The NuPRISM Detector: Extending the Sensitivity of Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports work to understand neutrinos: the smallest but most common massive particle in the universe. Although there are a billion neutrinos for every more well-known electron or proton, neutrinos interact only via the so-called "weak" force: so they rarely bump into anything, even the detectors designed to study them. That means they are also the least well understood of the fundamental particles. One of the big mysteries in neutrino science is how they change (or "oscillate") from one type to another. The study of neutrinos has progressed rapidly over the past 25 years. The ultimate goal of neutrino oscillation experiments such as this is to determine whether neutrinos and antineutrinos behave differently. This can tell us about the evolution of the universe a fraction of a second after the big bang, and provide clues about why the universe is currently filled with matter and not anti-matter. Neutrino oscillation experiments produce neutrinos in one particular type (referred to as flavor), which is measured at a near detector close to the neutrino production point, and search for the disappearance of this flavor and/or the appearance of a new neutrino flavor at a far detector. The NuPRISM detector, which this award will develop, is a new type of near detector that measures the produced neutrinos over a wide range of angles, which provides a method for measuring the energy of the neutrinos with unprecedented precision. This new technique has the potential to extend the reach of current and future neutrino oscillation experiments.This project includes enrichment activities for high school students interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields. Students from local school districts will be selected to spend a day at Stony Brook University learning about scientific research, attending demonstrations, and meeting with graduate students and faculty.