"Our roadmap is similar to a long-range strategic plan, in
the sense that it will inform and guide our steps towards our scientific
goals. However, the roadmap is not a detailed prescription for the next
twenty years. Instead, it lays out the options. It allows us to define
our direction, focus our efforts, and plan the steps we must take. The
roadmap is intended to be a dynamic document, one that will be updated
to adapt to changing circumstances, including new scientific results,
technological developments, international partnerships, and progress
in other fields." - "The Science Ahead: The Way to Discovery"
In preparing its Strategic Plan for release later this spring (see
FYI #9),
DOE's Office of Science will consider the guidance of its advisory bodies.
One of the inputs to the Office of Science plan will be a report prepared
last year by a long-range planning subpanel of the High Energy Physics
Advisory Panel (HEPAP). This report, "The Science Ahead: The Way
to Discovery," lays out a roadmap for the U.S. particle physics
program over the next 20 years.
The HEPAP report "provides an overview of the field, as well as
an outline of the steps we must take to reach our goals." In a
departure from many similar documents, it is not intended to be "a
detailed prescription for the next twenty years," the authors say.
"Instead, it lays out the options" for planning purposes,
acknowledging that not all suggested options can be pursued. The report
encourages international collaborations and partnerships with the related
disciplines of astronomy, cosmology and nuclear physics, and calls for
"a variety of scientific techniques," with the expectation
that "a new generation of particle accelerators will again lead
the way." It makes several key recommendations about the future
of the program, including U.S. involvement in an electron-positron linear
collider, and proposes an on-going panel to regularly revise the roadmap
and prioritize options.
The report, according to the authors, lays out "a realistic plan"
that would allow the U.S. to remain one of the worldwide leaders in
high-energy physics. However, they note that this will require increased
resources over the next 20 years. They also look at constant-level-of-effort
scenarios in which the U.S. "can play an important but selective
role in high-energy physics, but not in the leadership capacity advocated
here." The report, which runs about 75 pages, is available in pdf
format at http://doe-hep.hep.net/lrp_panel/index.html.
The specific roadmap is provided in Appendix A.
The subpanel's major recommendations are as follows:
RECOMMENDATION ONE: "We recommend that the United States
take steps to remain a world leader in the vital and exciting field
of particle physics, through a broad program of research focused on
the frontiers of matter, energy, space and time. The U.S. has achieved
its leadership position through the generous support of the American
people. We renew and reaffirm our commitment to return full value for
the considerable investment made by our fellow citizens. This commitment
includes, but is not limited to, sharing our intellectual insights through
education and outreach, providing highly trained scientific and technical
manpower to help drive the economy, and developing new technologies
that foster the health, wealth and security of our nation and of society
at large."
RECOMMENDATION TWO: "We recommend a twenty-year roadmap
for our field to chart our steps on the frontiers of matter, energy,
space and time. The map will evolve with time to reflect new scientific
opportunities, as well as developments within the international community.
It will drive our choice of the next major facility and allow us to
craft a balanced program to maximize scientific opportunity. We recommend
a new mechanism [a Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, or
‘P5'] to update the roadmap and set priorities across the program.
We understand that this will require hard choices to select which projects
to begin and which to phase out. Factors that must be considered include
the potential scientific payoff, cost and technical feasibility, balance
and diversity, and the way any proposed new initiative fits into the
global structure of the field."
RECOMMENDATION THREE: "We recommend that the highest priority
of the U.S. program be a high-energy, high-luminosity, electron-positron
linear collider, wherever it is built in the world. This facility is
the next major step in the field and should be designed, built and operated
as a fully international effort. We also recommend that the United States
take a leadership position in forming the international collaboration
needed to develop a final design, build and operate this machine. The
U.S. participation should be undertaken as a partnership between DOE
and NSF, with the full involvement of the entire particle physics community.
We urge the immediate creation of a steering group to coordinate all
U.S. efforts toward a linear collider."
RECOMMENDATION FOUR: "We recommend that the United States
prepare to bid to host the linear collider, in a facility that is international
from the inception, with a broad mandate in fundamental physics research
and accelerator development. We believe that the intellectual, educational
and societal benefits make this a wise investment of our nation's resources.
We envision financing the linear collider through a combination of international
partnerships, use of existing resources, and incremental project support.
If it is built in the U.S., the linear collider should be sited to take
full advantage of the resources and infrastructure available at SLAC
and Fermilab."
RECOMMENDATION FIVE: "We recommend that vigorous long-term
R&D aimed toward future high-energy accelerators be carried out
at high priority within our program. It is also important to continue
our development of particle detectors and information technology. These
investments are valuable for their broader benefits and crucial to the
long-range future of our field."
"The theoretical and experimental accomplishments of the past
decade suggest that we are at the threshold of great discoveries,"
the report states. "Together, they show that our base is strong
and our mission clear."
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