C.J. Virtue

SNEWS: the SuperNova Early Warning System

This paper provides a technical description of the SuperNova Early Warning System (SNEWS), an international network of experiments with the goal of providing an early warning of a galactic supernova.

Observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

A 14.6-kilogram sodium-doped CsI scintillator is used to detect a neutrino scattering process with a 6.7σ confidence level. Nailing down an elusive process Detecting neutrinos—elementary particles that barely interact with other matter—usually requires detectors of enormous size. A particular interaction of neutrinos with atomic nuclei, called the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS), is predicted to occur with relatively high probability, and it could be used to drastically reduce the size of neutrino detectors. However, observing this interaction requires a source of low-energy neutrinos and detectors that contain nuclei of optimal mass. Akimov et al. observed CEνNS with a 6.7σ confidence by using a comparatively tiny, 14.6-kg sodium-doped CsI scintillator exposed to neutrinos from a spallation neutron facility (see the Perspective by Link). The discovery places tighter bounds on exotic, beyond-the-standard-model interactions involving neutrinos. Science, this issue p. 1123; see also p. 1098 The coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei has eluded detection for four decades, even though its predicted cross section is by far the largest of all low-energy neutrino couplings. This mode of interaction offers new opportunities to study neutrino properties and leads to a miniaturization of detector size, with potential technological applications. We observed this process at a 6.7σ confidence level, using a low-background, 14.6-kilogram CsI[Na] scintillator exposed to the neutrino emissions from the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Characteristic signatures in energy and time, predicted by the standard model for this process, were observed in high signal-to-background conditions. Improved constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions with quarks are derived from this initial data set.

HALO – the helium and lead observatory for supernova neutrinos

The Helium and Lead Observatory (HALO) is a supernova neutrino detector under development for construction at SNOLAB. It is intended to fulfill a niche as a long term, low cost, high livetime, and low maintenance, dedicated supernova detector. It will be constructed from 80 tonnes of lead, from the decommissioning of the Deep River Cosmic Ray Station, and instrumented with approximately 384 meters of 3He neutron detectors from the final phase of the SNO experiment. Charged- and Neutral-Current neutrino interactions in lead expel neutrons from the lead nuclei making a burst of detected neutrons the signature for the detection of a supernova. Existing neutrino detectors are mostly of the water Cerenkov and liquid scintillator types, which are primarily sensitive to electron anti-neutrinos via charged-current interactions on the hydrogen nuclei in these materials. By contrast, the large neutron excess of a heavy nucleus like Pb acts to Pauli-block pn transitions induced by electron anti-neutrinos, making HALO primarily sensitive to electron neutrinos. While any supernova neutrino data would provide an invaluable window into supernova dynamics, the electron neutrino CC channel has interesting sensitivity to particle physics through flavour-swapping and spectral splitting due to MSW-like collective neutrino-neutrino interactions in the core of the supernova, the only place in the universe where there is a sufficient density of neutrinos for this to occur. Such data could provide a test for θ13 ≠ 0 and an inverted neutrino mass hierarchy. In addition, the ratio of 1-neutron to 2-neutron events would be a measure of the temperature of the cooling neutron star. For the 80 tonne detector, a supernova at 10 kpc is estimated to produce 43 detected neutrons in the absence of collective ν-ν interactions, and many more in their presence. The high neutrino cross-section and low neutron absorption cross-section of lead, along with the modest cost of lead, makes this technology scalable and a future upgrade, to of order 1 kilotonne, is under active consideration.

Data acquisition for the Helium and Lead Observatory

The Helium and Lead Observatory (HALO) is a dedicated supernova detector constructed in the underground facilities at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. It is designed to detect neutrinos from a supernova within the Milky Way galaxy using lead blocks and 3He neutron detectors. Analysis of supernova neutrino events can produce new discoveries in astrophysics and fundamental particle physics. HALO will be a participant in the Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS), which will rely on the time delay between neutrino emission and visible light emission to provide notification to astronomers of an imminent observable supernova. This article discusses the data acquisition system of HALO, including the software ORCA, electronics components, data flow, and the design of the high-voltage and signal connections for the 3He neutron detectors.

COHERENT Collaboration data release from the first observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

This release includes data and information necessary to perform independent analyses of the COHERENT result presented in Akimov et al., arXiv:1708.01294 [nucl-ex]. Data is shared in a binned, text-based format, including both signal and background regions, so that counts and associated uncertainties can be quantitatively calculated for the purpose of separate analyses. This document describes the included information and its format, offering some guidance on use of the data. Accompanying code examples show basic interaction with the data using Python.

COHERENT Experiment: current status

The COHERENT Collaboration is realizing a long term neutrino physics research program. The main goals of the program are to detect and study elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS). This process is predicted by Standard Model but it has never been observed experimentally because of the very low energy of the recoil nucleus. COHERENT is using different detector technologies: CsI[Na] and NaI scintillator crystals, a single-phase liquid Ar and a Ge detectors. The placement of all the detector setups is in the basement of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The current status of the COHERENT experimental program is presented.