40 years · 40 stories: Patrícia Conde
"Patrícia Conde revisits the journey of the ATLAS group at LIP, from its first work in the 1980s to the next generation of particle physics experiments."
40 years of the ATLAS group at LIP
When we begin a career in research, we rarely imagine that we may remain connected to the same experiment for decades. And yet, for many members of the ATLAS group at LIP, that is exactly what happened.
The origins of this story go back to the 1980s, before the LHC collaborations were formally established. Even before the creation of the DRDC, the Detector R&D Committee, the first developments for the detectors of the future were already under way. At LIP, the path that would lead to the Portuguese participation in ATLAS was initiated by Amélia Maio, through pioneering work on calorimetry using scintillating and wavelength-shifting fibres. This work contributed first to SPACAL, and later to RD1 and RD34, the latter being the R&D collaboration that gave rise to the ATLAS TileCal.
In October 1992, with the submission of the Letters of Intent to CERN, the ATLAS Collaboration was officially born. What followed was a demanding period of development and, later, construction. For the Portuguese team, this became one of the most intense periods in its history. The production of the TileCal required an extraordinary effort: around 600,000 WLS fibres were aluminised, tested and inserted into profiles over several months of almost continuous shift work. To make the process viable, a dedicated robot was developed.
This success was not only technical. It was also the result of rigorous and persistent coordination, ensured over many years by Amélia Maio, whose organisational skills and vision were decisive in shaping and consolidating the Portuguese contribution to the ATLAS experiment.
As the detector took shape, the group also grew and diversified its activities. New areas followed: the TileCal control software, ATLAS operation databases, and the development of jet reconstruction and calibration algorithms for the trigger. In parallel, physics studies evolved from simulated scenarios towards predictions increasingly close to reality.
The start-up of the LHC in 2008 brought great excitement, but also an unexpected setback. After only a few days of collisions, an accident forced the machine to stop for about a year. Far from being a lost period, this time was used to the full: cosmic-ray muon data made it possible to fine-tune the detector and the entire data acquisition chain. When the LHC restarted in 2009, the experiment was ready, and the data-taking efficiency proved exemplary.
At that stage, the Portuguese team’s presence at CERN was almost constant. The group’s small office became a meeting point, a workplace and, at times, a space that was far too small for everyone passing through.
Remarkable years followed: the first measurements of W bosons, studies of the top quark, the discovery of the Higgs boson, and searches for new physics. At the same time, preparations began for the high-luminosity upgrades, ensuring the continuity of this scientific adventure.
Over these four decades, the group has trained dozens of students and researchers. Some remain part of the collaboration; others have followed different paths, carrying with them the experience they gained. There are also members of the team who are no longer with us, including Peter Sonderegger, José Silva and Pedro Jorge, whose contributions remain part of the group’s history.
The photographs accompanying this text capture some of the moments that make up this story: the meticulous work of construction, the intensity of operation periods, crowded offices, tributes and celebrations.
Forty years later, the ATLAS group at LIP is more than a scientific project. It is the result of a long-term collective effort, sustained by expertise, dedication and, for many years, by the decisive leadership of Amélia Maio.
And, in a way, the story has come full circle. Just as, in the 1980s, researchers were beginning to imagine the detectors of the LHC, today the group is already involved in R&D activities for future experiments at the Future Circular Collider. New technologies, new challenges and, inevitably, a new generation of researchers.
If the first 40 years were marked by technological development, discoveries and the systematic exploration of the Standard Model, the decades ahead may broaden that horizon even further, either through new discoveries or by deepening our understanding of the questions that remain open.
Experience tells us that projects like these often begin slowly, almost as a distant bet. And, over time, they become something else entirely: a lifetime’s work.
