Study on Neutrino Oscillations

中微子有质量和轻子味不守恒的发现是过去15年来粒子物理学中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是一个成熟的实验，预计最多再用两年时间收集数据。另一方面，NOvA的土建工程刚刚开始，数据采集工作要到2012年底才能开始。这两个实验都利用了费米实验室的NuMI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，距离费米实验室735公里。该领域最大的可能性是CP破坏问题。如果在中微子物理学中CP被违反，那么就更有可能提出“稀薄起源”假说，这个假说可以解释宇宙中物质比反物质多，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。这些调查的知识含量是如此之高，以至于它激发了广大公众，特别是年轻人。许多年轻人被科学所吸引，因为它可以回答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，并在当今世界的演变中发挥了重要作用。它们帮助塑造恒星的生命，并带走超新星爆炸中的大部分能量。因此，中微子物理学的研究与天体物理学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基地;在进行博士和博士后研究的同时，年轻男女将学习软件和分析的现代技术，并熟悉最先进的仪器。它也将对当地居民产生影响，他们中的许多人以前从未接触过科学和科学思维方式。MINOS已经有了一个积极的推广计划，NOvA计划效仿很多。

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.