Fermilab is involved in most aspects of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. The CMS detector is designed to detect objects physicists identify as fundamental: electrons, muons, tau leptons, photons, quark jets and missing energy due to weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos. Massive particles, such as the theorized Higgs boson, will decay into these fundamental particles, and the CMS detector will measure their properties.
Fermilab functions as the host laboratory for U.S. efforts in the CMS experiment through its LHC Physics Center, Remote Operations Center and the largest CMS computing center outside of CERN. About 120 Fermilab scientists, postdocs, visiting students, engineers and technicians participate in the CMS collaboration.
Located on the ground floor of Fermilab’s Wilson Hall high rise building, the Remote Operations Center allows physicists to work on the CMS experiment and interact with colleagues at CERN while living halfway around the world. Scientists use state-of-the-art telecommunications technology to video-conference with their fellow collaboration members in high definition and view data from the LHC in real time. CMS collaboration members can complete monitoring shifts of the experiment at the center.