Dissertation Enhancement: Particle Astrophysics at the Super-Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory

小行星9724751 该奖项支持为R博士提供为期6个月的国家科学基金会论文增强奖。J. Wilkes在日本东京宇宙线研究所（ICRR）操作的日本Mozumi超级神冈中微子天文台。 Wilkes博士的学生Ross Doyle先生将与ICRR主任Yoji Totsuka教授合作开展一个题为“利用超级神冈观测大气中微子”的研究项目。 过去20年来进行的实验证据一致表明，观测到的来自太阳的电子中微子数量与预期的数量之间存在差异。 Homestake，SAGE，Kamiokande II和GALLEX等实验都报告了比标准模型预测的更少的电子中微子。 由于目前还没有一个太阳模型能够充分预测中微子的观测水平，同时又能解释太阳的所有其他观测特征，因此中微子振荡的可能性被用来解释测量到的一种物质的不足。 拟议的研究旨在确定这些中微子振荡是否真的发生，如果是这样，测量太阳电子中微子通量比以前完成的更精确。 ***

9724751 Wilkes This award supports a 6 month National Science Foundation Dissertation Enhancement Award for Dr. R. J. Wilkes at the Super-Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory, Mozumi, Japan, operated by the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR), Tokyo, Japan. Dr. Wilkes's student, Mr. Ross Doyle, will work with Professor Yoji Totsuka, Director of ICRR, on a research project entitled "Atmospheric Neutrino Observations with Super-Kamiokande". Evidence from experiments conducted over the last two decades consistently suggests there is a discrepancy between the number of electron neutrinos observed coming from the sun and the number that might be expected. Experiments such as Homestake, SAGE, Kamiokande II, and GALLEX have all reported fewer electron neutrinos than standard models predict. Because no solar models have yet been developed that are adequately able to both predict the observed level of neutrinos and yet account for all the other observed features of the sun, the possibility of neutrino oscillations has been invoked as an explanation for the measured deficit of one species. The proposed research is designed to determine whether these neutrino oscillations actually occur and, if so, measure the solar electron neutrino flux with greater accuracy than has been accomplished previously. ***