THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE OF ACCELERATOR AND SC MAGNETS PROJECTS (NON-MEDICAL)
Research Infrastructures based on Accelerators and large Superconducting Magnets are enabling scientific instruments to advance and push the limits of pure human knowledge and of societal welfare. Motivated by the successful operation of the existing Research Infrastructures and building on engineering progress, more powerful facilities are under study. The map illustrates the rich Global Landscape of the proposed Research Infrastructures worldwide serving a wide range of applications from science to technology, spanning fundamental, applied and technological research.
THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE: PROJECTS TIMELINE
This timeline of the proposed future Research Infrastructures highlights the planning strategy distinction between:
- Multi-billion Euro international projects like the large high-energy colliders and the nuclear fusion demonstrators: at such high costs, these projects are planned over several decades by collaborations representing one science community, and must undergo a down-selection until at most one facility is built to serve a common research goal.
- Billion-range regional projects like the synchrotron or FEL light sources, generally planned by one country over a decade: these projects serve several science-user communities organized in small collaborations running experiments in parallel and during a limited time. Competition between the facilities built at several places worldwide leads to innovation and improved modes of operation, and thus to increasing steadily the scientific reach of these facilities.
GLOBAL LANDSCAPE OF FUTURE MEDICAL ACCELERATORS (PROTON-THERAPY)
Radio-medecine uses particles like photons (X-rays and gamma-rays), electrons, protons, neutrons, various atomic nuclei to penetrate living tissue, for non-invasive imaging of internal organs, or at higher energies selectively destroy malignant tissue. This map illustrates the worldwide landscape of proton-therapy medical accelerators, based on state-ofthe-art cyclotrons or synchrotrons, whose construction is scheduled in 2020-2023 at oncology centers. Besides radio-medicine, health applications of superconducting magnets encompass mainly the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners when coupled to radio-frequency antennas, and compact gantry systems around hadron-therapy facilities. Health application of accelerators encompasses also the production of radio-nuclides used for disease diagnostics and treatment.
