Search for diffuse supernova background in Gd based water Cherenkov experiments

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I intend to make a vital measurement of the rate and energy of neutrinos that arrive from distant supernovae throughout thegalaxy. The properties of these neutrinos will tell us much about about the wider composition of the universe as well as neutrinos themselves. This measurement will allow us to test the rate of black hole formation in the universe, test our models of supernova and tell us about the origin of heavy elements and metallicity of the galaxies. This measurement has not been possible before but is now within reach due to a new adaptation to the detection method known as water Cherenkov. This adaptation adds a metal salt to the water which will increase the efficiency of detection of neutrons present with the neutrino interactions. This will allow us todramatically reduce the backgrounds of the measurement. However in order to make this final result possible, I will create new detection software, particle identification and calibration systems for use with detectors loaded with this metal salt. I will also develop novel analysis tools and make preliminary measurements to quantify the interactions of neutrinos with the medium. This is a very exciting area in which to undertake such a project, not only because it of its impact in understanding the nature andstructure of our universe, but also because activity in the field of neutrino astronomy is rapidly escalating, with a number of new observations of neutrino sources outside oursolar system in the last year alone. This study could accelerate that growth and allow us to probe new galactic objects. The novel neutron calibration devices that are being studied could have wider impact in medical physics as well as the 4 new experiments using the detection method which turn on in the next 5 years.The world leading DAQ and triggering systems developed as part of this project will be implemented on 3 of these 4 detectors, with the most notable being WATCHMAN, a new UK-US initiative to help combat nuclear non proliferation. I envisage that the fellowship will contribute to the development and operation of these detectors over the next 4 + 3 years through my development of the necessary online (DAQ and triggering) and offline (calibration and analysis) systems. This work will allow a measurement of the diffuse supernova neutrino background to be undertaken and perfected. I will build a group to undertake the tasks of this project and will continue in an academic position at Warwick to develop the field further post-Fellowship.