Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe with Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiments
| Date/Time: | Monday, 23 Oct 2017 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm |
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| Location: | Phys 0003 |
| Phone: | 515-294-5441 |
| Channel: | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Abstract
Neutrinos possibly hold the key to one of the most profound questions still to be answered: why is the Universe dominated only by matter and what role did neutrinos play in the evolution of the universe? The answers to these questions lie hidden within the yet to be known properties of neutrinos. Long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments in the US and elsewhere, have begun probing the existence of charge-parity (CP) violation in the leptonic sector and other fundamental neutrino properties which might unravel the answers we seek. For example, the NOvA experiment uses a powerful source of neutrinos from Fermilab directed towards northern Minnesota. By studying the most intense neutrino source in operation at two different locations, 500-miles apart, this experiment explores with unprecedented precision the neutrino properties that allow neutrinos to shift from flavor to another. In this talk, I will present the latest results of NOvA and other long-baseline neutrino experiments in the context of the known neutrino oscillations landscape and I will discuss how future experiments such as DUNE will contribute to solving some of the Universe's deepest questions.