Superconducting core component for international P2 experiment installed in underground hall at a depth of ten meters

One of the flagship projects of the PRISMA⁺ Cluster of Excellence at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is the construction of the new energy-recovering particle accelerator MESA (Mainz Energy-recovering Superconducting Accelerator), which will enable experiments with unprecedented precision in the future. One of the main experiments at MESA, P2, will play a key role in researching the “new physics” – physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics – by measuring the so-called weak mixing angle. The central component of the P2 experiment, a superconducting magnet coil with a diameter of four meters and a weight of 21 tons, has now been delivered to the JGU campus and installed in the MESA particle accelerator. The magnet was manufactured in Vannes, France, and delivered to Mainz last Thursday. “We have been working together with the company SigmaPhi for almost five years to overcome the challenges and implement the state-of-the-art design for our experiment,” said Professor Frank Maas, spokesperson of the P2 experiment, which is currently being set up by a collaboration of physicists from Germany, France, Canada, and the USA.

“Such a solenoid magnet is being used for experiments of this kind for the first time. Its large diameter makes it possible to record particularly high particle rates. However, the size of the magnet also posed a particular challenge in terms of design and production.”