Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2013
Volume 58, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, April 13–16, 2013; Denver, Colorado
Session J9: Solar Neutrinos |
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Sponsoring Units: DNP Chair: Zelmir Djurcic, Argonne National Laboratory Room: Governor's Square 11 |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 1:30PM - 1:42PM |
J9.00001: Calibrations of the SNO+ PMTs Freija Descamps SNO+, the successor to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), is currently in the final phase of the hardware upgrade and commissioning. It is located at about 6000 m.w.e. in SNOLab, the world's deepest operating underground laboratory. By replacing SNO's heavy water with a liquid scintillator target (LAB), a much lower energy threshold can be achieved. This creates a new multipurpose neutrino detector with the potential to address a diverse set of physics goals. In a pure-scintillator phase, SNO+ will study low energy solar neutrinos, including those from the pep and CNO cycles. Loading the liquid scintillator with a double beta decay isotope, like neodymium, will then enable the search for neutrinoless double beta decay. SNO+ also aims at detecting reactor, geo- and supernova neutrinos. For all physics goals, an accurate understanding and calibration of the PMT response is essential. After a review of the general SNO+ setup and physics goals, the SNO+ PMT calibration will be presented in detail. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 1:42PM - 1:54PM |
J9.00002: Antineutrino Searches with a ``Look-Back" Analysis Timothy Shokair Antineutrinos are identified in water Cherenkov detectors by a time-correlated coincidence of a prompt positron and either a single delayed neutron in the inverse beta decay on protons or two delayed neutrons in the inverse beta decay on deuterium. Using data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), a new method is demonstrated for antineutrino coincidence identification. In Phase II of SNO, neutrons were identified by their capture on chlorine where the $\gamma$-cascade energy is 8.6 MeV, while the inverse beta decay of reactor antineutrinos on deuterium produces positrons peaked near 2 MeV. This analysis exploited the difference in the energy distributions of prompt and delayed particles by first searching for the higher energy neutron with one energy threshold and then looking back in time with a lower energy threshold. This ``look-back" analysis increased the sensitivity to antineutrinos compared to previous analyses without significantly increasing the expected background. Applying this method to the SNO dataset gave the best limits to date on the solar antineutrino flux from a water Cherenkov experiment. This method can improve the detection efficiency for future water Cherenkov antineutrino detectors. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 1:54PM - 2:06PM |
J9.00003: ABSTRACT MOVED TO SESSION G9.008 |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:06PM - 2:18PM |
J9.00004: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:18PM - 2:30PM |
J9.00005: LENS: Science Scope and Development Stages R. Bruce Vogelaar The Low-Energy Neutrino Spectroscopy (LENS) experiment will resolve the solar metallicity question via measurement of the CNO neutrino flux, as well as test the predicted equivalence of solar luminosity as measured by photon versus neutrinos. The LENS detector uses charged-current interaction of neutrinos on Indium-115 (loaded in a scintillator, InLS) to reveal the \textit{complete} solar neutrino \textit{spectrum}. LENS's optically segmented 3D lattice geometry achieves precise time and spatial resolution and unprecedented background rejection and sensitivity for low-energy neutrino events. This first-of-a-kind lattice design is also suited for a range of other applications where high segmentation and large light collection are required (eg: sterile neutrinos with sources, double beta decay, and surface detection of reactor neutrinos). The physics scope, detector design, and logic driving the microLENS and miniLENS prototyping stages will be presented. The collaboration is actively running programs; building, operating, developing, and simulating these prototypes using the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF). New members are welcome to the LENS Collaboration, and interested parties should contact R. Bruce Vogelaar. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:30PM - 2:42PM |
J9.00006: LENS: Light Transport Zachary Yokley The LENS detector uses an optically segmented 3D lattice, a scintillation lattice (SL), that channels light via total internal reflection from a scintillation event down channels parallel to the 3 primary Cartesian axes to the edge of the detector. This unique design provides spatial and temporal resolution required to distinguish the internal background of $^{115}$In from the neutrino signal. Optical segmentation is achieved with Teflon films. Currently a 400 liter prototype, miniLENS, is being developed to demonstrate the internal background rejection techniques needed for LENS. This requires that miniLENS be shielded from external backgrounds from the surrounding materials and the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). This shielding is provided by a water tank that surrounds miniLENS. In order to retain the channel information and separate the PMTs from the detector the LENS collaboration has developed light guides (LGs) made from multilayer films. These LGs transport light both by total internal and specular reflection providing an efficient means of coupling the SL through the water shield to the PMTs outside the water tank. This talk will discuss light transport in the SL as well as the design and construction of the LGs in the context of miniLENS. [Preview Abstract] |
Sunday, April 14, 2013 2:42PM - 2:54PM |
J9.00007: LENS: Prototyping Program S. Derek Rountree The Low-Energy Neutrino Spectrometer (LENS) prototyping program is broken into two phases. The first of these is $\mu $LENS, a small prototype to study the light transmission in the as built LENS scintillation lattice--- a novel detector method of high segmentation in a large liquid scintillation detector. The $\mu $LENS prototype is currently deployed and taking data at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) near Virginia Tech. I will discuss the Scintillation Lattice construction methods and schemes of the $\mu $LENS program for running with minimal channels instrumented to date $\sim$41 compared to full coverage 216). The second phase of prototyping is the miniLENS detector for which construction is under way. I will discuss the overall design from the miniLENS Scintillation Lattice to the shielding. [Preview Abstract] |
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