Introduction to the LEP e+e- Collider at CERN

The Large Electron Positron (LEP) e+e- collider is an electron positron synchroton operated by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. LEP is situated in a 27km circular tunnel 50-100m underground. Beams of electrons and positrons are circulated in opposite directions in an evacuated tube at almost the speed of light (the electron/positron energy is approximately 45GeV). The electrons and positrons are collided together at four equidistant points around the ring, such that they annihilate to form a Z boson which subsequently decays into a fermion-antifermion pair. The decays are observed in the four LEP detectors, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3, and OPAL, which are situated in large underground experimental halls.

Postscript files of LEP

Lucas Taylor