Neutrino Physics at the University of Chicago

One of the major intellectual achievements of modern science is the development of the Standard Model of particle physics, humankind's most detailed description of the properties and behavior of the fundamental building blocks of matter. Among those building blocks are the neutrinos, light-weight, elusive particles that exist in huge numbers throughout the universe. This research aims at elucidating the properties of the neutrinos, which may hold the answer to important open questions about nature. The Standard Model includes three different kinds of neutrinos that are distinguishable through the different interactions they undergo when they interact with other matter. Surprisingly, experiments have shown these neutrinos can actually change from one type to another, a phenomenon known as neutrino oscillation. Modern experiments are designed to make detailed measurements of the interactions of these unusual particles and the neutrino oscillation effect. Such detailed measurements are one of the most promising ways to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) experiment at Fermilab will address whether various anomalies observed in several neutrino experiments could be indications of new physics and in particular the existence of low-mass "sterile" neutrino particles. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will make comprehensive measurements of neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillations to investigate neutrino CP violation, determine the ordering of the neutrino mass eigenstates, and perform precision tests of the neutrino Standard Model. DUNE will take advantage of both an accelerator-based neutrino beam from Fermilab and be sensitive to extra-terrestrial neutrinos, including those from supernova explosions. Both experiments employ a transformative detector technology for neutrino physics, the liquid argon time projection chamber, which DUNE aims to realize at unprecedented scales, and for which the SBN detectors are providing invaluable experience in the construction, operation, and analysis of data. The Chicago group plays a leading role in the operation of the near detector, SBND, and in the development of both near detector and multi-detector physics analyses in SBN. On DUNE, the group has taken a leading role in the design and production of the experiment's large wire planes, called Anode Plane Assemblies, the central detection element of the DUNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.