Description
A large, world-wide community of physicists is working to realise an exceptional physics program
of energy-frontier, electron-positron collisions with the International Linear Collider (ILC). This
program will begin with a central focus on high-precision and model-independent measurements of
the Higgs boson couplings. This method of searching for new physics beyond the Standard Model
is orthogonal to and complements the LHC physics program. The ILC at 250 GeV will also search
for direct new physics in exotic Higgs decays and in pair-production of weakly interacting particles.
Polarised electron and positron beams add unique opportunities to the physics reach. The ILC can
be upgraded to higher energy, enabling precision studies of the top quark and measurement of the
top Yukawa coupling and the Higgs self-coupling.
The key accelerator technology, superconducting radio-frequency cavities, has matured. Optimised
collider and detector designs, and associated physics analyses, were presented in the ILC
Technical Design Report, signed by 2400 scientists.
There is a strong interest in Japan to host this international e?ort. A detailed review of the many
aspects of the project is nearing a conclusion in Japan. Now the Japanese government is preparing
for a decision on the next phase of international negotiations, that could lead to a project start
within a few years. The potential timeline of the ILC project includes an initial phase of about
4 years to obtain international agreements, complete engineering design and prepare construction,
and form the requisite international collaboration, followed by a construction phase of 9 years.
