FY 1997 Department of Energy Budget Request: High Energy Physics

DOE funds research on High Energy Physics within the General Science and Research account, in the Office of Energy Research. The FY 1997 request for HEP is $679.1 million, an increase of $12.1 million, or 1.8 percent, from last year’s appropriation. Details of the FY 1997 request for HEP, from DOE’s “FY 1997 Congressional Budget Request: Budget Highlights” document, are quoted below:

“In High Energy Physics, the Department continues to champion U.S. participation in the Large Hadron Collider program at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN). Over 500 U.S. scientists have expressed their enthusiasm for the project by joining collaborations that promote this work. For FY 1997, the Department has requested funds to provide the foundation for U.S. involvement in this international program, pending successful negotiations, with a corresponding slight decrease in funding for High Energy Physics research and facilities operations relative to FY 1996.

“The Department expects the completion of the $293 million B-Factory project at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in FY 1998 and the $259 million Main Injector project at Fermilab in FY 1999. Both projects are proceeding on schedule and on budget. The B-Factory will enable scientists to study charge-parity violation, a process which explains the complete dominance of matter over antimatter in our universe and, hence, our very existence. Of the other High Energy Physics experiments planned for the B-Factory, the principal one will rely on the BABAR detector, under design by a large international collaboration of physicists to precisely detect and measure particle collisions in B-Factory experiments. The Main Injector at Fermilab will provide a five-fold increase in luminosity for collider experiments and a doubling of intensity for the fixed target program, both essential to the continuation of forefront physics research at Fermilab. The increased luminosity will allow for a closer look at the nature of the top quark in detail and for investigation of other new leads in physics research.”

”...In High Energy Physics the FY 1997 budget request continues to reflect the guidance contained in the FY 1994 report `Subpanel on the Vision for the Future of High Energy Physics....’”

“In addition, $203 million is requested in FY 1997 in a separate, government-wide allowance...to fully-fund construction and construction-related activities of three General Science projects from FY 1998 through project completion. The allowance requests that $131 million for RHIC, $37 million for the FermiLab Main Injector, and $35 million for the B-Factory at SLAC be transferred to the Department of Energy. These amounts are not attributed to the Department’s budget totals.”

”...The FY 1997 budget request for High Energy Physics maintains two notable responses to cancellation of the Superconducting Super Collider in FY 1994. First, the U.S. will formally negotiate its involvement in the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project, with funding for the LHC increasing from $6 million in FY 1996 to $15 million in FY 1997. The other response involves continued utilization of existing accelerators for the U.S. High Energy Physics program. Operations and research at the three large laboratories are held essentially to FY 1996 levels. Funding is increased to support the detector for the B-factory ($+7.0 million), and FermiLab detectors ($+4.8 million). Construction stays on schedule for the Fermi Main Injector ([Total Estimated Cost] $229.6 million, FY 1996 - $52.0 million, FY 1997 - $52.0 million, complete in FY 1999) and B-Factory at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (TEC $177.0 million, FY 1996 - $52.0 million, FY 1997 - $45.0 million, complete in FY 1997), and there is a new start for an electrical substation upgrade at SLAC (TEC $12.4 million, FY 1997 - $3.0 million, complete FY 1998).”

Highlights of Program Changes

Large Hadron Collider increases for research/design activities and equipment +$9.0 million

Increases to support the B-Factory detector and CDF and D-Zero detectors at FermiLab +$11.3 million

Construction: Final year funding for B-Factory, initiate SLAC Master Substation Upgrade -$4.0 million

All other programmatic changes -$4.2 million