Evidence presented at the IEEE-NSS-MIC-RTSD 2025 Conference in Yokohama has raised serious questions about the scientific integrity and technical capability of CERN's multi-billion dollar trigger system for the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. Over 1,500 scientists gathered to discuss medical imaging and high-energy physics technologies, where documentation revealed the 20-trillion-transistor CERN CMS FPGA-based Level-1 Trigger system may be fundamentally incapable of performing the required operations for data selection at the HL-LHC scheduled to operate from 2026-2036.
The technical evidence indicates the system cannot perform the necessary number of operations on data arriving every 25 nanoseconds to filter 8 billion events per second without data loss. Despite multiple presentations by CERN's CMS and ATLAS collaborations, no speakers 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. Researchers made claims about the system's capabilities but failed to support them with verifiable, reproducible calculations or simulation evidence.
The financial implications are substantial, with more than $4 billion in taxpayer funds already spent and over $12 billion projected to be wasted in the next decade on a system that may not meet HL-LHC requirements. This represents one of the largest potential scientific and financial missteps in recent history, dwarfing previous CERN failures including the AXIAL-PET project in 2010, the 2011 claim that neutrinos travel faster than light, and the 2018 WPET full-body wearable imaging coat weighing over 350 kg.
Over 1,200 copies of technical documentation were distributed to conference participants, presenting the central scientific question about whether sufficient evidence exists to dismiss the CMS-FPGA system as ineffective. The documentation is accessible to over 800 million potential readers through more than 5,000 published articles and communications available at https://bit.ly/3HtisQv. Conference participants responded with supportive remarks including encouragement to "Continue to tell the truth."
A formal request was submitted to conference organizers and field leaders to convene a transparent technical workshop comparing the CERN FPGA system against the proven 3D-Flow alternative. The workshop would compare the number of operations per dataset achievable by each system and the cost per electronic channel of each architecture. Scientists supporting the current FPGA approach are invited to defend their claims in open dialogue and simulation-based comparison.
The 3D-Flow architecture, recognized as a breakthrough in 1993, has demonstrated it can perform 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 cost-effective alternative are available at https://bit.ly/4qKVar8. The system remains unchallenged in cost-effectiveness and performance for Level-1 real-time triggering applications.
The call for accountability now extends to the European Parliament, national science funding agencies, and media organizations worldwide to freeze additional funding of the CERN FPGA Level-1 Trigger system until scientific questions are answered and inconsistencies resolved. This situation highlights the critical need for transparency in major scientific projects funded by public money, particularly when alternative solutions exist that could save billions while ensuring scientific progress.
