Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

The Standard Model of Particle Physics and the current model of Cosmology describe many of the Universe's fundamental laws yet they still fail to explain certain observations. One glaring mystery is the fact that neutrinos have mass. Another unknown is the source of the matter/antimatter imbalance in the universe. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, (DUNE), is optimized to measure neutrino and antineutrino oscillations over a broad energy range to help elucidate both these truths. DUNE will deploy a massive Far Detector located in South Dakota, 1300km away from the neutrino source and a Near Detector complex at Fermilab in Illinois. The broad energy spectra allow a measurement of the neutrino mass spectrum, and a search for matter-antimatter asymmetry in the neutrino sector and a possible discovery additional neutrinos or interactions. The Far Detector can also collect large samples of atmospheric, solar and supernova neutrinos, should one occur during DUNE's livetime. Canadian institute researchers Nikolina Ilic (University of Toronto) and Deborah Harris (York) initiated the Canadian efforts on DUNE in 2019 and have already made important contributions to the experiment thanks to a 2020-2023 NSERC SAP Discovery Grant. Balint Radics, a DUNE collaborator, joined York University in 2022. Each collaborator brings with them expertise from other active experiments: Harris is co-spokesperson on MINERvA, a dedicated neutrino cross section experiment hosted at Fermilab. Ilic and Radics are long-time collaborators on ATLAS and T2K, respectively. Canada's impact on DUNE has already been substantial in Data Acquisition, Near Detector prototyping, Neutrino Interaction model constraints, and Physics Analysis Infrastructure. A group at the University of Toronto is responsible for various aspects of the DUNE Data Acquisition (DAQ) system, including the Readout, Data Filter and Timing system, leveraging Ilic's DAQ experience on ATLAS. Dedicated high-performance servers have been built for DUNE and are being tested at CERN where the group is integrating it with a coldbox and ProtoDUNE, a smaller version of the Far Detector. The York group is focused on DUNE's Near Detector Prototype commissioning and calibration, is preparing for a Neutrino Beam test of the Near Detector Prototype at Fermilab. In addition the York group is improving DUNE's neutrino interaction model through cross section measurements on MINERvA and the upcoming Neutrino Beam data, and oscillation fitting procedures. This research is beneficial in that it will provide more information to scientists to make advances in the studies of matter in the universe and will provide excellent opportunities for Canadian trainees to gain new knowledge and acquire technical skills that they can use in their future careers. Canada itself will receive positive profile as a major participant in this globally significant experiment.