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Scintillation Light For New Physics with Liquid Argon Neutrino Detectors

Project description

Neutrinos back in the spotlight thanks to a new experiment

Neutrinos, the second most abundant known particles in the cosmos, could solve several fundamental questions about the nature of matter and the evolution of the universe. The Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) will be one of three liquid argon neutrino detectors sitting in the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab. SBND will search for beyond-Standard Model particles and improve our understanding of how neutrinos interact, paving the way for the future Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, an experiment under construction which is expected to make transformative discoveries about these tiny particles. The EU-funded LightForNuLAND project plans to make critical contributions to SBND. In particular, it aims to commission the data acquisition and trigger systems of SBND, conduct simulations and analysis of the scintillation light in the detector and search for beyond-Standard Model heavy neutral leptons, which could change our understanding of the neutrinos.

Objective

Neutrino Physics is one of the areas of Particle Physics with the highest potential for discoveries. DUNE, a long-baseline neutrino-oscillation experiment, will study the neutrino mass ordering and the charge-parity violation in the next decade using liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors. Until DUNE begins, the only opportunity to study actual neutrino interactions in LArTPCs is the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program at Fermilab. SBND, the near detector of the SBN Program, will collect the largest statistics of neutrino interactions, enabling the resolution of anomalies which could be caused by additional neutrinos, cross-section measurements in many relevant channels for SBN and DUNE, and Beyond-Standard-Model (BSM) searches. The goal of this fellowship is for Dr Crespo to make a high-visibility contribution to SBND at CIEMAT. Specifically, the objectives are 1) commission the data acquisition and trigger systems of SBND, a critical contribution to the experiment; 2) develop the simulation and reconstruction of scintillation light in the detector, which is crucial for the cosmic-ray background rejection in a near-surface experiment like SBND; 3) develop a search for BSM Heavy Neutral Leptons, which could explain the smallness of the neutrino mass, using the Fermilab neutrino beam. Dr Crespo will receive first-hand training by the CIEMAT group, which has broad experience in simulating and reconstructing scintillation light in LArTPCs, and led this work for one of the DUNE prototypes. The supervisor, Dr Gil-Botella, is the Leader of the Far Detector Dual-Phase Photon-Detection System for DUNE. Dr Crespo will strengthen the CIEMAT contribution to SBND. He is a member of SBND since 2015, and is an expert in the readout and trigger systems, and the Co-Convener of Astroparticle and Exotic Physics in MicroBooNE, another SBN experiment. This project will reintegrate Dr Crespo in the EU, bringing his expertise, and fostering EU and US collaboration.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIONES ENERGETICAS MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y TECNOLOGICAS
Net EU contribution
€ 172 932,48
Address
AVENIDA COMPLUTENSE 40
28040 MADRID
Spain
Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 172 932,48