Search for Neutrino Oscillations

本提案要求支持斯坦福大学高能物理小组对目前正在费米实验室建设的主注入器中微子振荡搜索（MINOS）实验的研究。MINOS合作组织于1994年10月成立，目前包括来自5个国家30个机构的约250名科学家和工程师。该实验的目标是寻找和研究10-3 Dm2 - 10-2 eV2范围内的中微子振荡。这是最近超级神冈实验结果显示的质量平方差区域，并得到了Soudan和MACRO实验数据的支持。为了获得所需的“水平臂”，MINOS实验将使用费米实验室主注入器加速器产生的中微子束，并在大约730公里外的苏丹矿探测它们。此外，费米实验室将在中微子源附近建造第二个更小的探测器，以便在中微子有机会振荡之前研究它们的性质。振荡的存在将表现为两个探测器相互作用的性质和速率的差异。斯坦福大学的研究小组从一开始就参与了这项实验，并在其智力领导和管理方面发挥了重要作用。该实验的现任发言人是该提案的PI。这个小组的主要技术贡献是在软件开发和模拟方面。我们打算继续这些努力，并在未来大力参与探测器的安装以及波束硬件和波束监测系统的某些方面。

This proposal requests support for research by the Stanford University high energy physics group on the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) experiment currently under construction at Fermilab. The MINOS collaboration was formed in October 1994, and currently it includes about 250 scientists and engineers from 30 institutions in five countries. The experiment has as its goal the search for and study of neutrino oscillations in the range 10-3 Dm2 10-2 eV2 . This is the mass-squared difference region indicated by the recent results from the SuperKamiokande experiment, and supported by data from the Soudan and MACRO experiments. To obtain the required "level arm", the MINOS experiment will use the beam of neutrinos produced by the Main Injector accelerator at Fermilab and detect them in the Soudan mine, about 730 km away. In addition, a second smaller detector will be built close to the neutrino source at Fermilab to study the properties of neutrinos before they have had a chance to oscillate. Presence of oscillations would exhibit itself as a difference in the nature and rate of interactions in the two detectors. The Stanford group has been involved in the experiment from its inception and has played a major role in its intellectual leadership and management. The current spokesman of the experiment is the PI of this proposal. The major technical contributions of this group have been in software development and simulations. It is intended to continue these efforts and to become involved significantly in the future in detector installation and some aspects of the beam hardware and beam monitoring system.