[Paper Review] Applied Antineutrino Physics 2015 -- Conference Summary

N. S. Bowden, Heeger, K. M.+3 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 15, 2016

Particle accelerators and beam dynamics3 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper summarizes the 2015 Applied Antineutrino Physics workshop, highlighting advances in reactor antineutrino detection for non-proliferation and geophysics. It reports progress in near-field reactor monitoring, detection of antineutrinos at surface level without shielding, and the development of prototype detectors using inverse beta decay in scintillators, with key milestones in energy spectrum measurement and calibration for future safeguards applications.

ABSTRACT

This is a brief summary of the 11th Applied Antineutrino Physics 2015 workshop held at the Virginia Tech Arlington Research Facility from December 7-8, 2015.

Motivation & Objective

• To advance the application of antineutrino detection for nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards, particularly for monitoring reactors without physical access.
• To address the reactor antineutrino anomaly and the potential existence of sterile neutrinos through improved detection and calibration techniques.
• To develop and deploy prototype antineutrino detectors capable of surface-level detection at distances of several tens of meters from reactors.
• To enhance the sensitivity of large-scale neutrino detectors like Super-Kamiokande to antineutrinos via gadolinium loading for improved detection of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering and supernova signals.
• To foster collaboration between geoneutrino and reactor antineutrino communities to disentangle terrestrial and man-made antineutrino sources in global maps.

Proposed method

• Detection of antineutrinos via inverse beta decay (IBD) in hydrogen-rich organic scintillators: $\bar{\nu}_e + p \to e^+ + n$.
• Use of delayed coincidence between prompt positron signal and delayed neutron capture signal to suppress backgrounds.
• Implementation of gadolinium-doped water in large-volume detectors to enhance antineutrino detection efficiency through neutron capture on Gd.
• Deployment of prototype detectors at or near reactor sites to measure antineutrino energy spectra and verify reactor core composition.
• Use of calibration sources and re-analysis of reactor antineutrino flux data to improve flux modeling and reduce uncertainties.
• Construction of global antineutrino maps integrating both reactor and geoneutrino sources to support monitoring and compositional modeling of Earth's interior.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Can antineutrino detectors reliably detect reactor emissions at surface level without overburden, enabling non-intrusive, tamper-resistant monitoring?
• RQ2 To what extent can precise measurement of the antineutrino energy spectrum at short distances enable real-time monitoring of reactor core isotopic composition and plutonium content?
• RQ3 What is the impact of the reactor antineutrino anomaly on the search for sterile neutrinos, and how can improved detector calibration resolve flux discrepancies?
• RQ4 How can gadolinium loading in large water Cherenkov detectors enhance sensitivity to antineutrinos and enable new physics applications, including supernova detection?
• RQ5 How can global antineutrino maps that include both reactor and geoneutrino sources improve Earth's internal composition models and support international safeguards?

Key findings

• The PANDA and T2KEcal collaborations presented preliminary results on detecting reactor antineutrinos at the Earth’s surface without overburden, demonstrating feasibility for near-field monitoring.
• The Nucifer collaboration achieved an unequivocal detection of antineutrinos very close to a reactor, validating the approach for short-baseline monitoring.
• By 2015, several prototype detectors from seven countries were in development or operation, signaling strong momentum in near-field reactor monitoring technology.
• The EGADS experiment at Super-Kamiokande confirmed that Gd-doped water achieves transparency comparable to ultrapure water, enabling large-scale deployment.
• The Super-Kamiokande Collaboration formally approved the Super-K-Gd project in June 2015, paving the way for enhanced antineutrino detection in water Cherenkov detectors.
• Global antineutrino maps were presented that integrate both man-made (reactor) and natural (geoneutrino) sources, supporting future monitoring and Earth composition modeling.