From the LHC to society: the new H- linear accelerator at CERN and the application of accelerator technologies to medicine and industry

Abstract:  Linac4 is a new 160 MeV linear accelerator for H- ions commissioned last year at CERN as the first step of a programme for increasing the luminosity of the Large Hadron Collider. The requirements in terms of beam performance and availability for the new LHC injector led to the development of new designs and technical solutions with potential applications beyond basic science. After completing the accelerator, the Linac4 team has been active in adapting some of these technologies to the medical field building a new low-energy injector for proton cancer therapy, and is now developing a new portable linac design for applications in the fields of cultural heritage and of medical and industrial analysis. The speaker will introduce the challenges and the lessons learned from the Linac4 construction and commissioning, will review the applications of ion linear accelerators in the fields of medicine and industry, and will present some examples of new compact linac designs and of their applications.