HEPscape! puzzles are inspired by real research. Discover the machines, particles and people behind the mission.
The Large Hadron Collider is a circular accelerator at CERN, in a tunnel about 27 kilometres long near Geneva. Two beams of protons, or ions, travel in opposite directions and are made to collide at specific points. These collisions help us explore the constituents of matter.
In the game. This is the accelerator your team has to restart during the mission.
Explore the LHC at CERNAn accelerator gives energy to electrically charged particles. Electric fields in radiofrequency cavities accelerate them; magnets steer and focus the beams. In a circular machine, particles pass through the accelerating structures many times. Detectors are then needed to study the collisions.
In the game. Magnetic fields and superconducting materials are central to some of the puzzles.
How accelerators work — CERNIt is the theory describing elementary particles and three fundamental interactions: electromagnetic, weak and strong. It includes quarks, leptons and bosons, including the Higgs boson. For example, a proton contains two up quarks and one down quark. The model has passed many tests, but does not include gravity or explain what dark matter is.
In the game. Combining quarks and identifying particle signals connects the clues to physics.
The Standard Model — CERNATLAS is one of the LHC experiments and the name of its large detector. Layers of instruments around the collision point measure particle paths and energy. Researchers use these signals to reconstruct what happened. ATLAS and CMS announced the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012.
In the game. Collision displays can be read by looking for tracks and energy deposits.
Discover ATLAS at CERNCMS, the Compact Muon Solenoid, is another large LHC experiment. Its detector uses a powerful solenoid magnet and several layers of instruments to study particles produced in collisions. It shares the scientific goals of ATLAS, but uses different technical solutions: independent results allow researchers to compare their observations.
In the game. A Higgs boson candidate event is identified through its decay products.
Discover CMS at CERNINFN, the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, is the Italian public research institute studying the constituents of matter and the fundamental laws of nature. Its work includes nuclear, particle and astroparticle physics, alongside technology development. HEPscape! is one of its projects sharing research with the public through play.
In the game. INFN takes physics beyond the laboratory and invites you to explore it as a team.
Meet INFN (in Italian)CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, with a laboratory on the French–Swiss border. It hosts the LHC and brings together people from many countries to study particles and their interactions. The LHC is the machine; ATLAS and CMS are experiments studying its collisions.
In the game. The virtual visit to CERN is the starting point of the adventure.
Meet CERNThese are the scientific ideas behind the mission. The clues and puzzle solutions await you during the game.
Official resources: the CERN links are in English; the INFN page is in Italian.