Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LORD (First R'n'D and Physics Results with a Novel Opaque Neutrino Detector)
Berichtszeitraum: 2016-09-01 bis 2018-08-31
The goal of this project was to introduce a new approach to collect the scintillation light meant to improve the spatial resolution with which the particle interaction could be imaged. That is, to improve the signal-to-background discrimination in a LS detector.
The importance of this goal lies in basic science. Neutrinos have proved to be a rich source of information about the understating of our universe during the last 70 years, but many unknowns concerning their nature are yet to be solved. Advancing the detection technology is therefore the only viable way to improve our comprehension of this elusive particle.
The simulation activity helped to identify the regime in which the proposed detection technique is expected to overcome the performance of state-of-the-art detectors. The experimental validation (still ongoing at the moment of reporting) was designed to test all the critical aspects of the new technology.
The detection technology developed in this project goes beyond the state of the art by dramatically improving the spatial resolution of LS detectors, hence allowing to fully disentangle the energy depositions of final state particles produced in elusive interactions. This feature is pivotal to discriminate between signal and background processes, and is expected to play a major role in the design of future experiments studying rare processes in the quest to advance our understanding of the fundamental laws of physics.
The main achievement of this action was to have a viable solution for all the aspects of the new detection technique, to have a complete understanding of its physics reach, and to seed its experimental validation which is currently ongoing.
This project is expected to have an impact primarily in terms of basic science. Namely, to have future particle detectors targeting rare processes employing the technique developed in this project to improve their background rejection capability, hence boosting their sensitivity to the detection of new physics.