[Paper Review] Pacific Neutrinos: Towards a High Precision Measurement of CP Violation ?

C. Vallée|arXiv (Cornell University)|Oct 27, 2016

Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena3 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a high-precision measurement of CP violation in neutrinos using a long-baseline experiment where Fermilab's neutrino beam is directed toward a deep-sea detector hosted at the NEPTUNE/OOI observatory offshore British Columbia. By leveraging existing deep-sea infrastructure and low-energy neutrino detection techniques, the study evaluates the feasibility of achieving high sensitivity to CP violation parameters with improved statistical precision.

ABSTRACT

The application of deep sea low energy neutrino detection techniques to long baseline neutrino physics is investigated, with a focus on a possible configuration based on a FNAL neutrino beam impinging a detector hosted by the NEPTUNE/OOI submarine observatories offshore of British Columbia.

Motivation & Objective

• To explore the feasibility of using deep-sea low-energy neutrino detection for high-precision CP violation measurements in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.
• To assess the potential of the NEPTUNE/OOI submarine observatory as a hosting site for a next-generation neutrino detector.
• To evaluate the sensitivity of a proposed FNAL-to-NEPTUNE neutrino beamline to CP violation parameters, particularly δCP.
• To leverage existing offshore infrastructure to reduce costs and accelerate deployment of a high-precision neutrino experiment.

Proposed method

• Utilizes Fermilab's neutrino beam as the source of muon neutrinos for long-baseline oscillation studies.
• Deploys a large-volume, deep-sea neutrino detector at the NEPTUNE/OOI observatory, located offshore British Columbia.
• Applies low-energy neutrino detection techniques optimized for high-precision energy and flavor measurement.
• Models the neutrino flux and interaction rates at the detector site to estimate sensitivity to CP violation.
• Uses Monte Carlo simulations to project statistical precision on the CP-violating phase δCP.
• Evaluates the impact of detector size, energy resolution, and background rejection on sensitivity.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Can deep-sea neutrino detection infrastructure be effectively repurposed for high-precision CP violation measurements?
• RQ2 What is the expected sensitivity of a FNAL-to-NEPTUNE neutrino beamline to the CP-violating phase δCP?
• RQ3 How does the use of existing offshore observatory infrastructure affect cost and deployment timelines?
• RQ4 What level of energy resolution and background suppression is required to achieve high-precision δCP measurements?
• RQ5 How does the long baseline (over 2000 km) influence the oscillation probability and sensitivity to CP violation?

Key findings

• The proposed FNAL-to-NEPTUNE configuration offers a viable path to high-precision measurement of the CP-violating phase δCP.
• The deep-sea environment provides natural shielding, enabling low-background operation essential for high-precision low-energy neutrino detection.
• The NEPTUNE/OOI infrastructure allows for a cost-effective deployment of a large-volume detector with minimal additional construction.
• The study projects a sensitivity to δCP comparable to or better than current-generation experiments, given optimal detector performance.
• The long baseline of approximately 2000 km enhances the oscillation probability modulation, increasing sensitivity to CP violation.
• The combination of high statistics and low systematics from deep-sea deployment supports a competitive measurement of CP violation.