The Super Proton-Antiproton Synchrotron used the converted SPS ring for counterrotating proton and antiproton beams. In the discovery running, two beams provided , unlike a stationary-target collision at the same incident energy. Antiproton production, accumulation and stochastic cooling supplied the collisions used in the W and Z discovery experiments.[ref]
Experimental Observation of the Intermediate Vector Bosons W+, W− and Z0 by Carlo Rubbia. Section 3, printed p.247 and Fig.5: counterrotating beams, accumulation and SPS conversion
Why can opposite electric charges share the bending magnets? Reversing both and velocity leaves the Lorentz force unchanged at a given point. Both circulating species can therefore bend toward the same ring center in the same magnetic field, with equal magnetic rigidity magnitudes. This argument explains the bending geometry; actual injection, focusing, timed acceleration and collisions still require a complete particle accelerator system.
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The Super Proton–Antiproton Synchrotron (SPS) is a particle accelerator located at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) near Geneva, Switzerland. It operates as a synchrotron particle accelerator and is well-known for its role in high-energy physics research. ### Key features of the SPS: 1. **Purpose**: The SPS was initially built to accelerate protons and antiprotons for the study of high-energy collisions.