DUNE

Fermilab scientists have taken a major step in preparing for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment with a prototype particle accelerator. The 2×2 detector prototype has four liquid argon modules arranged in a square whereas the DUNE detectors will have 35 liquid argon time projection chambers, allowing scientists to track the movements of particles and determine their physical properties.

The prototype of a novel particle detection system for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment successfully recorded its first accelerator neutrinos, providing a first look at the ability of this innovative technology to handle large numbers of the mysterious particles’ interactions.

Neutrinos were first detected by Los Alamos researchers in 1956 and today very little is known about these elusive particles. Today, Los Alamos is part of the international collaboration of DUNE which aims to launch the most intense neutrino beam in the world.

Physicists use large particle detectors filled with liquid argon to study neutrinos. Brazilian scientists discovered that a commercially available material can significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen in liquid argon, which improves the detection of neutrino interactions.

Neutrino Day attracted thousands of people from throughout the country to participate in Lead’s annual science festival.

The Black Hills Pioneer covers what is DUNE and why is it important in a special section covering underground science in the Black Hills region. Starting on page 11, an interview with DUNE Physics Coordinator, Chris Marshall, discusses how the project will work and the science of DUNE.

A group of engineers in the Engineering Services group at Argonne designed shielding doors for radiation protection and a crucial component of the DUNE detector for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

A team from Northern Illinois University isy part of the 1,400 scientists and engineers working on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. In the coming year, they will be responsible for making 300 to 400 of the photon detection modules that will be part of the much larger web of thousands of such modules at the underground Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility in South Dakota.

CERN’s ProtoDUNE has entered a pivotal stage: the filling of one of its two particle detectors with liquid argon. The liquid argon will provide a clean environment for precise measurements in neutrino interactions and allow scientists to detect and study neutrino interactions.

As excavation work wraps up in South Dakota, site work at Fermilab’s Batavia campus is setting the stage for the next phase of the international DUNE collaboration.