Scientific Integrity Concerns Raised Over CERN's $16 Billion Trigger System at International Conference

During the IEEE-NSS-MIC-RTSD 2025 Conference in Yokohama, significant concerns emerged regarding the scientific integrity and technical capabilities of CERN's newly developed FPGA-based Level-1 Trigger system for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. Evidence presented at the conference revealed that the 20-trillion-transistor system may be fundamentally incapable of performing the required number of operations on data arriving every 25 nanoseconds to filter 8 billion events per second without data loss.

The Crosetto Foundation for the Reduction of Cancer Deaths distributed technical documentation (https://bit.ly/437YX7H) to over 1,200 conference participants, highlighting that despite multiple presentations by CERN representatives, none could specify how many basic operations the FPGA system can execute per dataset or provide technical proof that the system can efficiently perform Level-2 trigger algorithms at Level-1. This lack of verifiable, reproducible calculations raises serious questions about the system's capability to meet HL-LHC requirements through its planned operational period until 2036.

The financial implications are substantial, with more than $4 billion already invested and over $12 billion projected to be spent in the next decade on a system that may not function as required. This represents one of the largest potential scientific and financial missteps in recent history, dwarfing previous CERN controversies including the AXIAL-PET project in 2010, the 2011 neutrino speed claims, and the 2018 WPET wearable imaging coat that weighed over 350 kg.

The foundation is calling for immediate action from the European Parliament, national science funding agencies, and media organizations worldwide to freeze additional funding until these scientific questions are resolved. Over 800 million potential readers have access to supporting documentation through more than 5,000 published articles and communications (https://bit.ly/3HtisQv), providing substantial background for informed decision-making.

A formal request (https://bit.ly/4nJRsvc) was submitted to conference organizers for a transparent technical workshop to compare the CERN FPGA system against the proven 3D-Flow alternative. The 3D-Flow architecture, recognized as a breakthrough technology in 1993, has demonstrated capabilities of performing 2,400 operations per dataset at approximately $13 per channel or 9,600 operations per dataset at about $54 per channel when implemented on an ATCA board. Technical details of this alternative system are available (https://bit.ly/4qKVar8) and show significantly better cost-effectiveness for Level-1 real-time triggering requirements.

The call for scientific integrity comes at a critical juncture for particle physics research, where proper data selection systems are essential for meaningful scientific discovery. The inability to properly filter 8 billion events per second could compromise the entire HL-LHC research program, potentially delaying or invalidating crucial physics experiments planned for the next decade. This situation highlights the importance of rigorous technical validation and transparent scientific discourse before committing substantial public funds to large-scale research infrastructure projects.