The Status Of The Slac Linear Collider And Of The Mark Ii Detector

At SLAC we are currently involved in the exciting challenge of commissioning the first example of a new type of colliding beam accelerator, the SLAC Linear Collider, or SLC. The goals of the SLC are two-fold. It will explore the concept of linear colliders, and it will allow the study of physics on the Z° resonance. It accomplishes these goals by exploiting the existing SLAC linac and the large visible cross-section of approximately thirty nanobarns of the Z°. The MARK II detector will have the opportunity to be first to explore the physics in this regime. This paper briefly reports the status of the SLC and of the MARK II as of early October 1987, at which time commissioning efforts were interrupted in order to place the MARK II detector at the collision point and to incorporate some improvements to the SLC. The first portion of this report highlights some of the milestones achieved in the SLC commissioning and some of the problems encountered. The last portion outlines improvements made to the MARK II for physics at the SLC. 10 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.