Two decades of Mexican particle physics at Fermilab
This report is a view from Fermilab of Mexican particle physics at the Laboratory since about 1980; it is not intended to be a history of Mexican particle physics: that topic is outside the expertise of the writer. The period 1980 to the present coincides with the growth of Mexican experimental particle physics from essentially no activity to its current state where Mexican groups take part in experiments at several of the world's major laboratories. Soon after becoming Fermilab director in 1979, Leon Lederman initiated a program to encourage experimental physics, especially experimental particle physics, in Latin America. At the time, Mexico had significant theoretical particle physics activity, but none in experiment. Following a visit by Lederman to UNAM in 1981, a conference ''Panamerican Symposium on Particle Physics and Technology'' was held in January 1982 at Cocoyoc, Mexico, with about 50 attendees from Europe, North America, and Latin America; these included Lederman, M. Moshinsky, J. Flores, S. Glashow, J. Bjorken, and G. Charpak. Among the conference outcomes were four subsequent similar symposia over the next decade, and a formal Fermilab program to aid Latin American physics (particularly particle physics); it also influenced a decision by Mexican physicist Clicerio Avilez to switch from theoretical to experimental particle physics. The first physics collaboration between Fermilab and Mexico was in particle theory. Post-docs Rodrigo Huerta and Jose Luis Lucio spent 1-2 years at Fermilab starting in 1981, and other theorists (including Augusto Garcia, Arnulfo Zepeda, Matias Moreno and Miguel Angel Perez) also spent time at the Laboratory in the 1980s.
- Research Organization:
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research (ER) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH03000
- OSTI ID:
- 805267
- Report Number(s):
- FERMILAB-Conf-02/310; TRN: US0300859
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: X Mexican School of Particles and Fields, Playa del Carmen (MX), 10/30/2002; Other Information: PBD: 3 Dec 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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