Study on Neutrino Oscillations

中微子振荡研究

• 批准号: 0969492
• 负责人: Stanley Wojcicki
• 金额: $ 88万
• 依托单位: Stanford University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0969492&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Study; Neutrino; Oscillations

The discovery that neutrinos have mass and that lepton flavor is not conserved has been one of the most exciting developments in particle physics in the last 15 years. It was the first disagreement with the Standard Model and it may well lead to a deeper understanding of why our world is the way it is. The program consists of two experiments, MINOS and NOvA. MINOS is a mature experiment, slated to take data at most for two more years. On the other hand, the civil construction for NOvA has just started and data taking will not start before the end of 2012. Both experiments utilize the NuMI neutrino beam line at Fermilab. The MINOS detector is located underground in a former iron mine in Soudan, MN, and is located 735 km from Fermilab. The most exiting possibility in the field is the question of CP violation. If CP is violated in neutrino physics, that would make more likely the hypothesis of leptogenesis, the scheme which might explain the preponderance of matter over antimatter in our universe and thus explain how is it that we exist. The impact of these studies extends beyond particle physics. The intellectual content of these investigations is such that it excites the public-at-large and especially the young people. Many young people are drawn to science because it can answer fundamental questions like the origin and eventual fate of the universe. We believe that the neutrinos are fundamental particles; they existed from the very beginning and played an important role in the evolution of today's world. They help shape the lives of the stars and carry away most of the energy in a supernova explosion. Thus neutrino physics studies are closely connected with those in astrophysics and cosmology.The program will provide training ground for future scientists and engineers; while doing their PhD and post-PhD research, young men and women will learn modern techniques in software and analysis and become familiar with the state of the art instrumentation. It also will have an impact on the local population, many of whom have never been exposed before to science and scientific way of thinking. MINOS already has an active outreach program and NOvA is planning to emulate a lot of it.

中微子具有质量和轻子味道不守恒的发现是过去15年来粒子物理学最令人兴奋的发展之一。这是与标准模型的第一次分歧，它很可能会导致对为什么我们的世界是这样的更深入的理解。该计划包括两个实验，MINOS和NOVA。Minos是一项成熟的实验，预计最多再用两年时间获取数据。另一方面，Nova的土建工程刚刚开始，数据采集要到2012年底才会开始。这两个实验都利用了费米实验室的努米中微子束线。MINOS探测器位于明尼苏达州Soudan的一个前铁矿的地下，距离Fermilab 735公里。这一领域最令人兴奋的可能性是违反CP的问题。如果在中微子物理学中违反了CP，这将使瘦子发生假说变得更有可能，该假说可能解释我们宇宙中物质相对于反物质的优势，从而解释我们是如何存在的。这些研究的影响超出了粒子物理学的范畴。这些调查的知识性内容使广大公众，特别是年轻人感到兴奋。许多年轻人之所以被科学吸引，是因为它可以回答诸如宇宙的起源和最终命运等基本问题。我们认为，中微子是基本粒子；它们从一开始就存在，并在当今世界的演化中发挥了重要作用。它们帮助塑造恒星的生命，并带走超新星爆发时的大部分能量。因此，中微子物理研究与天体物理和宇宙学的研究密切相关。该计划将为未来的科学家和工程师提供培训场地；在进行博士和博士后研究的同时，青年男女将学习软件和分析方面的现代技术，熟悉最先进的仪器设备。它还将对当地人口产生影响，他们中的许多人以前从未接触过科学和科学思维方式。米诺斯已经有了一个积极的推广计划，Nova正计划效仿其中的许多计划。