Fermilab

U.S. Department of Energy
  • Tevatron
    Milestones     1983-2011
  • Early Milestones

    Early events and milestones that helped make the Tevatron possible.

    • January 1973 This image from 1983 shows a stockpile of Tevatron magnets before they were installed in the tunnel Fermilab establishes superconducting magnet R&D program
    • April 8, 1977 Four-magnet string successfully energized Four-magnet string successfully energized
    • July 5, 1979 Department of Energy authorizes Fermilab to build superconducting accelerator, later named the Tevatron Fermilab authorized to build superconducting accelerator, later named the Tevatron
    • 1981 A staff member works on installation of the Energy Saver/Doubler, later named the Tevatron Installation of the first Tevatron magnet.
  • March 18 1983

    Installation of the last of 774 superconducting magnets for the Tevatron.
  • Installation of the final magnet into the Energy Doubler Installation of the final magnet into the Energy Doubler, March 1983. In the background are Leon Lederman, Dick Lundy, and Andy Mravca. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • July 3 1983

    Tevatron accelerates protons to world record energy of 512 GeV.

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  • The Main Control Room at the exact moment the Tevatron accelerated protons to 512 GeV, a new world record The Main Control Room at the exact moment the Tevatron accelerated protons to 512 GeV, a new world record.Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • August 16 1983

    Groundbreaking for Antiproton Source.
  • Construction begins for the Antiproton Source Construction begins for the Antiproton Source, 1983. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • October 1 1983

    Start of the Tevatron fixed-target program at 400 GeV with five fixed-target experiments.

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    • Internal Target Internal Target. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
    • Meson Area Meson Area. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
    • Neutrino Area Neutrino Area. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
    • Proton Area Proton Area. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
    Fermilab's fixed target program had four areas: Internal Target, Meson Area, Neutrino Area and Proton Area. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • February 16 1984

    Acceleration of Tevatron beam to 800 GeV.

  • An artistic image depicts the acceleration of particle beams in the Tevatron tunnel An artistic image depicts the acceleration of particle beams in the Tevatron tunnel. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • September 6 1985

    Antiproton Source produces and collects first antiprotons.
  • Elvin Harms in the Antiproton Source in 1989 Elvin Harms in the Antiproton Source in 1989. Image: CDF
  • October 13 1985

    First observation of proton-antiproton collisions by CDF collider detector at 1.6 TeV.
  • Names of CDF crew on October 13, 1985, when first proton-antiproton collisions were detected Names of CDF crew on October 13, 1985, when first proton-antiproton collisions were detected. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • May 1986

    Tevatron named one of the Top Ten Engineering Achievements of the Last 100 Years.
  • Dale Durham fits pipes in the Main-Ring tunnel for what would eventually become the Tevatron Dale Durham fits pipes in the Main-Ring tunnel for what would eventually become the Tevatron. This photograph shows the often cramped conditions that are typical of many jobs performed in the close confines of the tunnel. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • October 21 1986

    Acceleration of Tevatron beam to 900 GeV.
  • Vehicles with lights circle the Tevatron ring at night Vehicles with lights circle the Tevatron ring at night. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • November 30 1986

    First proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV.
  • This artistic image depicts a particle collision in the CDF experiment at Fermilab from the Tevatron's Run I This artistic image depicts a particle collision in the CDF experiment at Fermilab from the Tevatron's Run I. The image, created in 1997, shows a pair of top quark events decaying into a W boson and b quark. The pink tower in the wide view identifies a positron from W decay; the inset shows displaced decays of two b particles (red tracks). Image: KerrCom Multimedia
  • October 18 1989

    Helen Edwards, Dick Lundy, Rich Orr and Alvin Tollestrup receive the National Medal of Technology for their work in building the Tevatron.

  • 1989 National Medal of Technology recipients 1989 National Medal of Technology recipients: (left to right) Alvin V. Tollestrup, J. Ritchie Orr, Richard A. Lundy and Helen T. Edwards. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • August 1991

    First 8MM tape (2.5 GB) used to record data from a particle physics experiment

  • Storage for the data accumulated by experiments at the Tevatron evolved from tens of Terabytes on tape to the current storage of 18 Petabytes with transfers of over 60 Terabytes to and from automated tape libraries on the average day Storage for the data accumulated by experiments at the Tevatron evolved from tens of Terabytes on tape to the current storage of 18 Petabytes with transfers of over 60 Terabytes to and from automated tape libraries on the average day. Image: Reidar Hahn
  • May 12 1992

    DZero detector observes first proton-antiproton collisions.
  • The DZero detector in the collision hall in February of 1992 The DZero detector in the collision hall in February of 1992. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • August 31 1992

    Collider Run I physics program begins with proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV
  • A display of a particle collision event from the Tevatron's Run I A display of a particle collision event from the Tevatron's Run I. This particle collision event, created in 1997, shows a pair of top quarks reconstructed in the DZero experiment at Fermilab. This end view shows the final decay products: two muons (turquoise), a neutrino (pink), and four jets of particles. Image: KerrCom Multimedia
  • September 27 1993

    Tevatron's cryogenic cooling system is named International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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  • Mechanical Engineering Landmark plaque, Last Magnet Installed Document and Cross Section of Tevatron Dipole Magnet Mechanical Engineering Landmark plaque, Last Magnet Installed Document and Cross Section of Tevatron Dipole Magnet Photo: Deborah Guzman
  • February 2 1995

    Tevatron sets world record for number of high-energy proton-antiproton particle collisions.
  • Operators in the Main Control Room work around the clock to run the collider Operators in the Main Control Room work around the clock to run the collider. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • March 3 1995

    Experimenters of the CDF and DZero collaborations announce discovery of top quark.

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  • Headlines about the top quark discovery from around the world Headlines about the top quark discovery from around the world. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • February 20 1996

    End of Collider Run I. The Tevatron has delivered 180 inverse picobarns to both CDF and DZero.

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  • A FermiNews article about the end of Run I A FermiNews article about the end of Run I. Image: FermiNews, March 8, 1996
  • November 18 1996

    Observation of antihydrogen atoms and exotic charm meson states in antiproton experiments.

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  • This experimental apparatus was used in experiment number 862, which detected antihydrogen atoms in 1997 This experimental apparatus was used in experiment number 862, which detected antihydrogen atoms in 1997. Image: PPD, Fermilab
  • August 5 1997

    The Tevatron delivers a record intensity 800 GeV beam for fixed-target experiments: 2.86 x 1013.

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  • A FermiNews article from Aug. 15, 1997 A FermiNews article from Aug. 15, 1997. Image: FermiNews, Aug. 15, 1997
  • March 5 1998

    Discovery of Bc meson, the last of the quark-antiquark pairs known to exist.

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  • Tsukuba University physicist Shin-Hong Kim, of CDF, discussed the discovery of a new meson at a Fermilab seminar on March 5, 1998 Tsukuba University physicist Shin-Hong Kim, of CDF, discussed the discovery of a new meson at a Fermilab seminar on March 5, 1998. Photo: Reidar Hahn/FermiNews
  • August 1998

    First version of Fermi Linux, the operating system that enabled Fermilab to build large physics data analysis clusters using commercially available computers.
  • Fermi Linux, a special distribution of the Linux operating system, was originally created for use by Fermilab experiments Fermi Linux, a special distribution of the Linux operating system, was originally created for use by Fermilab experiments. Scientific Linux, which is produced at Fermilab,now runs on tens of thousands of machines and is the operating system that powers some of the world’s largest physics experiments, including some experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. Image: Reidar Hahn
  • March 1 1999

    Fixed-target experiment KTeV observes direct CP violation in the decay of neutral kaons.

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  • Cesium iodide crystal stacking for the KTeV experiment Cesium iodide crystal stacking for the KTeV experiment. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • January 2000

    End of the Tevatron fixed-target program, which provided beam to 43 experiments.

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  • The cover design of a commemorative book celebrating the Tevatron's fixed-target program The cover design of a commemorative book celebrating the Tevatron's fixed-target program. Illustration: Angela Gonzales
  • July 20 2000

    The DONuT experiment reports first evidence for the direct observation of the tau neutrino.

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  • DONUT spokesman Vittorio Paolone, University of Pittsburgh, poses inside the magnet used to eliminate charged particles from the neutrino beam DONUT spokesman Vittorio Paolone, University of Pittsburgh, poses inside the magnet used to eliminate charged particles from the neutrino beam. The tau neutrino is the third kind of neutrino known to particle physicists. Photo: Fermilab History and Archives Project
  • March 1 2001

    Tevatron collider Run II begins after successful completion of experiment, computing and facility upgrades.

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  • Postdoc Kiyomi Seiya in the Main Control Room Postdoc Kiyomi Seiya in the Main Control Room. Seiya worked on the RF system for slip stacking, a process that doubled the number of protons hitting a target, one of many systems upgraded for the Tevatron's second run. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • November 7 2001

    NuTeV makes precision measurements of weak interaction parameters.

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  • The NuTeV detector was a 700-ton sandwich with over a hundred slices of alternating steel and particle detectors The NuTeV detector was a 700-ton sandwich with over a hundred slices of alternating steel and particle detectors. Even with 700 tons of target material to hit, only one in a billion neutrinos in the NuTeV beam interacted as it went from the first to the last slice. Image: NuTeV
  • July 16 2004

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 1x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.

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  • Luminosity is the measure of the number of particle collisions that occur each second Luminosity is the measure of the number of particle collisions that occur each second. Increasing the number and rate of collisions was the Tevatron's path to discovery. To increase the number of collisions, accelerator experts tried to maximize the peak luminosity, or initial number of protons and antiprotons, of each store to the Tevatron. Image: Reidar Hahn
  • June 22 2005

    FOCUS experiment completes comprehensive studies of charm mesons and baryons.

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  • Focus collaboration meeting in Colorado, June 2003 Focus collaboration meeting in Colorado, June 2003. Photo: Focus collaboration
  • July 9 2005

    First observation of electron cooling of antiprotons in the Recycler Ring.

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  • This electronic log from 2005 indicates the first interactions between electrons and antiprotons in Fermilab's electron cooling system This electronic log from 2005 indicates the first interactions between electrons and antiprotons in Fermilab's electron cooling system. Image: Electron cooling system staff
  • September 9 2006

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 2x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.
  • An aerial photo of the Fermilab site from 2006 An aerial photo of the Fermilab site from 2006. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • September 25 2006

    Discovery of Bs matter-antimatter oscillations: 3 trillion times per second.

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  • CDF collaborator Christoph Paus announced the discovery of B_s antimatter oscillations at a Wine & Cheese seminar on Friday, Sept. 25, 2006 CDF collaborator Christoph Paus announced the discovery of B_s antimatter oscillations at a Wine & Cheese seminar on Friday, Sept. 25, 2006. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • October 23 2006

    Discovery of Sigmab baryons (up-up-bottom and down-down-bottom quark combinations).

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  • The CDF experiment discovered the positively charged Sigma sub_b and the negatively charged Sigma sub_b in both spin configurations The CDF experiment discovered the positively charged Sigma-sub-b and the negatively charged Sigma-sub-b in both spin configurations. Image: Fermilab
  • June 2007

    Discovery of the Cascade-b baryon (down-strange-bottom combination).

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  • In 2007, the CDF and DZero collaborations had back-to-back discoveries of the cascade b-baryon, which is made of a down, a strange and a bottom quark In 2007, the CDF and DZero collaborations had back-to-back discoveries of the cascade b-baryon, which is made of a down, a strange and a bottom quark. Image: Fermilab
  • March 17 2008

    The Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity in excess of 3 x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.

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  • Luminosity is a measure of how efficiently a particle accelerator produces collision events Luminosity is a measure of how efficiently a particle accelerator produces collision events. Image: Fermilab
  • August 4 2008

    Tevatron experiments start restricting the allowed Higgs mass range.

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  • The CDF and DZero experiments restrict the Higgs mass for the first time with combined data The CDF and DZero experiments restrict the Higgs mass for the first time with combined data. The results excluded a mass for the Higgs of 170 GeV/c2 with 95 percent probability. Image: Fermilab
  • March 3 2009

    World's most accurate measurement of the W boson mass leads to stricter Higgs limits.

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  • The mass of the W boson, the carrier of the electroweak force, is a fundamental parameter relevant for many predictions, including the mass of elusive Standard Model Higgs boson, which provides elementary particles with mass The mass of the W boson, the carrier of the electroweak force, is a fundamental parameter relevant for many predictions, including the mass of elusive Standard Model Higgs boson, which provides elementary particles with mass. Image: Fermilab
  • March 9 2009

    Discovery of single top quark production.

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  • This proton-antiproton collision, recorded by the DZero collaboration, is among the single top quark candidate events This proton-antiproton collision, recorded by the DZero collaboration, is among the single top quark candidate events. Image: DZero collaboration
  • September 3 2008

    Discovery of the Omegab baryon.

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  • The decay pattern of the Omega-sub-b particle, which contains three quarks, two strange quarks and a bottom quark (s-s-b) The decay pattern of the Omega-sub-b (Ωb) particle, which contains three quarks, two strange quarks and a bottom quark (s-s-b). It is an exotic relative of the much more common proton and has about six times the proton's mass. Image: Fermilab
  • April 16 2010

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 4 x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.

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  • This plot shows the peak luminosity for several milestones This plot shows the peak luminosity for several milestones. The Tevatron achieved a peak luminosity of 4x 1032 cm-2 sec-1 on April 16, 2010. Image: AD
  • March 7 2011

    Tevatron results exclude 157-173 GeV Higgs boson mass range, favoring a mass between 115-156 GeV

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  • Combined CDF and DZero data, updated in 2011, excludes 157-173 GeV/c2 from the Higgs mass range Combined CDF and DZero data, updated in 2011, excludes 157-173 GeV/c2 from the Higgs mass range. Image: Fermilab
  • June 20 2011

    Discovery of the Xib, a heavy relative of the neutron.

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  • The CDF collaboration announced the discovery of the neutral Xi-sub-b The CDF collaboration announced the discovery of the neutral Xi-sub-b (special character) on June 20, 2011. Experiments at Fermilab's Tevatron have discovered all of the observed baryons with one bottom quark except the Lambda-sub-b, which was discovered at CERN. Image: Fermilab
  • September 30 2011

    Tevatron produces final proton-antiproton collisions; experiments have collected about 10 inverse femtobarns of data each; data analysis will continue for several years.

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  • A time lapse image of the Tevatron ring, taken at night A time lapse image of the Tevatron ring, taken at night. Photo: Reidar Hahn
  • March 2 2012

    World's best measurement of W boson mass points to Higgs mass and tests Standard Model.

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  • March 7 2012

    Using different search techniques, Tevatron physicists see hints of Higgs boson sighting consistent with those from LHC.

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  • Looking Ahead

    Although the Tevatron shut down Sept. 30, Fermilab will continue to analyze the data it provided.

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    • Tevatron data analysis Fermilab’s detector collaborations process their data using the Grid Fermilab’s detector collaborations process their data using the Grid. Photo: Reidar Hahn
    • IARC The new Illinois Accelerator Research Center, a state-of-the-art facility for research located near CDF and the Industrial Building Complex The new Illinois Accelerator Research Center, a state-of-the-art facility for research located near CDF and the Industrial Building Complex. Image: Fermilab
    • MicroBooNE The MicroBooNE experiment, which will build and operate a large, approximately 100-ton, liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) located along the Booster neutrino beam line, will be assembled in the DZero site building The MicroBooNE experiment, which will build and operate a large, approximately 100-ton, liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) located along the Booster neutrino beam line, will be assembled in the DZero site building. Image: Fermilab
    • Muon g-2 Fermilab’s planned g-2 experiment will use the storage ring (above) that was used in a previous muon g-2 experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory Fermilab’s planned g-2 experiment will use the storage ring (above) that was used in a previous muon g-2 experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
    • Mu2e The muon-to-electron conversion experiment (Mu2e) is designed to search for the coherent, neutrino-less conversion of a muon to an electron, in the Coulomb field of a nucleus The muon-to-electron conversion experiment (Mu2e) is designed to search for the coherent, neutrino-less conversion of a muon to an electron, in the Coulomb field of a nucleus. Image: Fermilab
    • Project X The proposed Project X at Fermilab would provide for many research opportunities at the intensity frontier The proposed Project X at Fermilab would provide for many research opportunities at the intensity frontier. Image: Fermilab

    Early Milestones

    Early events and milestones that helped make the Tevatron possible.
    graphic

    March 18 1983

    Installation of the last of 774 superconducting dipole magnets for the Tevatron.
    graphic

    July 3 1983

    Tevatron accelerates protons to world record energy of 512 GeV.
    graphic

    August 16 1983

    Groundbreaking for Antiproton Source.
    graphic

    October 1 1983

    Start of the Tevatron fixed-target program at 400 GeV with five...
    graphic

    February 16 1984

    Acceleration of Tevatron beam to 800 GeV.
    graphic

    September 6 1985

    Antiproton Source produces and collects first antiprotons.
    graphic

    October 13 1985

    First observation of proton-antiproton collisions by CDF collider detector at 1.6 TeV.
    graphic

    May 1986

    Tevatron named one of the Top Ten Engineering Achievements...
    graphic

    October 21 1986

    Acceleration of Tevatron beam to 900 GeV.
    graphic

    November 30 1986

    First proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV.
    graphic

    October 18 1989

    President George Bush presents Helen Edwards, Dick Lundy, Rich Orr...
    graphic

    August 1991

    First 8MM tape (2.5 GB) used to record data from a particle physics experiment
    graphic

    May 12 1992

    DZero detector observes first proton-antiproton collisions.
    graphic

    August 31 1992

    Collider Run I physics program begins with proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV
    graphic

    September 27 1993

    Tevatron's cryogenic cooling system is named...
    graphic

    February 2 1995

    Tevatron sets world record for number of high-energy proton-antiproton...
    graphic

    March 3 1995

    Experimenters of the CDF and DZero collaborations announce discovery...
    graphic

    February 20 1996

    End of Collider Run I. The Tevatron has delivered 180 inverse...
    graphic

    November 18 1996

    Observation of antihydrogen atoms and exotic charm meson states in antiproton experiments.
    graphic

    August 5 1997

    The Tevatron delivers a record intensity 800 GeV beam...
    graphic

    March 5 1998

    Discovery of Bc meson, the last of the quark-antiquark pairs...
    graphic

    August 1998

    First version of Fermi Linux, the operating system that enabled Fermilab...
    graphic

    March 1 1999

    Fixed-target experiment KTeV observes direct CP violation in...
    graphic

    January 2000

    End of the Tevatron fixed-target program, which provided beam...
    graphic

    July 20 2000

    The DONuT experiment reports first evidence for the direct observation...
    graphic

    March 1 2001

    Tevatron collider Run II begins after successful completion of...
    graphic

    November 7 2001

    NuTeV makes precision measurements of weak interaction parameters.
    graphic

    July 16 2004

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 1x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.
    graphic

    June 22 2005

    FOCUS experiment completes comprehensive studies of...
    graphic

    July 9 2005

    First observation of electron cooling of antiprotons in the Recycler Ring.
    graphic

    September 9 2006

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 2x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.
    graphic

    September 25 2006

    Discovery of B_s matter-antimatter oscillations: 3 trillion times per second.
    graphic

    October 23 2006

    Discovery of Sigmab baryons...
    graphic

    June 2007

    Discovery of the Cascade-b baryon (down-strange-bottom combination).
    graphic

    March 17 2008

    The Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity in excess of 3 x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.
    graphic

    August 4 2008

    Tevatron experiments start restricting the allowed Higgs mass range.
    graphic

    March 3 2009

    World's most accurate measurement of the W boson mass...
    graphic

    March 9 2009

    Discovery of single top quark production.
    graphic

    September 3 2008

    Discovery of the Omegab baryon.
    graphic

    April 16 2010

    Tevatron achieves a peak luminosity of 4x 1032 cm-2 sec-1.
    graphic

    March 7 2011

    Tevatron results exclude 157-173 GeV Higgs boson mass range...
    graphic

    June 20 2011

    Discovery of the Xib, a heavy relative of the neutron.
    graphic

    September 30 2011

    Tevatron produces final proton-antiproton collisions; experiments...
    graphic

    March 2 2012

    World's best measurement of W boson mass points to Higgs mass and tests...
    graphic

    March 7 2012

    Using different search techniques, Tevatron physicists see hints...
    graphic

    Looking Ahead

    Future milestones