CERN chills the LHC to chase new physics

The Large Hadron Collider is being upgraded to reach extreme cryogenic temperatures to improve measurements and reduce electronic noise. A new CO2-based heat exchanger, developed with Swep, cools Atlas components to -45C, while other accelerator sections reach 1.9 Kelvin for superconducting magnets. This relies on dilution refrigeration using helium-4 and helium-3, a key tech for quantum computing, with broader applications in cryogenic cooling for semiconductors and even supermarket refrigeration. By achieving colder conditions, scientists aim to probe physics beyond the Standard Model.