Physics at the LHC and sLHC

Over the coming years the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will explore the TeV energy scale and will most likely answer fundamental questions of particle physics. In the focus of the experiments are the search for physics beyond the Standard Model and the investigation of the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking. In order to fully exploit the physics potential of the LHC facility a high luminosity upgrade with luminosities of 1035 cm−2 s−1 is envisaged. In the present article the physics potential of the LHC is summarized. For various physics scenarios it is also discussed how an upgraded high luminosity collider, the so called super-LHC (sLHC), could extend the physics reach of the LHC.