The proton beam at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)at CERN can reach a luminosity of 10³⁴ cm^-2s^-1 (this means that in a 1 cm² area,10³⁴ protons encounter each other every second).A cross section for collisions of the order of 1 pb (picobarn)provided evidence of the Higgs boson.If the accelerator runs without interruption,approximately how many of these Higgs events can one expect in one year at the LHC? A)3 * 10⁵ Higgs events per year B)1 * 10⁴ Higgs events per year C)400 Higgs events per year D)6 * 10⁶ Higgs events per year E)2000 Higgs events per year

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the number of Higgs events, multiply the luminosity (10^34 cm^-2 s^-1) by the cross section (1 pb = 10^-36 cm^2) and the number of seconds in a year (approximately 3.15 x 10^7 s). This gives approximately 3 x 10^5 Higgs events per year.

The Proton Beam at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)at CERN