Description
This document has been prepared on behalf of the UK particle physics community to provide input to the 2026 Update to the European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPPU). The UK process began with an initial workshop hosted by the IPPP in Durham in September 2024, aiming to bring together the experimental and theoretical communities to discuss the physics and technological opportunities and challenges associated with the future of particle physics. This was followed by two community drafting days in November 2024 and January 2025. These drafting days focussed on the questions provided by the European Strategy Group (ESG) on both collider and non-collider physics along with additional topics outside the direct scope of the questions but relevant to the future roadmap. These include detector R&D; software and computing; attracting and maintaining talent and expertise; industrial return, and public engagement and outreach. The drafting was facilitated by a drafting team which had representation from both plenary and Early Career Researcher (ECR) UK ECFA delegates and the STFC Particle Physics Advisory Panel (PPAP). For the first submission (31st March 2025) answers to most questions are provided (including q3a – the next high-priority collider at CERN) but prioritisation of alternative options if this is not feasible under various scenarios, and prioritisation of non-collider and complementary areas of exploration, is not provided. These will be discussed further in the next community drafting meeting on 28th April (when further information will be available following community submissions) and updated ahead of the Open Symposium. We anticipate one final community meeting following the release of the briefing book in September 2025 to discuss possible revisions/updates to the draft but we expect these to be minor.
