The CERN Experimental Areas group was strongly represented at IPAC 2026, held in Deauville, France from 17 to 22 May. The conference brought together the international accelerator community to discuss developments in beam dynamics, accelerator technology, operation, optimisation and future facilities.
Mark Thomson discussing CERN’s future vision and priorities, including the North Area Consolidation project. Credit: A. Gerbershagen.
The strategic importance of CERN’s fixed-target infrastructure was also visible in the plenary programme. In his presentation on CERN’s future vision and priorities, Mark Thomson dedicated a section to the North Area Consolidation project, describing it as a necessary high-priority project for CERN. He underlined its role in restoring availability and reliability, addressing safety issues and non-conformities, and preparing the North Area for future experiments and test beams.
For the Experimental Areas group, IPAC 2026 was therefore an opportunity to show how this long-term preparation is being translated into concrete technical work. The group’s contributions ranged from energy efficiency and infrastructure consolidation to beamline optimisation, advanced simulation and studies for future high-intensity operation.
Thomas Zickler presented work on energy efficiency in the CERN North Experimental Area. The study looks at how the operation of one of CERN’s largest and most versatile experimental facilities can be made more sustainable, while preserving the flexibility required by fixed-target experiments and test-beam users. It addresses power converter operation, cooling, metering and economy modes in the wider context of the North Area Consolidation project.
Florian Stummer presented Monte Carlo simulations of beamline-induced muon backgrounds for the SHiP experiment. His work uses detailed, high-fidelity beamline modelling to identify where unwanted muons may be produced in the future P42 proton beamline and to explore concepts for reducing their contribution to the experimental background. These studies provide quantitative input for the preparation of high-intensity proton delivery to SHiP and the future operation of the HI-ECN3 facility.
EA contributions at IPAC 2026: Giovanni Dal Maso, Florian Stummer and Dipanwita Banerjee with their posters in Deauville. Credit: D. Banerjee, G. Dal Maso.
Dipanwita Banerjee presented the development of a surrogate model for the T09 beamline in the CERN PS East Area. Trained on detailed simulations, the model aims to predict beam properties much faster than full Monte Carlo calculations. This opens the door to rapid parameter scans and, in the longer term, real-time support for beamline tuning and optimisation.
Giovanni Dal Maso presented large-scale optimisation studies for the H4 and M2 beamlines in the SPS North Experimental Area. Using fast tracking models and genetic algorithms, the work demonstrates how modern optimisation methods can improve the performance of complex secondary beamlines while respecting operational constraints. The results are directly relevant for experiments and users relying on high-quality electron and muon beams.
Together, the contributions show the central role of the Experimental Areas group in turning CERN’s fixed-target strategy into working facilities: maintaining and operating complex beamlines, supporting users, improving efficiency, developing new tools, and preparing the infrastructure required for future experiments. They also show how the group combines hands-on operational expertise with simulation, optimisation and engineering work to keep CERN’s experimental areas ready for the next generation of physics.
- Johannes Bernhard