for their impressive commitment and professionalism during this long and successful run. None of this year’s achievements would have been possible without you!
  
  We are now looking forward to the many physics results that will come out from the good data collected this year!