India, USA to collaborate on neutrino science

India and the USA have signed an agreement enabling their scientists to collaborate on the development and construction of different types of neutrino detectors.

The signing of the agreement (Image: DOE)

The agreement was signed in New Delhi by US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and India's Atomic Energy Secretary Sekhar Basu. It opens the way to jointly advancing cutting-edge neutrino science projects under way in both countries: the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) with the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Fermilab, and the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO).

LBNF/DUNE brings together scientists from around the world to discover the role that subatomic particles known as neutrinos play in the universe. More than 1000 scientists from over 170 institutions in 31 countries work on LBNF/DUNE and celebrated its groundbreaking in July 2017. The project will use Fermilab's powerful particle accelerators to send the world's most intense beam of high-energy neutrinos to massive neutrino detectors that will explore their interactions with matter.

INO scientists will observe neutrinos that are produced in Earth's atmosphere to answer questions about the properties of these elusive particles. INO will use an iron calorimeter to record information about neutrinos and antineutrinos generated by cosmic rays hitting Earth's atmosphere. Scientists from more than 20 institutions are working on INO.

Perry said: "The LBNF/DUNE project hosted by Fermilab in collaboration with our international partners is an important priority for the Department, the Administration, and America's leadership in science. I am pleased to expand our partnership with India in neutrino science and look forward to making discoveries in this promising area of research."

"India has a rich tradition of discoveries in basic science. We are pleased to expand our accelerator science collaboration with the US to include the science for neutrinos," Basu said. "Science knows no borders and we value our Indian scientists working hand-in-hand with our American colleagues. The pursuit of knowledge is a true human endeavour."

Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News