LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Physics in the United States is in a crisis that the country may lose the leadership in basic particle research in coming years, a report of the National Research Council warned.

    Although the United States has a distinguished history of leadership in particle physics, the report said, other nations have increased their investment, threatening the continued distinction of the U.S. program.

    The United States has been leading the world in particle physics for the past 50 years, but now other countries, especially Europe and Japan, have invested vastly on research infrastructure, a panel that wrote the report told Saturday's New York Times.

    Particle physics, which leads to very detailed knowledge of the basic constituents of matter, as well as to a deeper understanding of the universe, relies on research facilities -- the accelerator and the collider.

    While the world's largest accelerator in the United States is expected to shut down in year 2010, noted the panel, the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) will open a huge linear collider named Large Hadron Collider in 2007.

    The Large Hadron Collider in Europe will be the center of attention for particle physicists worldwide over the next 15 years, because of its unique ability to address questions about the structure of matter and the evolution and composition of the universe.

    If the United States fails to build new powerful accelerator or collider in coming years, the experts said, talented particle researchers could get away from the country to carry out their studies in Europe or Japan.

    That will erode the base of science and technology, the experts said. They noted that advancement in particle physics in the past 50 years has led to innovation, provided intellectual and cultural inspiration and bolstered national security over the last century.

    "For more than half a century, the United States has been a leader in particle physics, but its flagship facilities are now being surpassed by new ones in other countries," said panel chair Harold Shapiro, president emeritus of the Princeton University,

    The experts suggest the United States participate in major international particle physics projects and announce its desire to be the host country for the next state-of-the-art particle accelerator, the International Linear Collider.

    To achieve these two objectives, according to the panel, the country's particle physics budget needs to be increased by at least 2 percent to 3 percent per year in real terms. Enditem