Volume 21 Friday, March 6, 1998 Number 5

by Judy Jackson, Office of Public AffairsTiming is everything. And, many

argued, the timing couldn’t have beenbetter for the release of the long-awaitedreport of the Gilman Subpanel onPlanning for the Future of U.S. HighEnergy Physics. Coming on the heels of an administration budget request boostingscience funding for the first time in years,and with Congress making friendly—andbipartisan—noises about basic research,the report arrived at a moment when itappeared that high-energy physics mighttruly have a future worth planning for.

“Without this budget, I wouldn’thave known what to say,” Energy ResearchDirector Martha Krebs told a February 18meeting of DOE’s influential High EnergyPhysics Advisory Panel, of the Gilman taskforce’s recommendations. “I wouldn’tknow whether there was hope for youraspirations. But with the generalagreement between the Administrationand Congress that investments in science,including high-energy and nuclear physics,have value, I think your report comes at atruly opportune time.”

Fermilab physics programs, currentand future, are key elements of thesubpanel plan, which HEPAP membersunanimously accepted and voted toforward to the Department of Energy.The subpanel’s recommendations givehighest priority to making optimum use of the forefront U.S. physics facilities— including Fermilab’s Tevatron upgrade—

Plan for High-EnergyFuture Affirms Key Role for Fermilab

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The Gilman Subpanel recommends upgrading Tevatronluminosity in the next century, but choosing only onecollider detector for corresponding improvements.

The Gilman Subpanel’s highest priority is to make best use of forefront facilitiesnearing completion, including Fermilab’s Tevatron with the new Main Injector.

FermiNews March 6, 19982

now nearing completion, andrecommends funding “at a level thatensures these facilities fulfill their physicspotential.” Recommendations for futurefacilities include investigating threepotential future accelerators, two of them now under study at Fermilab.

After Drell, now what?Subpanel Chairman Fred Gilman,

professor of physics at Carnegie MellonUniversity, explained that the 22-memberpanel carried out its planning charge inthe context of the 1994 Drell plan, thework of a previous HEPAP subpanelheaded by Stanford Linear AcceleratorCenter’s Sidney Drell. In the wake of thedemise of the Superconducting SuperCollider, the Drell plan recommendedthat the U.S. particle physics communitypick up the pieces and move on with astrong research program that included“significant participation in the LargeHadron Collider accelerator anddetectors, both to provide researchopportunities at the energy frontier andto ensure that U.S. physicists remainintegrated in the international high-energy physics community.”

The signing of the LHC agreementbetween the U.S. and CERN, theEuropean Particle Physics Laboratory,realized this key recommendation.However, Gilman said, with federalappropriations equaling only a smallfraction of the additional $50 million per year that Drell had recommended, it was “now appropriate to review the U.S. program.”

The charge from DOE’s Krebs tothe Gilman subpanel, the 40th suchHEPAP task force to be convened since1968, called for the group to “considerthe potential scientific opportunities andrecommend a scenario for an optimal andbalanced U.S. HEP program over thenext decade.” Krebs instructed the groupto assume constant funding, but also toexamine the effects of both a slightbudgetary increase and a slight decrease.Krebs also asked the group to giveparticular attention to optimizing theuniversity-based physics researchprogram, an area of increasing concern inthe context of the changing university-laboratory research partnership.

HEPAPcontinued from page 1

Twenty-eight in one dayIn its year-long effort to understand

and synthesize the views of the U.S.particle physics research community,Gilman subpanel members sought all theinput they could get. By report-writingtime, they were awash in information fromletters and e-mail messages, opinions onparticular questions solicited from leadersin the field, and statistical and financialdata from government agencies. At fact-finding meetings around the nation,including one held at Fermilab in August,the task force heard 150 presentations by a legion of physicists from gradstudents to greybeards.

“I’ll never forget the meeting atSLAC when we heard twenty-eightpresentations in one day,” said Fermilabphysicist and subpanel member PattyMcBride. “It was overwhelming.”

In fact, said Chairman Gilman, forhim the hardest part of the subpanel’s taskwas to take all this input and assemble itinto a global view. It helped, he said, thatthe subpanel’s members were able to putaside concerns about their own physics turfand concentrate on the national program.

“There were no single-issuemembers,” Gilman said. “We listened, we argued, and we all worked on all of the issues.”

In a seminal post-SSC plan forhigh-energy physics, a 1994subpanel chaired by SLACphysicist Sidney Drell proposedthe temporary “Drell Bump”in funding to support U.S.participation in the LargeHadron Collider. However,“the bump,” says Drell,“unfortunately turned out to be more of a wart.” With U.S. LHC participation areality, the Gilman subpaneladdressed the continuingdirection of the field.

$650M

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Prebooster

Moved FNAL Booster

Proton Linac

Target

Decay Channel

Collider

Cooling Channel

Cascading Accelerators

One possibility for a new facilityat the energy frontier is a muoncollider, hypothetically outlinedhere on the Fermilab site.

FermiNews March 6, 1998 3

Recommendations The work resulted in seven major

recommendations to “maximize thepotential for major discoveries by makingbest use of existing U.S. facilities andparticipating in unique facilities abroad;to position the U.S. for a long-termleading role at the energy frontier; and toprepare the next generation of scientists.”

Best Use of Facilities: “TheSubpanel places its highest priority onoptimum use of the forefront facilitiesnearing completion. The Subpanelrecommends that funding for [the}Tevatron collider, PEP-II, and CESRoperations, and for the physics groupsusing them, be at a level that ensuresthese facilities fulfill their physicspotential.”

LHC: “The Subpanel stronglyendorses the physics goals of the LHCand U.S. participation in the acceleratorproject and the ATLAS and CMSexperiments. The funding level andschedule contained in the CERN-U.S.LHC agreement should be followed. The Subpanel expresses its gratitude to Congress for making possible U.S. participation in the LHC.”

Future Facilities: “The Subpanelrecommends that a new facility at theenergy frontier be an integral part of thelong-term national high-energy physicsprogram.”

Linear Collider: “The Subpanelrecommends that SLAC continue R&Dwith Japan’s KEK toward a common

design for an electron-positron linearcollider...[and] that SLAC be authorizedto produce a Conceptual Design Report for this machine....This is not a recommendation to proceed withconstruction. A decision on whether toconstruct a linear collider should onlyfollow the recommendation of a futuresubpanel convened after the CDR iscomplete.”

Muon Collider: “The Subpanelrecommends that an expanded programof R&D be carried out on a muoncollider....The scale and progress of theR&D program should be subject toadditional review in about two years.”

Very Large Hadron Collider: “The Subpanel recommends an expandedprogram on cost-reduction strategies,enabling technologies, and acceleratorphysics issues for a VLHC...The scale and progress of this R&D programshould be subject to additional review in about two years.”

University Funding: “The Sub-panel recommends that, over a two-yearperiod, the annual DOE operating fundsfor the university program be ramped upby a total of 10 percent above inflation.”

Additional recommendationsincluded upgrading the Tevatron’sluminosity after Run II, but upgradingonly one of Fermilab’s two colliderdetectors to match; the active pursuit ofopportunities in B physics, includingFermilab’s BTeV proposal; limitingexperiments at Brookhaven’s AlternatingGradient Synchrotron to “at most twoconcurrent experiments that competewithin the national program;” and astrengthened program of non-acceleratorphysics. The subpanel also recommended“that Fermilab carefully evaluate theconfiguration of the NuMI/MINOSfacility in the light of results becomingavailable from experiments elsewhere.”

In the event of decreased funding,the report recommended protecting thehighest-priority items, warning that“everything else would be reduced oreliminated.

With more money, the subpanel said,the U.S. could move forward faster withdevelopment of technologies for futureaccelerators, strengthen support foruniversities, make the very most ofexisting facilities, and take the lead in the next international collider.

Fermilab physicists Patty McBrideand Steve Holmes found theirexperience on the Gilman Sub-panel interesting. McBride was“impressed by people’s ability toconcentrate on a national plan, not just protect their own turf.”Holmes said he enjoyed “goingaround to hear everybody’s plansand aspirations—to have that foryour job is nice. When you areasked to understand how the U.S.should best move forward, youdigest the information in adifferent way.”

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The Gilman plan endorses U.S.participation in the LHC. Diagram shows a test of the first prototype of aninteraction region quadrupole magnetbeing built for the LHC at Fermilab.

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FermiNews March 6, 19984

New Heads, Same Coursein Particle Physics Division

“Bob’s been an administrative head for along time, and he knows how to do things,”Cooper said. “He was immensely valuable inthe reorganization a year ago. These are meantto be terms of a few years, not forever.”

Trendler, who said the time was right forhim to make a change, will remain involvedwith the division office in hiring engineers andtechnical staffers. He’ll also be participating inthe technical planning of some of the new PPDproject initiatives, such as CMS, and in someproject safety reviews.

“I look back with great satisfaction,”Trendler said. “I’ve been involved with variousmanagement jobs at the Lab for a lot of years.The people here are first rate, and themanagement style allows a lot of personalfreedom. And consequently, we get excellentwork from excellent employees.”

While emphasizing continuity, Cooper also indicated there was room for a heightenedawareness of safety in getting ready for Run II. “I hope we can raise everybody’sconsciousness,” he said.

Rob Plunkett, a new associate head ofE&TT, said safety is “completely compatiblewith getting our mission done in the mostefficient way.”

“You often find cases where the focus onsafety improves the efficiency of your operationin the long run,” he continued. “It’s animportant element of teamwork when peopleunderstand that safety is an overriding concernof management, and that they’re working in ahighly supportive environment.” ■

By Mike Perricone, Office of Public AffairsThe goals remain the same, but names are

changing in the Particle Physics Division.“The major focus for the next two years,”

said Division Head John Cooper, “is CDF andDZero, and getting them into the collisionhalls in February of 2000.”

“The person with a typical job in adepartment should not be concerned about anyof these changes,” Cooper continued. “It willtake a little time to get to know the new personat the top of the (organizational) box, andthat’s about the only difference.”

Despite the number of changes, Coopersaid the course of the division remains “steadyas she goes until the colliders roll in.” StephenPordes, who moves from head of TechnicalCenters to head of Engineering and TechnicalTeams, seconded the notion.

“I think that phrase is a perfectdescription,” Pordes said. “By the end of thisyear, I would like to be in the clean productionstage for everything. Once we’re in that stage, Ibelieve we can pour the coals on, and by theend of 1999 we can actually have workingdetectors. That’s terribly important forFermilab.”

Cooper said the shifts began with Bob Trendler wanting to move back to dotechnical work again from his post as head of Engineering and Technical Teams. Onereplacement then prompted another down the organizational chart.

New Particle Physics LineupHere are the new names inthe boxes in the ParticlePhysics Division lineup:

■ Stephen Pordes movesfrom head of TechnicalCenters to head ofEngineering and TechnicalTeams, while remainingdeputy head of theDivision;

■ Pordes replaces BobTrendler, who becomes an assistant head of theDivision;

■ Rob Plunkett is a new associate head ofEngineering and TechnicalTeams, working with RichStanek, who remains asassociate head; Plunkettbecomes leader of theMechanical Support teamin E&TT, with Jim Kilmermoving from leader toassistant leader;

■ Mike Crisler becomes the new head of TechnicalCenters, replacing Pordes;

■ Mike Albrow becomeshead of ExperimentalPhysics Projects and BobHsiung becomes associatehead, replacing Jeff Appeland Roger Dixon,respectively;

■ Hans Jostlein becomesan assistant head of thedivision, while remainingassociate head of Technical Centers.

Mike Albrow is the new head ofExperimental Physics Projects.

Rob Plunkett is a new associate head ofEngineering and Technical Teams.

Mike Crisler is the new headof Technical Centers.

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teaching. He hints that he’s likely tocombine science with teaching, becausehe wants “to live some place where thewater doesn’t freeze outdoors regularly”when he retires in 10 years or so.

“I’ll make a decision on St. Patrick’sDay,” Finley said. “I can’t make a badchoice, because there are no bad choiceshere at all. This is not the last you’regoing to hear from me.”

Holmes served three years as head of the Accelerator Division from 1991 to 1994; then his focus changed tocompleting the Main Injector.

“Now we’re in the big crunch,”Holmes said. “The division has to befocused on Run II, and the feeling is thatwe will be more efficient if the division

FermiNews March 6, 1998 5

Holmes Takes Over for Finley at BeamsBy Mike Perricone, Office of Public Affairs

Time is a challenge for SteveHolmes, but a welcome opportunity for Dave Finley.

Holmes, who remains projectmanager for the Main Injector project,succeeded Finley as head of the BeamsDivision on February 16. Inannouncing the appointment,Fermilab Director JohnPeoples acknowledged that“the Tevatron Collider physicsprogram has the highestpriority among the new facilitiesfor high-energy physics inthe U.S. Not surprisingly, thecollider program has thehighest priority at Fermilab as well.”

Holmes, whose term asproject manager expires on December31, 1999, understands the Departmentof Energy is determined to meet theMain Injector project deadline of March 1999.

“The DOE has two priorities, andthey’ve been very clear about them: one,that you finish on budget; two, that youfinish on schedule,” said Holmes,unpacking in his new office down the hallfrom the Main Control Room.

“The next year to 18 months aregoing to be a real challenge,” Holmescontinued. “We have a tremendousamount of work to do.”

Finley, who had been head of theAccelerator Division, became the firsthead of the Beams Division in January,1997, when the Lab was reorganized intoBeams, Computing, Particle Physics andTechnical Divisions. He has served at thedivision management level for more thanseven years, half that time as a divisionhead, and openly enjoys the prospect ofmoving back to hands-on physics.

“The director said, quote, ‘Go dosomething purely technical for a year,’unquote,” said Finley, propping his feeton the desk in his new 13th-floorlocation. “This is my chance to go backto being a boy scientist.”

He has listed 12 possible areas ofconcentration on his blackboard, rangingfrom the Pierre Auger Project to

Dave Finleyrevels in hisopportunityto return tobeing a “boyscientist.”

head and the Main Injectorproject manager are the same

person again. In some ways,it’s still two jobs, but I’mapproaching it as one job.”

First up is repairing theMain Injector’s low-

conductivity-water cooling system,which Holmes said will start by thebeginning of March. Standing

water spawned bacteria whoseacid byproducts ate through thewelds of the stainless steel piping,

causing more than 200 leaks.Holmes said the division has

catalogued repair methods and compiled a data base including

every weld in the tunnel, with a specificrepair assigned to each weld. Participatingvendors will practice their techniques inthe tunnel, becoming qualified for theactual repairs.

“Our goal is to have the watersystem fixed by June 1,” Holmes said. “If we do, then (the delays) shouldn’taffect the schedule too much.”

The DOE office in Germantown,Maryland, has been keeping tabs withweekly videoconferencing, and Holmesknows all DOE eyes are on the project.

“This division has met challenges inthe past, and I have a lot of confidence inour staff,” he said. “I feel if I make sureeverybody understands the goals, they’ll pull it off.” ■

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Steve Holmes, the new head ofBeams Division,prepares for “the big crunch”with the MainInjector Project.

FermiNews March 6, 19986

Geneva: City on the Edge of a Quandary

Alderman Chuck Brownand his wife, Mary Kay,pause before one of the shops in Geneva’sdowntown business area.

This is the third in a series of

articles onFermilab’s

neighboringcommunities.

C O M M U N I T Y P R O F I L E

By Mike Perricone, Office of Public AffairsGeneva, Illinois, has attracted settlers and

shoppers since 1835, when James ClaytonHerrington opened a general store that claimedto carry everything needed for frontier life: ironpots and pans, ax heads, garden tools, calicocloth and whiskey.

After more than 160 years of success, oneof the earliest Illinois settlements west of FortDearborn now faces the question of many smallcities caught in the middle of suburbanexpansion: how does a community balancecharm and growth?

“We’re trying to maintain the feeling andthe atmosphere of a small town where everyoneknows each other, while the town continues togrow,” said Fermilab physicist and GenevaAlderman Chuck Brown, who first served asalderman from 1987 to 1992 and rejoined theCouncil in 1996.

“The first time I ran for office, it was on a‘Controlled Growth’ platform,” Browncontinued. “Those are loaded words inGeneva.”

Geneva is home to more than 80 Fermilabemployees; Brown has lived there since 1974,when he joined the Lab. In those 24 years, hehas seen the town’s population grow from7,000 to 18,000—with a peak of 23,000expected early in the next century. He alreadysees subdivisions west of Randall Road, whichhe sees as a “psychological impediment” to aconnection with the downtown shopping area—the heart of Geneva’s identity.

“I don’t believe we can ever allow growthto compromise our downtown,” said GenevaMayor Tom Coughlin. “I feel that a lot ofpeople have moved to Geneva because of ourdowntown—including myself.”

The modern downtown grew from a homebusiness in Far East silks and artifacts begun in1923 by Kate Raftery. The Little Traveler, herhome storefront at 404 South Third Street,attracted more shops to this street of historichomes. Today, the downtown business area of

Third and State streets encompasses two historicdistricts, which are listed in the NationalRegister of Historic Places.

“With the old homes, the restaurants andthe neat little shops, Third Street has a veryinternational feel,” said Fred Ullrich, head ofFermilab’s Visual Media Services and a Genevaresident since 1981. “We have friends who visitus from all over the country, and they all thinkThird Street in Geneva is really comfortable.And when people come to Fermilab fromCERN (the accelerator laboratory in Geneva,Switzerland), they really appreciate theinternational flavor of this Geneva.”

That flavor grows from the town’s history,stemming from an influx of Swedish immigrantsin the 1850s when a branch of the Galena andChicago Union Railroad was extended toGeneva. The “Swedish Days” festival (held thisyear on June 23-28) has celebrated that heritagefor 48 years.

Seasonal festivals are a major communityactivity (and revenue source), a cooperativeeffort of the city government and the Chamberof Commerce. Spring brings a Celebration ofthe Generations (May 2-3). The Festival of theVine (September 11-13) celebrates harvestseason. And the Christmas Walk (December 4-5) features the lighting of a tree on the KaneCounty Courthouse lawn, and appearances bySanta Claus and Santa Lucia, who arrive byhorse-drawn carriage to offer traditionalSwedish holiday cookies.

At a loose end between festivals? Geneva is home to the Kane County Cougars minor-league baseball team. The Chicago Freeze, a team for 16-to-20-year-old hockey players on their way to college or professional careers, plays at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.

Need to work off some festival calories?Delnor-Community Hospital, the city’s largestemployer, has a new 67,000-square-foot healthand wellness center with lap pools, exercise and

FermiNews March 6, 1998 7

aerobics rooms, gym, whirlpools, saunas, cafeand juice bar, and a “Fit & Fun” children’scenter.

And speaking of children, Brown declaresGeneva’s school system to be the equal of any inthe area—though Ullrich notes the high schoolis becoming overcrowded.

Is there anything not to like about thisplace?

“The good qualities of the town are stillgood, but the amount of building is becoming

overwhelming,” said Borys Jurkiw, of Fermilab’sPersonnel Department. “That’s a reflection ofits attractiveness.”

Jurkiw, whose wife is from Chicago, movedfrom England in 1979 and took a position atFermilab. He and his wife started raising theirtwo children in Chicago, but relocated toGeneva nearly eight years ago when he decidedhe wanted to spend more time with his family“instead of spending it sitting in traffic jams.”

Now the traffic is coming closer to home.“When we moved here,” Jurkiw recalled,

“Randall Road was a single-lane road north ofhere and there was only one traffic lightbetween Elgin and St. Charles. Now, it’s a busyhighway to rival any in the area.”

Ullrich is also wary of encroaching density.“Building has really started to take off,” he

said. “People who’ve been here awhile are notreally happy with the amount of growth.”

Growth appears to be inevitable. ThePillsbury Company recently proposed building a 125,000-square-foot manufacturing plant,creating 150 jobs, in Geneva’s first industrialpark, just north of Fermilab.

“It’s not a done deal yet,” said Coughlin,citing issues of power and water.

The city, which provides electricityinexpensively to residents through the GenevaElectric Company, must determine if it can meetPillsbury’s power needs. And Pillsbury is thelargest company so far to confront Geneva withthe issue of handling wastewater.

“These concerns have been addressed byPillsbury to the satisfaction of our Public WorksDepartment, so the issue goes next to thePlanning Commission in mid-March,”Coughlin said. “We need to make sure we checkthis out thoroughly, but we can’t let it drag onor we’ll lose them.”

Geneva residents have voiced theiropposition to a proposal by Union Pacific for alarge railport on Route 38 south of DuPageCounty Airport. Brown said the hope ofattracting industry is offset by fears of trafficcongestion, which Coughlin said will probablyexceed the estimates of 700 trucks per day atthe 24-hour facility.

“Will this end up looking like ComiskeyPark?” Coughlin asked rhetorically. “We have tosit down and analyze the benefits, or lackthereof.”

Can this charming town maintain thedelicate balance of continuing to grow whilestaying small?

“This is a great place to live and a greatplace to raise children,” said Coughlin, with fivechildren in his own family. “Our goal, and mypersonal goal, is to keep it that way.” ■

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Geneva faces the challenge of maintaining its characterwhile continuing to grow.

Lined with trees andold-fashioned streetlamps, Third Street is apleasant place forshopping or strolling.

FermiNews March 6, 19988

by Sharon Butler, Office of Public AffairsSeeing is believing, but even without seeing

as much as 90 percent of the matter in theuniverse, astronomers believe it exists.

That’s because they’d have to overturnNewton’s time-honored laws of gravitation andmotion if this invisible dark matter, as it iscalled, were nowhere to be found.

Scientists deduce the existence of darkmatter from an anomalous observation: Therotational paths that stars trace are not what thelaws of physics would predict if the universecontained only the “luminous” bodies we see inthe night sky. More mass—dark matter—has tobe present.

Dark Matters

Piecing together the best theories ofgravitation and cosmology with data on themotion of clusters of galaxies and on the large-scale structure of the universe, astronomersbelieve that the light arriving in their telescopesrepresents only about 10 or 20 percent of thematter in the universe.

The theory of inflation, which claims thatthe universe expanded in convulsions splitseconds after the Big Bang, concurs. In fact, itpredicts that there is 100 times more mass inthe universe than meets the eye.

Why is it that we can’t see this dark matter?What is it made of?

Illustration by Tracy Jurinek

Dark matter

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Hot, or cold, or maybe both?

Astrophysicists are debating the

nature of dark matter, and whether

Einstein’s cosmological constant, Λ ,

has a place in explaining it.

FermiNews March 6, 1998 9

Not dark matter

Some scientists have conjectured that darkmatter is just ordinary, or baryonic, mattercomposed of protons and neutrons: perhapsclouds of gas and dust, or huge Jupiter-likeobjects that give off too little light to be seen, or small black holes, from which light cannotescape.

But baryonic dark matter, calculationsshow, can account for only about 10 percent of the total dark matter. If there were any more,the amount of deuterium, helium, and lithiumin the universe would differ considerably fromwhat we observe today.

That conclusion has set scientists lookingfor more exotic stuff.

Hot dark matterAstronomers have proposed two kinds

of dark matter: hot and cold.Hot refers to particles born in the Big

Bang and traveling at nearly the speed of lighteven as the searing temperatures of the universecooled and the galaxies began to form.

The prime candidate for hot dark matter isthe neutrino, a neutral particle that zips aroundsolo, rarely interacting. Even though neutrinosare tiny—the mass of the neutrino, if it has anymass at all, must be less than 30 eV—zillionsexist to fill in the seemingly empty spaces in the universe.

But neutrinos alone can’t account for allthe dark matter. As computer models show,with neutrinos only, scientists have difficultyexplaining the formation of galaxies and quasarswhen the universe was only half a billion yearsold. If neutrinos were the only kind of darkmatter, the universe as we know it today, withall its lumps and clusters, would not exist.

Cold dark matterCold dark matter refers to particles that

were produced in the Big Bang but are somassive that they became nonrelativistic as theuniverse began to cool eons ago. A largenumber of these particles may be left over fromthe Big Bang. They are called, generically,WIMPS, short for weakly interacting massiveparticles.

We can’t see them, the theory goes,because they interact with other particles onlyby means of the weak force and gravity, theweakest force of all—a fact that makes themdifficult to detect.

Supersymmetric particles, which scientistsare hoping to find when the Large HadronCollider is commissioned at CERN, or even in

Run II at the Tevatron, might be one kind of WIMPS. Rocky Kolb, deputy head ofFermilab’s Theoretical Astrophysics Group, says his favorite candidate for dark matter is the photino, the supersymmetric partner of the photon.

There also might be axions or quarknuggets or primordial black holes. Whatevertheir identities, Fermilab experimentalastrophysicist Roger Dixon and his colleagueshave devised an ingenious experiment to lookfor the elusive particles. The scientists havedeployed ultrapure crystals of germanium andsilicon, cooled to almost absolute zero. Darkmatter particles scattered by weak interactionsshould nudge the nuclei in these crystals,creating signals that will be picked up byextremely sensitive sensors. If WIMPS exist.

Einstein’s cosmological constantEven with both hot and cold dark matter

inserted in cosmologists’ equations, thecomputer models don’t come close tomimicking the evolution of the universe, to arrive at the modern-day structure—unless a cosmological constant, Λ, is introduced.

This is the same cosmological constantAlbert Einstein added to “correct” his equationsfor the theory of general relativity. He, likeothers of his day, believed that the universe waspermanent, that “the heavens endure fromeverlasting to everlasting.” So when hisequations showed the universe to be dynamic,either expanding forever or contracting toinfinite density, he invented his cosmologicalconstant to keep the universe just where it was.

Thirteen years later, when E.P. Hubbleproved the universe to be expanding, Einsteinwould call his cosmological constant “thebiggest blunder of my life.”

“We haven’t been able to make that factorgo away,” Dixon says.

And he remains skeptical. “I don’t want touse it; I don’t even drink coffee with peoplewho want to use it,” he jokes.

In fact, in the best tradition of science, thewhole theoretical construction requiring darkmatter remains open to question.

“Maybe there is something fundamentalabout gravity or something about the beginningof the universe that we don’t understand,”Dixon says. “Even inflation could be wrong.But this is the best solution we’ve cooked up sofar. That’s why it’s so important to doexperiments to find [dark matter].”

Because, after all, seeing still is believing. ■

Of Einstein’s cosmologicalconstant, Fermilabexperimental astrophysicistRoger Dixon says, “I don’teven drink coffee withpeople who want to use it.”

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10 FermiNews March 6, 1998

Fermilab for Linuxwith Linux software, but the idea took off onlywhen G.P. Yeh, a Fermilab physicist in theComputing Division working in the CDFcollaboration, got involved.

The crucial question, Yeh said, was “Would it work?”

As a test, Computing Division staff—including Don Holmgren, Don Petravick, RonRechenmacher, Jim Fromm, Connie Sieh andKen Stox—built a small cluster of PCs for off-line data analyses. Yeh had his colleagues inCDF’s Taiwan group transfer the collaboration’scomputing code, which runs on SiliconGraphics and IBM UNIX workstations, to the PCs and make them run using Linux. To their surprise, the task took a mere threeweeks—not a year or more as expected. “It wasreally simple,” said Yeh, “because Linux is just a generic UNIX.”

Meanwhile, Holmgren and Andy Beretvas,of the Computing Division, ported many of thestandard high-energy software programs used inoff-line analyses, with equal success.

Yeh and his group went further. Theysuggested using PCs with Linux operatingsystems for Level III triggers, computer farmsthat process the on-line data from a particledetector. In Run I, Fermilab had used high-endSilicon Graphics Symmetric Multiprocessorsbecause of the large network bandwidthrequired. Advances in switch technology andnetworking in general have since made the PCoption feasible. CDF’s Massachusetts Instituteof Technology group, which is responsible forupgrading the collaboration’s Level III triggers,tried the new idea, and Petravick, Holmgrenand Rechenmacher again got involved, figuringout how to interconnect the computers in thehigh-speed network. No surprise this time.The idea easily worked.

Yeh laughed, “Now people are saying ‘It’sso obvious, we should use PCs and Linux.’”

Computing Division staff are nowsupporting Linux. And scientists in the E871and E815 experiments, the Theoretical PhysicsGroup and the Sloan Digital Sky Surveycollaboration are using the PC/Linuxconfiguration.

And so, Yeh said, “we are quietly changingthe way we compute.”

Torvalds is also pleased. Before he got“completely side-tracked into computers,” hewrote, he was “one of the math-physics geeks”and “very interested in particle physics.... I stillfeel kind of proud that I’m involved even if it isin a fairly distant manner.” ■

(Left to right) RonRechenmacher, of theComputing Division, KevinMcFarland, a physicistfrom the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology,and G.P. Yeh, a Fermilabphysicist, examine Run Idata using the new off-line test farm.

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This penguin is the Linuxofficial mascot, chosen by Linus Torvalds torepresent his image of the operating system hecreated. Others questionwhether “a fat penguinreally embodies the grace of Linux.”

by Sharon Butler, Office of Public AffairsThe 20-something Finnish computer

whiz who invented the Linux operating systeme-mailed Fermilab last week on learning that the Laboratory would not only be using the free software for its on-line and off-line analysesbut had decided to support the system (see www.fnal.gov/cd/CDN/CDN-jan98/cdn-1.html).

“I’m wringing my hands maniacally, and laughing in a very disturbed manner.‘Whahahahhaaa, I’m taking over the world, yes, yes, YES!’” Linus Torvalds joked.

On a more serious note, though, Torvaldssaid he was not surprised. The operating systemhas always had its base in technical anduniversity research centers.

Just two years remain before Run II. Withits explosion in the number of particle collisions,Run II places unprecedented demands onFermilab’s computing facilities. Experimenterswill be collecting at least 20 times more datathan in Run I, requiring a potentially costlyupgrade in the Laboratory’s data-processingcapabilities.

What to do?Intel’s Pentium-Pro 200-MHz chip,

introduced to the market in 1995, opened upthe possibility of using commodity PCs insteadof the more specialized UNIX workstationsused in Run I—at a much lower price.

Add to the PCs the Linux operatingsystem, which is free of maintenance costs, andthe savings, Fermilab realized, would becomeeven more significant.

Fermilab began toying with the idea ofswitching to the more cost-effective PCs fitted

Lunch served from11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

$8/personDinner served at 7 p.m.

$20/person

For reservations, call x4512Cakes for Special Occasions

Dietary RestrictionsContact Tita, x3524

-LunchWednesdayMarch 11

Cumin Roasted Game HensBlack Bean Stew

Spanish RicePineapple Caramel Flan

DinnerThursdayMarch 12

Sausage and Corn ChowderGinger-Glazed Salmon Steak

Stir-fried Snow Peas and Scallions

Steamed Jasmine RiceSpinach Salad with

Toasted Sesame SeedsFruit Sorbet with

Almond Madeleines

LunchWednesdayMarch 18Spicy Sausage, Mushroom and

Three-Cheese CalzoneRadicchio, Arugula and Endive Salad

with Balsamic DressingLemon Cheesecake

DinnerThursdayMarch 19

Chesapeake Bay Crab SoupPork Tenderloin

with Madeira Cream SauceSpaghetti Squash with Herbs

Vegetable of the SeasonCrepes Framboise

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FermiNews March 6, 1998 11

M I L E S T O N E SHONORED■ David Kestenbaum, on February 14, by theAmerican Association for the Advancement ofScience, with the Evert Clark Award for YoungScience Journalists for outstanding science reportingand writing of the year. Kestenbaum, a recent CDFPh.D. from Harvard, now writes for Science and is acontributor to FermiNews.

PAIRED UP■ Fermilab’s Canada geese, in the first sign ofspring at the Laboratory. From now through nesting time, an odd-numbered gaggle is a rarity, as Fermilab’s geese group in even numbers for the season.

RETIRED■ Charles Marofske, I.D. # 54, from theLaboratory Services Section Office. His last work day was February 27, 1998.

Please let your local readers know that almost all ofthe general audience physics books listed on p. 8 ofthe 2/6/98 issue of FermiNews are available in theFermilab Library, on the third floor crossover ofWilson Hall. (We don’t have the Star Trek book,but will be getting it!)

The Library online catalog can be searched on theWeb at http://www-lib.fnal.gov/library/welcome.html, or via telnet to fnlib.fnal.gov.

Thank you.

Sara Tompson, M.S., Fermilab LibraryAdministrator, x6014 or sarat@fnal.gov

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

“A good report”HEPAP members, agency officials and

physicists attending the presentation respondedpositively to the report.

HEPAP Chairman Mike Witherell said hebelieves the Gilman Subpanel report sets thedirections for the field in the next few years.

“Its recommendations are already having aneffect on the DOE budget allocations and onthe research plans of the national laboratories,”Witherell said. “When making the case forfunding high-energy physics, we need to showthat we have a well-thought-out plan with clearpriorities that has the support of the community.The subpanel report gives us such a plan.”

DOE’s assistant director for High Energyand Nuclear Physics, Peter Rosen, agreed.

“The community owes Fred Gilman and allthe members of the subpanel a tremendous voteof thanks,” Rosen said. “Their report makes aclear and compelling case for the field, and itlays out a roadmap for the future. I am sure thatit will be most helpful as we carry the budgetprocess forward.”

Fermilab Director John Peoples called theplan “a good report. It provides guidancewithout prescribing the process, and it creates abalance between facilities exploitation andpreparing for the future.”

Perhaps HEPAP member and ColumbiaUniversity physicist Bill Willis had the definitiveword from the physics trenches.

“Our community always gets behind all oursubpanel reports,” Willis said, “but in this case,I think they will back it sincerely.” ■

HEPAPcontinued from page 3

LAB NOTESSummer Day CampFermilab’s Summer Day Camp is open to children of employees, users and approved contractors ages7–12. Cost per session per child is $225. Three supervised sessions are offered: Session I: June 15–July 3, Session II: July 6–July 24, Session III: July 27–Aug. 14.

The day camp is held in the lower level of KuhnBarn with supervision from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30p.m. Daily programs consist of arts & crafts, sports,swimming, field trips, etc. Applications are availablein the Recreation Office, WH15W, Users Office andAspen East. Deadline for applications is March 30 at5 p.m. Acceptance into the camp is made by lotterydrawing on March 31. For more information,contact the Recreation Office, x2548, x5427,jeanm@fnal.gov or http://fnalpubs.fnal.gov/benedept/recreation/recreation.html.

Thursday Golf LeagueFermilab’s Golf League at Phillips Park is looking for players on Thursday evenings. Play starts in earlyMay and continues through August. To obtain more information or sign up, contact Steve Baginski,x3721 or baginski@almond.fnal.gov, or Joe O’Malley, x2504.

Martha Krebs, director of DOE’s Office ofEnergy Research, said getting Fermilab andSLAC ready to be productive is critical notonly to high-energy physics but to the futureof other DOE efforts as well.

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FOR SALE■ ’91 Nissan 240SX-SE hatchback, 62K miles,excellent condition, loaded, full power options,overdrive. Red and ready, $6,950. Call Ed Dijack,x6300 or (630) 665–6674.

■ ’83 Dodge Aries, excellent condition and lowmileage (for its age), 71K, gray exterior, burgundyinterior, automatic, 4 doors, sturdy. Asking $1,250.Call x2119 or (630) 717–6196 (Juan orChristianne).

■ Nordic Track exercise ski machine, hardly everused, $450 obo; skis, Atomic Arc 195, Salomon 547sport bindings, size 12 US or 13 EU Trappeur 2000boots, also have poles, ski & boot bag, $200 obo.Contact Terry, x4572 or skweres@fnal.gov.

■ Kenmore freezer, 12.6 cubic feet, $100; women’sdown jacket, like new, blue, x-large, $40; new picnicbasket, $15. Call (630) 243–1125.

■ Hoover vacuum cleaner (almost new); halogenlamp. Contact Monique, srivasta@fnal.gov.

FOR RENT■ House in Batavia, 2/3 bedrooms, one bathroom, one car garage. New furnace, central air-conditioning, washer & dryer. Near H.C. Storm grade school. Located in a quiet and niceneighborhood. Rent is $1,200 a month with $1,200 security deposit. For more information, call Rich Flores, (630) 406–1957. House availableMarch 1, 1998.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED■ Fifty half-price tickets for Beauty and the Beastfor most performances; show ends March 29. Pick up tickets at the Atrium front desk.

Published by the Fermilab Office of Public AffairsMS 206 P.O. Box 500 Batavia, IL 60510630-840-3351ferminews@ fnal.gov

Fermilab is operated by Universities Research Association, Inc.,under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.

✩ U.S. GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE: 1998--646-054/80011

50% TOTAL RECOVERED FIBER

10% POST-CONSUMER FIBER

FermiNews March 6, 199812

C L A S S I F I E D S

The deadline for the Friday, March 20, 1998, issue of FermiNews is Tuesday, March 10.

Please send your articlesubmissions, classifiedadvertisements and ideasto the Public AffairsOffice, MS 206 or e-mail ferminews@fnal.gov.

FermiNews welcomes letters from readers. Please include yourname and daytimephone number.

MARCH 8Barn dance at the Village Barn from 7–10 p.m. Livemusic is by Val and Friends, with calling by MikeMiller. The dances are contras, squares, & circledances. All dances are taught; people of all ages andexperience levels are welcome. You don’t need tocome with a partner. Admission is $5. Children under12 are free. The barn dance is sponsored by theFermilab Folk Club. For more information, contactLynn Garren, x2061, or Dave Harding, x2971.

MARCH 10Wellness Works presents: Covert Bailey video“Steroids, Cholesterol & Other Fat,” 12–12:30 p.m.in 1 West.

MARCH 11The Fermilab Barnstormers Radio Control ModelClub will host its annual Delta Dart Night at KuhnBarn starting at 5:30 p.m.

The Delta Dart is a small rubber band-poweredairplane constructed of balsa wood and tissue paper.Built in about 45 minutes, you can fly it that eveningfor fun and prizes. No experience is necessary.Barnstormers club members will be there to guideyou through every step of construction and evenoffer tips on flying.

Materials cost $1 for adults & teenagers; no fee forjuniors (12 and under). Everything is provided. Thejunior’s fly off begins at 7 p.m. sharp. Guaranteedfun for all! For more information, call Alan Hahn,x2987, Fred Krueger, x5515, Rick Mahlum, x4316,or Jim Zagel, x4076. (Groups please call foravailability or to schedule possible alternativearrangements.)

MARCH 12Brown Bag Seminar: “Depression Across the LifeCycle: Differences in Experience & Treatment,”Noon–1 p.m., 1 West.

MARCH 13NALWO potluck dinner at Kuhn Barn, 6:00 p.m.,with drinks and appetizers. Dinner begins at 6:30sharp! Everybody is asked to bring either a main dishserving 6-8 people or a dessert for 12. We will havesoft drinks for everybody, pizza for the kids and winefor adults. Babysitting is provided. If you can’t bringanything, please contribute $3. For furtherinformation, call Angela Jostlein, (630) 355-8279.

Fermilab International Film Society presents:Trainspotting, dir: Danny Boyle, Great Britain(1995). Admission $4, in Ramsey Auditorium,Wilson Hall, at 8 p.m.

MARCH 15Afternoon barn dance at the Village Barn from 2–5 p.m. Live music is by the Common Taters, with calling by Paul Watkins. The dances are contras,squares, & circle dances. All dances are taught;people of all ages and experience levels are welcome.You don’t need to come with a partner. Admission is$5. Children under 12 are free. The barn dance issponsored by the Fermilab Folk Club. For moreinformation, contact Lynn Garren, x2061, or DaveHarding, x2971.

CALENDARMARCH 17Wellness Works presents: Covert Bailey video“Height-Weight Charts That Work,” 1 West,12–12:30. Blood pressure screening in Atrium bythe Credit Union from 11:30–1 p.m.

MARCH 21Fermilab Art Series presents: The Acting Company:Romeo & Juliet, $22. Performance begins at 8 p.m.in Ramsey Auditorium, Wilson Hall. For reservationsor more information, call 840-ARTS.

ONGOINGNALWO coffee mornings, Thursdays, 10 a.m. in the Users’ Center, call Selitha Raja, (630) 305–7769.In the Village Barn, international folk dancing,Thursdays, 7:30–10 p.m., call Mady, (630) 584–0825; Scottish country dancingTuesdays, 7–9:30 p.m., call Doug, x8194.

Conversational English classes, 9–11:30 a.m.,Thursdays, in the Users’ Center.