Next Generation Water Cherenkov Detector Technology Development For The Study Of Supernova Neutrinos

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The research proposed for the FLF renewal grant covers and extension of the work originally undertaken in researching and developing new particle detection techniques for neutrinos and then applying them to the exciting study of neutrinos emitted from supernova, particularly those created at the beginning of the universe. These neutrinos are very interesting because they could tell us a lot about the rate and life cycle of star formation and the number of black holes in our universe all the way back to the big bang.The initial award focused on the development of novel calibration hardware for measuring tiny contamination in water, new ultra-fast photo detector technology, advanced data acquisition systems, improved triggering, and analysis algorithms to exploit a brand-new technique of doping water based Cherenkov particle detectors with Gadolinium (Gd). These advances were then to be used on the current world's largest neutrino detector Super-Kamiokande (based in Japan) to help improve the search sensitivity for these extremely rare and ancient supernova neutrino interactions, allowing us to observe them for the first time ever.Whilst this is still underway and we are eagerly looking forward to the results, the developments my group have worked on and the technology of Gd doping have also been employed on a number of other neutrino detectors to great success. These experiments with my help have produced multiple publications and advancements in many areas of science covering both hardware and software. We have also been able to produce a suite of novel synergistic software frameworks and tools to advance the field. The renewal proposes to continue to develop these systems both hardware (in terms of calibration systems and photosensors) and software (for triggering, data acquisition, analysis and particle simulation), as well as bringing the current advances and techniques to the next generation of particle physics detectors that are currently being designed and will be constructed and operated in the renewal period. These experiments are based all over the world from the USA, Europe, Japan and even the UK and aim to be technology test beds for new advances in doping materials and photosensor technology, high precision test beds for making precision particle interaction measurements and in the case of Hyper-k the new world's largest international neutrino experiment, giving us the ability to peer deeper into the universe and study the fundamental properties of the neutrinos themselves. These detectors provide an invaluable opportunity, to develop ground breaking new tools and physics, furthering our understanding. This is particularly the case with the field of supernova neutrinos, where the FLF renewal grant will allow us to ensure that the technology and hardware is developed and in place for people to study them for decades to come and raise the profile of the UKs research excellence internationally as a founding member.