The search for the sterile neutrino

Cartoon of three balls in different shades of pink popping out of doors marked for the three different kinds of neutrinos: tau, muon and electron. To the right of them, three tiny scientists in white lab coats on scaffolding.

The search for the sterile neutrino

Back when it was theorized, scientists weren’t sure they would ever detect the neutrino. Now scientists, including some at Fermilab, are searching for a version of the particle that could be even more elusive.

Talented early career researchers join Queen Mary on STFC-funded fellowships

From Queen Mary University of London, April 26, 2021: Fermilab scientist Dr. Kirsty Duffy was awarded the Ernest Rutherford Fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to establish a new research group working on MicroBooNE at Queen Mary University of London. Duffy will continue to host the Even Bananas video series which explores neutrinos until the end of the year.

Physicists achieve significant improvement in spotting neutrinos in a cosmic haystack

From Science Magazine (UK), June 9, 2021: Brookhaven scientists have developed new ways for the MicroBooNE detector at Fermilab to filter out cosmic ray tracks to pinpoint elusive neutrino interactions with unprecedented clarity.

Three vertical planes of sense wires stand in the center of this 3D chart that shows on the left how particles flying through the detector create electrons that drift to the sense wires of the detector, and on the right shows electric signals – the waveforms – that these wires will collect as a function of time. To the left, an incoming neutrino travels through the liquid argon of the time projection chamber, and it eventually splits into two charged particles that knock loose electrons in the liquid. To the right of the sense wires, waveforms are shown for the Y plane and the V plane.

Physicists achieve significant improvement in spotting accelerator-produced neutrinos in a cosmic haystack

Press release

Ground-breaking image reconstruction and analysis algorithms developed for surface-based MicroBooNE detector filter out cosmic ray tracks to pinpoint elusive neutrino interactions with unprecedented clarity.

Talented Early Career Researchers join Queen Mary on STFC-funded fellowships

From Queen Mary University of London, April 24, 2021: Dr. Kirsty Duffy, who works on the MicroBooNE experiment, received the prestigious Ernest Rutherford Fellowships from the Science and Technology Facilities
Council (STFC).

Talented Early Career Researchers join Queen Mary on STFC-funded fellowships

From Queen Mary University of London, April 27, 2021: Dr. Kirsty Duffy, who works on the MicroBooNE experiment, received the prestigious Ernest Rutherford Fellowships from the Science and Technology Facilities
Council (STFC).

A simulated supernova neutrino interaction in the MicroBooNE detector, produced using MARLEY. This work lays a strong foundation for future supernova neutrino measurements with DUNE. Credit: MicroBooNE collaboration

Modeling collisions between argon nuclei and neutrinos from a supernova

Fermilab feature

A new computer program called MARLEY simulates supernova neutrino interactions in argon-based particle detectors.

Fleming collaborates in the composition of MicroBooNE music

From Yale University, Jan. 22, 2021: For his new piece of music, “MicroBooNE,” David Ibbett, Fermilab’s first composer-in-residence, collaborated with physics professor Bonnie Fleming through a series of discussions about the science behind the experiment that inspired the composition. The neutrino-inspired piece premiered on Dec. 8, 2020, as part of the Fermilab Arts and Lectures Series.

First measurement of single-proton interactions with the MicroBooNE detector

Fermilab feature

The MicroBooNE neutrino experiment at Fermilab has published a new measurement that helps paint a more detailed portrait of the neutrino. This measurement more precisely targets one of the processes arising from the interaction of a neutrino with an atomic nucleus, one with a fancy name: charged-current quasielastic scattering.

Making music from neutrino experiments

Fermilab feature

David Ibbett, Fermilab’s first guest composer, converts real scientific data into musical notes and rhythms. His latest piece, “MicroBooNE,” will make its world premiere at a virtual concert on Dec. 8. In this audio interview, Ibbett shares a sneak peek of the song and explains his compositional process.