EuCARD >> News >> Newsletters >> Issue 2 >> Article 2
 


Amassing the neutrino community
   

"Neutrino physics gives a different point of view to the fundamental laws of nature.” says Silvia Pascoli, deputy coordinator of NEu2012. “It provides a unique perspective that complements other particle physics searches."

This philosophical approach underpins the role of the EuCARD accelerator neutrino physics network. The network name NEu2012, Neutrinos for Europe in 2012, refers to the date set by the European Strategy for Particle Physics, by which time the network should deliver an agreed programme of neutrino experiments, based on upgrades of existing infrastructures and/or on the proposal of a new one.

Scientific exchanges

Within EuCARD, the NEu2012 network is working towards this date by enhancing collaborative work and scientific exchanges.

     


The NEu2012 network had strong participation at the NuFact09 workshop including plenary talks from Alain Blondel, UNIGE and Ken Long, Imperial College London (bottom photos 4th and 5th from the left). Image courtesy Yagmur Torun, Illinois Institute of Technology, see NuFact09 photos. Thumbnail image main page courtesy of Sanja Gjenero, stock.xchng

 
 

These scientific exchanges have been happening throughout 2009, following on from the CARE FP6 network BENE, Beams for European Neutrino Experiments that NEu2012 is rooted in.

In particular, on 1-3 October 2009, the European Strategy for Future Neutrino Physics workshop will take place at CERN and via video-conference. NEu2012 has helped set up and will support this event, including providing funding for a number of young physicists to attend. In addition, NEu2012 members have been active in organising, attending or presenting at some of the leading particle physics events, including NuFact09, EPS-HEP, WIN09 and the coming NNN09 workshop.

The facts about NuFact09

NuFact09, the 11th International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, Superbeams and Beta Beams, took place at Fermilab and IIT, Chicago, 20-25 July 2009. "As one of the most important events for accelerator neutrino physics, NuFact09 was a key opportunity for EuCARD," says Pascoli, "NEu2012 members had a strong presence there, giving talks and leading or participating in discussions."

"The annual workshop gives a unique common forum where a world-wide community of neutrino and accelerator physicists can discuss the possibilities of traditional and novel neutrino beam concepts at the same time as the theoretical, phenomenological and experimental aspects of the corresponding experiments. Evaluating scientific potential as well as design work and R&D on accelerator and detector components."

"The latest experimental developments were presented, reviewed and discussed to work towards future improvements. The relevance of a 5-8 GeV multi-mega-watt linac of the Project X or High Power Superconducting Proton Linac (HP SPL) type is more and more apparent. The option of a Lithium-Mercury (Li-Hg) jet target in 15 Tesla solenoidal magnetic field is supported by the results of the MERIT prototype at CERN. An improved design of the neutrino factory front end emerged. The plan of the betabeam second round of design study, notably for more effective production of ion neutrino parents, were presented."

"These discussions are all very timely and crucial in shaping the future neutrino program worldwide" explains Pascoli. "With the discovery of neutrino oscillations and consequently of the existence of neutrino masses and mixing in the past decade, neutrino physics has entered a new era. New questions are open for the future: we need to understand what the new physics theory is that is responsible for neutrino masses and for mixing in the leptonic sector."

"This is a major challenge from the theoretical and experimental points of view and requires a precise knowledge of neutrino properties" states Pascoli. "To this aim, future precision neutrino facilities, such as the long baseline neutrino experiments on which NEu2012 focuses, will play a crucial role in shedding new light on the values of neutrino masses, the presence of CP-violation (whether neutrinos and antineutrinos behave in the same way) and on the values of the mixing angles."

Worldwide collaboration

"A very strong effort is underway to work towards 2012. Theorists and experimentalists are collaborating to establish the physics reach of the various options under consideration (Neutrino Factories, Superbeams and Beta Beams) and optimise the experimental configuration(s) of neutrino source, detector technology and detector location (baseline) and site. The European community represented by NEu2012 in EuCARD works with other EU co-funded FP7 projects such as the EUROnu Design Study of accelerator neutrino beam options and the LAGUNA Design Study of large underground experimental sites."

"The European community is tightly connected to the US Neutrino Factory Collaboration, the Japanese Working Groups on muon beams, the INO detector Collaboration in India and more. Many common R&D projects (HARP, MERIT, MICE, MuCool, EMMA) or Design Studies, such as the IDS-NF (International Design Study of a neutrino factory), have been taking shape, often in the context of the NuFact and/or NNN workshops series. It really is a worldwide effort."

- Silvia Pascoli, IPPP Durham University; Kate Kahle, CERN; Vittorio Palladino, INFN
           

Please contact the EuCARD editor with news, events, achievements, images and ideas that you would like added to the public website, newsletter or Intranet.