The Belle II detector at SuperKEKB in Japan recorded its first e+e– collisions since summer 2022 on 20 February. This marked the start of Run 2, which is a major step forward for the Belle II experiment and the SuperKEKB accelerator. After a scheduled long shutdown, the facility underwent upgrades to handle expected increases in luminosity and backgrounds from the beams.
The primary goal of Belle II is to uncover new phenomena through precise analysis of B mesons and other particles produced by the SuperKEKB accelerator. With a long-term objective of accumulating a dataset 50 times larger than that of the former Belle experiment, Belle II is set to push the boundaries of particle physics research. The fully instrumented Belle II detector had its first collisions recorded in March 2019, and with the start of Run 2, researchers and scientists eagerly awaited the results of the first e+e– collisions since the facility’s shutdown.
The dedication and hard work of the teams involved in the upgrades and preparations for Run 2 have paid off, and the scientific community looks forward to the wealth of knowledge and insights that will be gained from the data collected during this phase of the experiment. The start of Run 2 represents a major milestone for particle physics research, as it sets the stage for groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in our understanding of subatomic particles.
