Long-baseline neutrino experiments study beams of neutrinos near their source and at a far detector several hundred kilometers away. We study the changes in the beams between their generation and detection at the far detector. Neutrinos come in three flavors: electron, muon, and tau. Our experiments produce a beam of muon neutrinos; as they travel, some of them “oscillate” into the other two kinds. By measuring the parameters that govern this oscillation, we gain a deeper understanding of the foundational laws that govern the material Universe.
This presentation will cover the current (NOvA) and future (DUNE) long-baseline neutrino experiments in the US. The NOvA (NuMI Off-axis electron neutrino appearance) experiment fires a beam of neutrinos from Fermilab to a 14,000 ton detector in northern Minnesota. We search for the appearance of electron neutrinos, disappearance of muon neutrinos, and multiple other phenomena. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is part of the next generation of long-baseline neutrino experiments. The beam will also begin at Fermilab, and the Far Detector will be 4850 feet deep at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. We plan to start excavating the caverns next year. DUNE will detect neutrinos with 40,000 tons of liquid argon at the far detector with primary physics goals including detailed measurements of the oscillation parameters and searching for CP violation.
