The last run 1 collisions took place at LHCb on February 2013. The proton beams should traverse again LHCb in early 2015. The period in between is called Long Shutdown 1 (LS1). What is happening at LHCb, 100m underground, during this period?
”LHCb operated with great success throughout LHC run 1 and has not been subject to any major intervention since its assembly in 2008. The current long shutdown offers a first opportunity for prolonged access, and hence an extensive programme of consolidation and maintenance work has been scheduled. This programme involves all general and detector related services, equipment and safety systems” writes Rolf Lindner, the LHCb Technical Coordinator. Read more details here.
The left image shows the installation of the 30 tons shielding for the LHCb muon detector where 2100 blocks were piled up in a confined space. The right one shows the LHCb dipole consolidation.
click the images for higher resolution
The LHCb underground cavern is also a very popular scientific “tourist” place. The total number of visitors in 2013 was 4524 for 392 visits guided by members of LHCb Collaboration. In addition about 2100 persons visited the LHCb detector and nearby LHC tunnel during CERN Open Days in September 2013. The CERN Visit Service showed the LHCb surface exhibition to 220 groups with 7935 visitors last year.
If you have not visited LHCb detector you can visit it “virtually” using the links from the LHCb public page (right column). The links include a Google Street View tour.