Fermilab: A plan for discovery

Abstract

This Plan for Discovery describes Fermilab’s long-term scientific strategy. It evolved from the report of the Fermilab Steering Group, convened in 2007 to obtain input from a broad spectrum of U.S. particle and accelerator physics communities and to prepare a report that would provide input to Fermilab, the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel, the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel and the funding agencies as they considered options for new particle accelerators and detectors in the United States. A number of key events have occurred in particle physics over the last four years, including the successful startup of the Large Hadron Collider, the extension of the timeline for the International Linear Collider, and the end of Tevatron operations. These events have guided Fermilab in its implementation of the recommendations of the Steering Group and have led to the development of this Plan for Discovery. The plan is designed to maintain the nation’s leadership in particle physics and keep the laboratory and the United States on the path to discovery at the frontiers of particle physics.