Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Major Resources Support Program

This grant is in support of fundamental astroparticle physics research at Queen?s University, undertaken with our collaborators at the Universities of Alberta, Carleton, Laurentian, Montreal and Toronto, as well as with colleagues at the national labs TRIUMF and SNOLAB. The goals of this research are to design, build and operate new state-of-the-art detectors which will be sited in SNOLAB, the new International Facility for Underground Science in Sudbury, Ontario. The detectors will provide valuable information on the nature of dark matter, the properties of the elusive neutrino, the thermal heat content of the earth, and the mechanisms of supernovae explosions. The major discoveries by the SNO and others led to the realization that neutrinos have mass and unusual quantum properties. By understanding neutrinos at a deeper level we will learn about basic properties of this fundamental particle, the most prolific in the Universe. This will lead to a better understanding of their role in the formation and evolution of structures within the Universe. With the right properties, neutrinos could explain why we live in a universe dominated by matter, rather than anti-matter. Neutrinos are also a probe into the inner workings of supernovae star collapse, and may be used to study the production of heat in the core of the earth. The Universe is known to be comprised of about 25% dark matter. Its existence is inferred through the gravitational effects it has on galaxies and other structures in the Universe, yet it has not been detected directly. We have little idea what form of matter it is. This funding will provide support for engineering and technical staff located at Queen?s University. They will help develop complex detectors for installation in SNOLAB. A major design element for all these detectors is the need for ultra-low levels of radioactivity and this award will also support the operation of a facility capable of measuring low levels of radioactivity in a wide variety of materials. These resources are available to all collaborations working on SNOLAB applications, and will be allocated in accordance with the recommendations of a Prioritization Board with membership from institutions across Canada.