NOvA

NOvA scientists have seen evidence that one of the three neutrino mass states might not include equal parts of muon and tau flavor, as previously thought. Scientists refer to this as “nonmaximal mixing,” and NOvA’s result is the first hint that this may be the case for the third mass state.

The 27th International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, commonly called Neutrino 2016, will bring together scientists from experiments around the world. Scientists working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will give numerous presentations at Neutrino 2016 and unveil some significant results.

Finding a small discrepancy in measurements of the properties of neutrinos could show us how they fit into the bigger picture. One of those properties is a parameter called theta13. Theta13 relates deeply to how neutrinos mix together, and it’s here that scientists have seen the faintest hint of disagreement from different experiments.

Scientists on the NOvA experiment saw their first evidence of oscillating neutrinos, confirming that the extraordinary detector built for the project not only functions as planned but is also making great progress toward its goal of a major leap in our understanding of these ghostly particles.