The 2026 update to the European Strategy for Particle Physics confirms the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) as the immediate scientific priority for the international community and identifies the Future Circular Collider ( FCC) as one of the facilities set to guide the exploration of fundamental physics during the second half of the 21st century. For Chile, this scenario presents a strategic opportunity: to transform its recent status as an Associate Member State of CERN into concrete capabilities in research, engineering, technological development, and the training of advanced human capital.
The update reaffirms that the HL-LHC program will remain the cornerstone of particle physics for decades to come, enabling a significant increase in the volume of available data and allowing for a deeper study of the Higgs boson, dark matter, fundamental interactions, and potential signals of new physics. At the same time, the European strategy identifies the FCC as the main long-term horizon for sustaining CERN’s scientific and technological leadership beyond the LHC
From Chile, the SAPHIR Millennium Institute has closely followed this strategic process. Researchers at the Institute are already participating in studies related to future scientific infrastructures, including the FCC, and have established a long-standing track record of collaboration with international experiments at CERN, particularly in areas related to particle physics, instrumentation, electronics, scientific computing, hardware development, and training the next generation of scientists.
This experience has made it clear that Chile’s participation in CERN cannot be limited solely to traditional academic contributions. Major international experiments require scientific communities capable of participating in the design, construction, assembly, testing, installation, and operation of highly complex scientific equipment. In this context, Chile has a concrete opportunity to strengthen its presence by involving technicians, engineers, graduate students, and professionals specializing in cutting-edge projects.
The challenge, however, is structural. The national contribution to scientific hardware, instrumentation, and experimental operations requires sustained investment, early planning, and institutional coordination. It is not enough to have highly qualified researchers or active scientific ties; a policy is also needed to fund specialized man-hours, international mobility, technical training, participation in integration processes, and access to testing and assembly infrastructure.
This point will be particularly relevant in the context of the upcoming phases of the HL-LHC program and the ATLAS Phase-II Upgrade. During Long Shutdown 3, CERN will need to complete major installation, integration, and commissioning work for new technologies for the High-Luminosity LHC and its detectors, including major upgrades to ATLAS and CMS. For SAPHIR, these phases represent a concrete opportunity to expand Chilean participation in critical tasks related to hardware, electronics, quality control, assembly, and experimental integration.
However, securing a robust Chilean contribution during these phases cannot depend solely on the budgetary efforts of a single research institute. SAPHIR has demonstrated its capacity for scientific coordination, human capital development, and direct links to international collaborations at CERN; however, sustaining larger-scale technological commitments requires a shared strategic vision with the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation, ANID, universities, technical training centers, professional institutes, and technology partners.
Chile’s recent admission as an Associate Member State of CERN presents an unprecedented opportunity. This new status allows us to view our relationship with CERN not only as a platform for scientific collaboration, but also as a means to strengthen national capabilities in engineering, advanced technologies, technical training, knowledge transfer, and the integration of Chilean professionals into major international research facilities.
In this context, SAPHIR believes that the 2026 update to the European Strategy for Particle Physics should also be seen as an invitation to Chile. The question is no longer simply how to participate in CERN, but with what level of ambition to do so. The country can choose to maintain a valuable but limited scientific presence, or move toward a more comprehensive contribution, capable of combining research excellence, technological development, training of technicians and engineers, and integration into international knowledge and innovation networks.
For SAPHIR, the path forward is clear: Chile must seize this window of opportunity to establish a national strategy for participating in major international experiments. Particle physics offers a unique opportunity to train talent, develop technological capabilities, and connect the country with some of the most significant scientific challenges of the 21st century. The update to the European Strategy confirms that the future of this discipline will be built on global collaboration, long-term planning, and highly specialized technical capabilities. Chile now has the opportunity to play an active role in that future.
