[Paper Review] Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)

R. Acciarri, S. Bansal+799 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 12, 2016

Neutrino Physics ResearchPhysics and Astronomy221 citations

TL;DR

The LBNF/DUNE experiment proposes a long-baseline neutrino oscillation study using a multi-megawatt wide-band neutrino beam and a large underground liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) far detector, coupled with a high-precision near detector, to probe neutrino properties, including CP violation, mass ordering, and nucleon decay, with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.

ABSTRACT

This document presents the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) put forward by an international neutrino community to pursue the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF/DUNE), a groundbreaking science experiment for long-baseline neutrino oscillation studies and for neutrino astrophysics and nucleon decay searches. The DUNE far detector will be a very large modular liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) located deep underground, coupled to the LBNF multi-megawatt wide-band neutrino beam. DUNE will also have a high-resolution and high-precision near detector.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate the fundamental properties of neutrinos, including mass ordering and CP violation, through long-baseline neutrino oscillation measurements.
• To search for proton decay using a massive underground liquid argon time-projection chamber.
• To study neutrino interactions with high-resolution and high-precision in a near detector system.
• To advance neutrino astrophysics by detecting neutrinos from cosmic sources and supernovae.
• To establish a world-leading facility for neutrino science with international collaboration.

Proposed method

• The experiment utilizes a multi-megawatt wide-band neutrino beam produced at Fermilab, directed toward a far detector located deep underground.
• The far detector is a modular liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) designed to provide high-resolution tracking and energy measurement of charged particles from neutrino interactions.
• A high-precision near detector system is deployed close to the beam source to measure the initial neutrino flux and spectrum with high accuracy.
• The LArTPC technology enables detailed reconstruction of particle tracks and energy deposition, enhancing sensitivity to rare processes.
• The experiment employs advanced data acquisition and analysis techniques to extract oscillation parameters and search for new physics.
• The underground location minimizes cosmic ray background, improving signal-to-noise for rare events such as nucleon decay.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What is the neutrino mass ordering, and can it be determined with high confidence using long-baseline oscillation data?
• RQ2 Does CP violation occur in the neutrino sector, and if so, at what magnitude?
• RQ3 What is the sensitivity of the DUNE experiment to proton decay, and how does it compare to previous experiments?
• RQ4 How precisely can neutrino interaction cross sections be measured using liquid argon detectors?
• RQ5 What are the potential signatures of astrophysical neutrinos and supernova neutrinos in the DUNE detector?

Key findings

• The DUNE far detector, based on liquid argon time-projection chamber technology, achieves high spatial and energy resolution for precise neutrino interaction reconstruction.
• The experiment is designed to determine the neutrino mass ordering with greater than 5σ significance, assuming standard oscillation parameters.
• The sensitivity to CP violation in the neutrino sector is expected to be significantly enhanced compared to previous experiments, with a discovery potential exceeding 5σ for large CP-violating phases.
• The nucleon decay search sensitivity is projected to reach a proton lifetime limit of approximately 10^35 years, surpassing previous experiments by an order of magnitude.
• The near detector system enables precise measurement of the initial neutrino flux, reducing systematic uncertainties in oscillation parameter extraction.
• The underground location and detector design effectively suppress cosmic ray backgrounds, enabling the detection of rare events such as proton decay and supernova neutrinos.