The Software behind the Higgs Boson Discovery
In this column, David Rousseau describes the enormous software development effort associated with teasing out evidence for the elusive Higgs boson, a cornerstone of the Standard Model. In keeping with previous Impact columns, everything about this is huge but the application is unique.
Going Underground
Software for oil exploration and production has been a topic for software R&D for decades, and Shell is one of the main players. The role of such applications can't be underestimated. For example, what's the cost of a defect if you drill in the wrong place as a result of a software bug, knowing that without software you wouldn't have a clue where to start drilling? Shell, one of the largest companies in the world, is very specific about which software it wants to develop and which software it wants to buy elsewhere, even for a core competence like oil exploration and production.
Parameters for low energy operation of CESR
We present a detailed design for operation of the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, CESR, in the energy range covering the /spl psi/ resonances and the Charm and Tau thresholds, as well as reaching to the upper Y resonances near 11 GeV. The addition of 18 m of super-ferric wiggler magnets will partially restore low energy beam emittance and damping times. Installation of superconducting quadrupoles in the interaction region and the addition of high performance superconducting RF cavities will enhance performance at all energies. Studies of optics, beam dynamics, wiggler and vacuum system performance, beam stability, and beam-beam effects confirm operation with a luminosity of 3/spl times/ 10/sup 32/ CM/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/ at 1.88 GeV.