In the past century, physicists have explored smaller and smaller

scales, trying to explain the origin of mass and probing the theory of

extra dimensions. In recent years, experiments and observations have

pointed to evidence that we can only account for a five percent of the

universe, while the remaining 95 percent is believed to be made of a

dark matter and dark energy, revealing a universe far stranger and more

wonderful than they ever suspected. The global particle physics

community agrees that a precision machine — the International Linear

Collider — will answer the questions about what the universe is made of

and provide exciting new insights into how it works.

A major programme of R&D has been undertaken to test various

technologies for possible detectors to be employed at the ILC. The

CALICE collaboration, in particular, is performing a very challenging

test beam programme directed towards the design of an ILC calorimeter

optimized for both performances and costs, where particle flow (PFA)

calorimetry and software compensation are the main aim of the studies.

In this talk, after an introduction to the various detector concepts

that have been proposed for the ILC, I will concentrate on describing

the latest results obtained by the CALICE collaboration at the test

beams that have been performed at CERN in 2006 and 2007. I will also

give an overview of the UK involvement in the R&D for ILC calorimetry.

Slides