MRI: Development of Research Infrastucture for Neutrino and Astroparticle Phyics

中微子物理学和粒子天体物理学将我们对宇宙中最大结构的知识与物质的最小组成部分以及它们之间作用的力的知识联系起来。这种多学科的研究和多样性跨越宇宙学，天体物理学，基本粒子物理学和材料领域。未来的中微子物理实验将致力于确定中微子的性质，精确测量中微子质量和混合角，并在中微子扇区中寻找CP破坏。粒子天体物理学的未来实验将解决有关最高能量宇宙射线的来源和组成、暗物质的分布和性质以及包括暗能量现象在内的宇宙学演化的问题。中微子物理学和粒子天体物理学的实验不仅有重叠的科学目标，而且它们还使用许多共同的探测技术。该奖项将资助主要研究仪器的开发，以支持中微子物理学和粒子天体物理学未来实验的设计和建设。这些实验规模很大，但要求控制背景和理解探测器的响应。 该奖项资助的仪器包括低本底、高效率计数能力和高通量，并通过中子活化分析技术得到增强，用于鉴定超低本底实验的材料，以及用于探测器校准的放射源详细表征的仪器。仪器支持的研究的更广泛的影响包括开发表征材料的新技术;培训本科生和研究生使用复杂的仪器来表征材料和科学技术过程;以及实验室基础设施，以支持其研究范围的关键扩展。

Neutrino physics and particle astrophysics connect our knowledge of the largest structures in the Universe with that of the smallest building blocks of matter and of the forces acting between them. This multidisciplinary research and diversity spans the fields of cosmology, astrophysics, elementary particle physics, and materials. Future experiments in neutrino physics will aim to determine the nature of the neutrino, precisely measure the neutrino masses and mixing angles, and search for CP violation in the neutrino sector. Future experiments in particle astrophysics will address questions concerning the sources and composition of the highest-energy cosmic rays, the distribution and nature of dark matter, and cosmological evolution including the phenomenon of dark energy. Not only do experiments in neutrino physics and particle astrophysics have overlapping scientific goals, but they also employ many common detection techniques. This award will fund the development of major research instrumentation to support the design and construction of future experiments in neutrino physics and particle astrophysics. These experiments are large in size yet demanding in the control of backgrounds and understanding of detector response. The instrumentation funded by this award is comprised of a low background, high-efficiency counting capability with high throughput, enhanced by the technique of neutron activation analysis, for qualifying materials for ultralow background experiments and instrumentation for the detailed characterization of radioactive sources fabricated for detector calibration. The broader impact of the research supported by the instrumentation includes development of new techniques for characterizing materials; training of undergraduate and graduate students in the use of sophisticated instruments to characterize materials and processes for science and technology; and laboratory infrastructure to support a critical expansion of their research scope.