O app de leitura Instapaper foi atualizado hoje para a sua versão 10.0 com uma série de novidades — incluindo uma interface repaginada e adaptada ao Liquid Glass (e outras mudanças de design em grande parte do app), bem como novos recursos e melhorias de desempenho.
O Menu de Seções, por exemplo, agora pode mostrar as Contagens de seção em todos os lugares, bem como permite ordenar pastas e etiquetas por nome, ordem de adição ou contagem. Também há melhorias na exibição e suporte completo ao Liquid Glass no iPad.
Quando falamos na Lista de Artigos, ela foi redesenhada com um novo modo Condensado, opções de tipografia e uma nova ação de deslize para mover artigos para o topo. Ela também cria automaticamente listas de reprodução a partir da lista de artigos completa.
Por fim, o Leitor agora conta com quatro novas fontes de leitura (Literata, New York, Open Sans e Atkinson Hyperlegible), bem como permite escolher o que é aberto ao se tocar em um artigo (a Vista de Artigo, a Vista Web, o navegador integrado ou o padrão).
Também contando agora com um widget para ver os artigos lidos no momento ou os salvos recentemente, o Instapaper é grátis para baixar na App Store, mas para usá-lo por completo é necessária uma assinatura Premium, que sai por R$10/mês ou R$100/ano.
Uma das coisas mais chatas ao usar lançadores de apps no iOS é o redirecionamento que acontece antes de um software ser aberto na maioria deles — o que faz com que o usuário veja brevemente o launcher aparecer na tela antes do app que quer verdadeiramente usar.
De acordo com o MacStories, o app Lock Launcher, um dos mais populares do gênero para iOS, resolveu esse problema. Agora, ao tocar no ícone de um app por ele, a abertura do software é direta — bem, pelo menos visivelmente não é possível ver o lançador intermediando o processo.
Outra novidade muito bacana que chegou ao software recentemente foi o suporte aos aos widgets do tamanho extra grande — o que permite ao app ocupar uma página na Tela de Início do iOS quase que por completo, tal como a grade de apps nativa.
Embora (como o seu próprio nome já indica) o app tenha sido desenvolvido com o foco principal em abrir apps direto da Tela Bloqueada, colocá-lo como um widget na Tela de Início é uma opção bem interessante para quem quer uma experiência ainda mais personalizada.
O Lock Launcher pode ser baixado gratuitamente na App Store, mas para usá-lo por completo é necessário aderir ao plano Pro, que pode ser adquirido por uma compra única de R$60, bem como assinado por R$8/mês ou R$40/ano.
On Monday, Citi raised its price target on Apple to $365 from $315 while maintaining its Buy rating. The move reflects stronger margin expectations and rolled-forward financial estimates amid what the bank sees as Apple’s continued resilience in a tough environment for devices.
Apple shares were trading at new all-time highs in Monday morning trading, as investors digested the positive commentary ahead of the company’s upcoming earnings report. Citi remains constructive on the stock, highlighting Apple’s ability to gain market share even as broader smartphone and PC markets face headwinds.
Outperforming a Declining Market
Citi notes that smartphone and PC markets are likely to decline by mid-to-high teens percent. Despite this, Apple is positioned to outperform. According to the note:“continues to outperform the broader smartphone market through share gains, design-driven demand, and strong positioning in the mid-range price segment via promotions and subsidies.”
The firm also stated that Apple “should continue gaining market share despite a slowing devices market.”
Pricing Power and Margin Protection
A key driver behind the higher price target is Apple’s demonstrated ability to implement selective price increases. Citi observed that Apple raised prices on several products mid-quarter amid rising component costs and is evaluating additional memory suppliers to diversify its supply chain.
While iPhone prices remain unchanged for now, Citi expects price increases in the upcoming September launch cycle:“with more focus likely on the higher end models where demand is more resilient.”
The bank also flagged an expected foldable iPhone launch in the fourth calendar quarter. These factors support higher margin expectations following recent price increases.
AI Outlook: Measured Near-Term, Optimistic Longer-Term
On Apple Intelligence, Citi takes a pragmatic view. The note states that Apple Intelligence is:“unlikely to drive a significant upgrade cycle in the near term.”
However, the bank sees meaningful longer-term potential from enhanced Siri AI capabilities, which should increase user engagement and support growth in high-margin services revenue.
September Launch as Key Catalyst
Citi identifies the September iPhone launch as:“an important catalyst that could further strengthen investor sentiment.”
This event is viewed as a potential positive for both hardware momentum and overall investor confidence.
Services Growth: iCloud and Advertising in Focus
On the services side, Citi notes that Sensor Tower data showed App Store revenue in the June quarter grew just 3% year-over-year — tracking below company guidance. That said, the bank views iCloud and advertising as stronger drivers for future revenue growth.
Citi’s raised price target to $365 reflects a combination of:
• Continued market share gains in a challenging devices environment
• Ability to protect and expand margins through selective pricing
• Rolled-forward estimates and stronger margin expectations
MacDailyNews Take: Citi’s note underscores Apple’s structural advantages — brand strength, ecosystem lock-in, and pricing power — even as near-term AI-driven upgrade cycles remain limited.
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Artist’s concept of Golden Dome Constellation (Credit: Wikideas1/Wikimedia/CC 0)
Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, the Pentagon announced a major milestone in the development of President Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defense system after successfully testing a next-generation directed-energy weapon capable of intercepting drones and cruise missiles. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) what the Pentagon revealed about the new directed-energy technology, 2) how the Golden Dome aims to defend against ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missile threats, 3) why the program has drawn comparisons to Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative, and 4) the growing debate over what could become one of the most expensive defense projects in U.S. history.
“With Golden Dome, the War Department will defend our homeland more powerfully than ever before. Golden Dome is real, powerful, and on track.”
– U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
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Golden Dome Advances with Deployment of New Counter-Missile Capability
This week, it was revealed that the Pentagon has made significant strides with the development of its proposed Golden Dome missile defense system, with tests involving a next-generation directed-energy weapon.
Capable of destroying incoming drones and cruise missiles, the weapon has been characterized as a major step toward strengthening America’s future air and missile defense capabilities.
Planned as a multi-layer missile defense system that aims to be operational by the end of President Trump’s term, the Golden Dome aspires to be capable of spotting and destroying a range of missile threats, including ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles.
With the deployment of the new directed-energy weapon this week, the Pentagon has now implemented the first use of next-generation technology that U.S. officials say will lead the way in redefining America’s future air and missile defenses.
The Pentagon’s New Directed-Energy Weapon
In a statement, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the recent test a “first milestone test” for the Golden Dome system.
“Cutting edge directed energy was harnessed and the Dynamic Defense Autonomous Defeat (DDAD) system flawlessly and autonomously cued, targeted, and eliminated a multitude of incoming threats,” Hegseth’s statement read. “This test was executed on schedule — and dynamically defeated every threat.”
Hegesth, who said he was present for the demonstration, “watched our elite warfighters integrate with next-generation technology to stop incoming drones and cruise missiles dead in their tracks,” crediting the advancement to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, a sweeping legislative package put forward in an effort to solidify the permanence of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, along with enacting various other Trump administration priorities.
Hegseth said the legislation provided “the funding to deliver on the ultimate shield to protect America,” and builds on the efforts of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
Few Technical Details Available
While the Pentagon did not provide technical details about the new system, Hegseth refers to the new weapon as “cutting edge directed energy” technology.
For several years, the Pentagon has been developing directed-energy systems for use in the interception of unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles, with Israel previously reporting operational use of prototype laser capabilities as well.
America’s Golden Dome is partly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, although the U.S. counterpart’s design will aim to defend America against longer-range missile attacks—a key element which has encouraged comparisons to Reagan’s SDI.
Unprecedented Expense
The project also carries a large price tag. Presently, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the initiative could cost as much as $1.2 trillion—an amount nearing the total requested $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027, making it one of the most expensive defense initiatives in U.S. history.
The high cost of the initiative is also impacted by the recent costs associated with the U.S. conflict with Iran, which, by some estimates, could exceed $200 billion. Additionally, a recent controversial memorandum of understanding aiming to halt the conflict agrees to supply $300 billion to Iran, which, as noted by some analysts, is an amount that exceeds the current Iranian defense budget by well over a dozen times.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 47-50-1 to block a war powers resolution led by Sen. Tim Kaine that sought to limit President Trump’s authority to conduct military operations against Iran.
Although the measure narrowly advanced in an earlier procedural vote, a surprise upset resulted in a loss of support after Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and Rand Paul changed their positions. The latest vote came just hours after a heated exchange between Trump and Cassidy, during which Cassidy challenged the president over the duration and objectives of the conflict with Iran.
Many have expressed concerns over the unprecedented U.S. defense spending under the current administration, including U.S. Senator Merkley (D-Oregon), Ranking Member of the U.S. Committee on the Budget, who rebuked a recent addition that asks Congress to spend an additional $88 billion in the form of a supplemental request.
“Padding the pockets of their defense contractor friends does nothing to help Americans get ahead,” Merkley said on Wednesday.
Com as novas ofertas de roaming da NOS e da Vodafone, bem como a proliferação dos eSIM digitais, nunca houve tantas opções para manter o telemóvel a funcionar no estrangeiro. Mas escolher a solução certa depende do destino, e as diferenças podem ser tremendas.
In a groundbreaking study set to reshape our understanding of polar carbon dynamics, researchers have uncovered that the lithology of catchment areas along the Antarctic Peninsula plays a pivotal role in regulating the net carbon balance of these fragile ecosystems. This revelation not only challenges previous assumptions regarding carbon sequestration in polar regions but also highlights the complex interplay between geology and climate change in one of the planet’s most sensitive areas.
For decades, scientists have grappled with accurately quantifying carbon fluxes in polar environments due to the extreme conditions and limited accessibility. The Antarctic Peninsula, stretching northwards from the main Antarctic continent, represents a unique geophysical interface where ice, rock, and ocean converge. Prior research predominantly focused on biological and climatic factors controlling carbon balance but seldom accounted for the geochemical contributions borne from the underlying lithology. This new research sets a transformative precedent by rigorously dissecting how rock types influence carbon absorption and release processes, thereby painting a more nuanced picture of the peninsula’s carbon budget.
The study relied heavily on state-of-the-art field measurements coupled with advanced geochemical modeling to parse out the contributions of catchment lithology—essentially the rock makeup and mineral composition of drainage basins—to net carbon balance. Geological substrates act not only as passive backdrops but as active participants in biogeochemical cycles. Chemical weathering of silicate and carbonate minerals can sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide, while other rock forms may facilitate carbon release via mineral dissolution or hydrological transport mechanisms. The research team meticulously sampled various catchment zones along the peninsula, integrating data from frozen soils, sediment runoff, and meltwater streams to decode these lithological influences.
One of the most striking findings from the investigation was the spatial variability of carbon fluxes directly correlated with geological heterogeneity. Catchments dominated by silicate-rich bedrock exhibited higher carbon sequestration capabilities through rock weathering processes compared to those underlain by carbonate lithologies, which tend to release carbon dioxide during dissolution. This variability suggests that predictions of polar carbon dynamics need to incorporate detailed geological maps and lithological classifications for greater precision. Such insights could significantly improve climate models that currently struggle with polar region parameterization.
Moreover, the researchers illuminated the role of mineral weathering as a long-term sink for atmospheric CO2, contrasting the widely documented biological sinks such as phytoplankton blooms and moss growth. In particular, the slow yet persistent process of silicate mineral weathering draws down carbon dioxide, converting it into bicarbonate ions that are flushed into the ocean. This naturally occurring geological carbon pump could be particularly impactful in the Antarctic Peninsula where rapid glacial retreat exposes fresh silicate rock surfaces, enhancing weathering rates. These observations offer compelling evidence that geological processes may buffer climate change effects, at least regionally, by locking away carbon in mineral forms.
Intriguingly, temporal data spanning multiple melt seasons revealed that net carbon balance is highly sensitive to seasonal variations in temperature and hydrology, which themselves are modulated by lithological factors. For example, catchments composed of permeable volcanic rocks exhibited more pronounced meltwater infiltration, accelerating mineral weathering and carbon sequestration during warm months. Conversely, less permeable sedimentary formations tended to trap water and organic carbon within soils, affecting the timing and magnitude of CO2 fluxes to the atmosphere. This complex feedback between lithology, hydrology, and climate underscores the necessity of interdisciplinary approaches when assessing polar carbon systems.
The implications of these findings reverberate far beyond academic curiosity. As the Antarctic Peninsula experiences some of the fastest warming rates on Earth, understanding the controls on carbon balance is critical for forecasting future climate trajectories. If lithological variability leads to differential carbon sequestration zones, then localized geological disruptions caused by melting glaciers or human activity could substantially alter regional carbon budgets. This knowledge is paramount for policymakers designing effective climate mitigation strategies, particularly in sensitive high-latitude environments where carbon feedbacks may accelerate global warming.
In addition to geochemical and climatological impacts, the study also highlights the potential for emerging technologies such as remote sensing and machine learning to map lithological controls at unprecedented resolution. By integrating satellite imagery with field data, researchers can create predictive models that swiftly identify carbon hotspots and areas vulnerable to carbon loss. This approach holds promise not only for Antarctic research but for global efforts to monitor and manage terrestrial carbon stocks in the face of escalating environmental change.
Furthermore, the interdisciplinary team behind this research underscores the importance of collaboration across geology, ecology, and atmospheric science disciplines. Only through such synergies can the subtle yet powerful effects of geological substrates on biogeochemical cycles be fully appreciated. This holistic perspective marks a paradigm shift in polar science, encouraging future studies to transcend traditional boundaries between earth sciences and climate research.
The work also invites a reevaluation of how catchment-scale processes are incorporated into Earth system models. Historically, these models have neglected fine-scale lithological heterogeneities, instead favoring generalized assumptions about soil and sediment carbon storage. The evidence provided by this study advocates for embedding lithological parameters into model architectures, enabling more accurate simulations of polar carbon dynamics under variable climatic scenarios. Such advancements are vital for anticipating tipping points in Antarctic ecosystems where abrupt changes could trigger widespread carbon release.
As global attention intensifies on polar regions as bellwethers of climate change, the intricate connection between rocks beneath our feet and atmospheric carbon cycles comes sharply into focus. The Antarctic Peninsula serves as a natural laboratory, revealing that the geology beneath evolving ice landscapes is not merely inert background but an active, dynamic component influencing the Earth’s carbon footprint. These insights champion a new era where geosciences play a central role in unraveling planetary carbon mysteries and inform global climate stewardship.
To realize the full potential of these findings, continuous monitoring and expanded field campaigns will be indispensable. The study sets a benchmark for future Antarctic research by demonstrating how integrative methodologies can decode complex environmental phenomena. With accelerating climate pressures threatening polar ecosystems, unraveling the lithological control on carbon balance becomes not just an academic endeavor but an urgent imperative for humanity’s environmental resilience.
In conclusion, this landmark research elegantly reveals how the mineral composition and geological characteristics of Antarctic catchments exert profound control over carbon exchanges between land, atmosphere, and ocean. By amalgamating detailed geochemical analyses with ecological and climatic data, the study enriches our comprehension of polar carbon cycling and offers tangible pathways to improve global climate models. As the Antarctic Peninsula continues to reshape itself under warming skies, understanding the lithological underpinnings of its carbon dynamics will be essential for predicting its role in the Earth’s future climate narrative.
Subject of Research: Geology and carbon cycling in the Antarctic Peninsula catchments
Article Title: Catchment lithology controls net carbon balance along the Antarctic Peninsula
Article References:
He, S., Zhang, X., Hu, H. et al. Catchment lithology controls net carbon balance along the Antarctic Peninsula. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74667-9
Draft defense bill funds Pentagon at requested discretionary levels but excludes $350 billion in proposed reconciliation spending, casting doubt on Golden Dome and other space programs
Particle physics is the epitome of ‘big science’. To answer our most fundamental questions out about physics requires world class experiments that push the limits of whats technologically possible. Such incredible sophisticated experiments, like those at the LHC, require bigfacilities to make them possible, bigcollaborations to run them, big project planning to make dreams of new facilities a reality, and committees with big acronyms to decide what to build.
Enter the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (aka P5) which is tasked with assessing the landscape of future projects and laying out a roadmap for the future of the field in the US. And because these large projects are inevitably an international endeavor, the report they released last week has a large impact on the global direction of the field. The report lays out a vision for the next decade of neutrino physics, cosmology, dark matter searches and future colliders.
P5 follows the community-wide brainstorming effort known as the Snowmass Process in which researchers from all areas of particle physics laid out a vision for the future. The Snowmass process led to a particle physics ‘wish list’, consisting of all the projects and research particle physicists would be excited to work on. The P5 process is the hard part, when this incredibly exciting and diverse research program has to be made to fit within realistic budget scenarios. Advocates for different projects and research areas had to make a case of what science their project could achieve and a detailed estimate of the costs. The panel then takes in all this input and makes a set of recommendations of how the budget should be allocated, what should projects be realized and what hopes are dashed. Though the panel only produces a set of recommendations, they are used quite extensively by the Department of Energy which actually allocates funding. If your favorite project is not endorsed by the report, its very unlikely to be funded.
The P5 report also created an awesome graphic that contains symbolism for the different aspects of the plan. The left side depicts oscillating neutrinos and the shape of the Higgs potential. The right side depicts dark matter and the large scale structure of the universe. The central ball of light is supposed to represent discoveries of the unknown. Source
Particle physics is an incredibly diverse field, covering sub-atomic to cosmic scales, so recommendations are divided up into several different areas. In this post I’ll cover the panel’s recommendations for neutrino physics and the cosmic frontier. Future colliders, perhaps the spiciest topic, will be covered in a follow up post.
The Future of Neutrino Physics
For those in the neutrino physics community all eyes were on the panels recommendations regarding the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE is the US’s flagship particle physics experiment for the coming decade and aims to be the definitive worldwide neutrino experiment in the years to come. A high powered beam of neutrinos will be produced at Fermilab and sent 800 miles through the earth’s crust towards several large detectors placed in a mine in South Dakota. Its a much bigger project than previous neutrino experiments, unifying essentially the entire US community into a single collaboration.
DUNE is setup to produce world leading measurements of neutrino oscillations, the property by which neutrinos produced in one ‘flavor state’, (eg an electron-neutrino) gradually changes its state with sinusoidal probability (eg into a muon neutrino) as it propagates through space. This oscillation is made possible by a simple quantum mechanical weirdness: neutrino’s flavor state, whether it couples to electrons muons or taus, is not the same as its mass state. Neutrinos of a definite mass are therefore a mixture of the different flavors and visa versa.
Detailed measurements of this oscillation are the best way we know to determine several key neutrino properties. DUNE aims to finally pin down two crucial neutrino properties: their ‘mass ordering’, which will solidify how the different neutrino flavors and measured mass differences all fit together, and their ‘CP-violation’ which specifies whether neutrinos and their anti-matter counterparts behave the same or not. DUNE’s main competitor is the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment in Japan, another next-generation neutrino experiment with similar goals.
A depiction of the DUNE experiment. A high intensity proton beam at Fermilab is used to create a concentrated beam of neutrinos which are then sent through 800 miles of the Earth’s crust towards detectors placed deep underground South Dakota. Source
Construction of the DUNE experiment has been ongoing for several years and unfortunately has not been going quite as well as hoped. It has faced significant schedule delays and cost overruns. DUNE is now not expected to start taking data until 2031, significantly behind Hyper-Kamiokande’s projected 2027 start. These delays may lead to Hyper-K making these definitive neutrino measurements years before DUNE, which would be a significant blow to the experiment’s impact. This left many DUNE collaborators worried about its broad support from the community.
It came as a relief then when P5 report re-affirmed the strong science case for DUNE, calling it the “ultimate long baseline” neutrino experiment. The report strongly endorsed the completion of the first phase of DUNE. However, it recommended a pared-down version of its upgrade, advocating for an earlier beam upgrade in lieu of additional detectors. This re-imagined upgrade will still achieve the core physics goals of the original proposal with a significant cost savings. With this report, and news that the beleaguered underground cavern construction in South Dakota is now 90% complete, was certainly welcome holiday news to the neutrino community. This is also sets up a decade-long race between DUNE and Hyper-K to be the first to measure these key neutrino properties.
Cosmic Implications
While we normally think of particle physics as focused on the behavior of sub-atomic particles, its really about the study of fundamental forces and laws, no matter the method. This means that telescopes to study the oldest light in the universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), fall into the same budget category as giant accelerators studying sub-atomic particles. Though the experiments in these two areas look very different, the questions they seek to answer are cross-cutting. Understanding how particles interact at very high energies helps us understand the earliest moments of the universe, when such particles were all interacting in a hot dense plasma. Likewise, by studying the these early moments of the universe and its large-scale evolution can tell us about what kinds of particles and forces are influencing its dynamics. When asking fundamental questions about the universe, one needs both the sharpest microscopes and the grandest panoramas possible.
The most prominent example of this blending of the smallest and largest scales in particle physics is dark matter. Some of our best evidence for dark matter comes analyzing the cosmic microwave background to determine how the primordial plasma behaved. These studies showed that some type of ‘cold’, matter that doesn’t interact with light, aka dark matter, was necessary to form the first clumps that eventually seeded the formation of galaxies. Without it, the universe would be much more soup-y and structureless than what we see to today.
The “cosmic web” galaxy clusters from the Millenium simulation. Measuring and understanding this web can tell us a lot about the fundamental constituents of the universe. Source
To determine what dark matter is then requires an attack from two fronts: design experiments here on earth attempting directly detect it, and further study its cosmic implications to look for more clues as to its properties.
The panel recommended next generation telescopes to study the CMB as a top priority. The so called ‘Stage 4’ CMB experiment would deploy telescopes in both the south pole and Chile’s Atacama desert to better characterize sources of atmospheric noise. The CMB has been studied extensively before, but the increased precision of CMS-S4 could shed light on mysteries like dark energy, dark matter, inflation, and the recent Hubble Tension. Given the past fruitfulness of these efforts, I think few doubted the science case for such a next generation experiment.
A mockup of one of the CMS-S4 telescopes which will be based in the Chilean desert. Note the person for scale on the right (source)
The P5 report recommended a suite of new dark matter experiments in the next decade, including the ‘ultimate’ liquid Xenon based dark matter search. Such an experiment would follow in the footsteps of massive noble gas experiments like LZ and XENONnT which have been hunting for a favored type of dark matter called WIMP’s for the last few decades. These experiments essentially build giant vats of liquid Xenon, carefully shield from any sources of external radiation, and look for signs of dark matter particles bumping into any of the Xenon atoms. The larger the vat of Xenon, the higher chance a dark matter particle will bump into something. Current generation experiments have ~7 tons of Xenon, and the next generation experiment would be even larger. The next generation aims to reach the so called ‘neutrino floor’, the point as which the experiments would be sensitive enough to observe astrophysical neutrinos bumping into the Xenon. Such neutrino interactions would look extremely similar to those of dark matter, and thus represent an unavoidable background which would signal the ultimate sensitivity of this type of experiment. WIMP’s could still be hiding in a basement below this neutrino floor, but finding them would be exceedingly difficult.
A photo of the current XENONnT experiment. This pristine cavity is then filled with liquid Xenon and closely monitored for signs of dark matter particles bumping into one of the Xenon atoms. Credit: XENON Collaboration
WIMP’s are not the only dark matter candidates in town, and recent years have also seen an explosion of interest in the broad range of dark matter possibilities, with axions being a prominent example. Other kinds of dark matter could have very different properties than WIMPs and have had much fewer dedicated experiments to search for them. There is ‘low hanging fruit’ to pluck in the way of relatively cheap experiments which can achieve world-leading sensitivity. Previously, these ‘table top’ sized experiments had a notoriously difficult time obtaining funding, as they were often crowded out of the budgets by the massive flagship projects. However, small experiments can be crucial to ensuring our best chance of dark matter discovery, as they fill in the blinds pots missed by the big projects.
The panel therefore recommended creating a new pool of funding set aside for these smaller scale projects. Allowing these smaller scale projects to flourish is important for the vibrancy and scientific diversity of the field, as the centralization of ‘big science’ projects can sometimes lead to unhealthy side effects. This specific recommendation also mirrors a broader trend of the report: to attempt to rebalance the budget portfolio to be spread more evenly and less dominated by the large projects.
A pie chart comparing the budget porfolio in 2023 (left) versus the projected budget in 2033 (right). Currently most of the budget is being taken up by the accelerator upgrades and cavern construction of DUNE, with some amount for the LHC upgrades. But by 2033 the panel recommends a much more equitable balance between different research area.
What Didn’t Make It
Any report like this comes with some tough choices. Budget realities mean not all projects can be funded. Besides the pairing down of some of DUNE’s upgrades, one of the biggest areas that was recommended against were ‘accessory experiments at the LHC’. In particular, MATHUSULA and the Forward Physics Facility were two experiments that proposed to build additional detectors near already existing LHC collision points to look for particles that may be missed by the current experiments. By building new detectors hundreds of meters away from the collision point, shielded by concrete and the earth, they can obtained unique sensitivity to ‘long lived’ particles capable of traversing such distances. These experiments would follow in the footsteps of the current FASER experiment, which is already producing impressive results.
While FASER found success as a relatively ‘cheap’ experiment, reusing detector components from and situating itself in a beam tunnel, these new proposals were asking for quite a bit more. The scale of these detectors would have required new caverns to be built, significantly increasing the cost. Given the cost and specialized purpose of these detectors, the panel recommended against their construction. These collaborations may now try to find ways to pare down their proposal so they can apply to the new small project portfolio.
Another major decision by the panel was to recommend against hosting a new Higgs factor collider in the US. But that will discussed more in a future post.
Conclusions
The P5 panel was faced with a difficult task, the total cost of all projects they were presented with was three times the budget. But they were able to craft a plan that continues the work of the previous decade, addresses current shortcomings and lays out an inspiring vision for the future. So far the community seems to be strongly rallying behind it. At time of writing, over 2700 community members from undergraduates to senior researchers have signed a petition endorsing the panels recommendations. This strong show of support will be key for turning these recommendations into actual funding, and hopefully lobbying congress to even increase funding so that more of this vision can be realized.
For those interested the full report as well as executive summaries of different areas can be found on the P5 website. Members of the US particle physics community are also encouraged to sign the petition endorsing the recommendations here.
And stayed tuned for part 2 of our coverage which will discuss the implications of the report on future colliders!
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