Date/Time
Date(s) - 18/01/2006
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Title: Neutrino Physics Beyond SNO

Speaker: Dr. Mark Chen

Institute:

Location: ABB 102

Description:

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) will stop data taking at the end of 2006. The heavy water in SNO will be removed in 2007. What should be done next? By filling SNO with a liquid scintillator (called SNO+) a new, multipurpose detector with diverse physics goals could be the successor. Located in the deepest underground lab, SNO+ would have unique capabilities including detection of pep and CNO solar neutrino. By measuring the flux of pep solar neutrinos, with precision, one can test the neutrino-matter interaction which is sensitive to new physics. SNO+ could also detect geo-neutrinos — the neutrinos from radioactivity in the Earth — and is favourably located for such a measurement since it is surrounded by Canadian Shield continental crust, a simple geological configuration. Fundamental questions in geoscience could be addressed by a SNO+ geo-neutrino measurement. Lastly, double beta decay isotopes might be deployed in the liquid scintillator resulting in a competitive next-generation search. The prospects are being studied and SNO+ R&D will be presented.