Description:

Title: Opening a New Channel for Neutrino Physics

Speaker: Tali Figueroa-Feliciano, Northwestern University
 

Abstract: Neutrinos have always been a source of scientific wonder and discovery in nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology. Though much has been learned about the properties of these sub-atomic particles, much still needs experimental investigation. Even a question as simple as whether there are more than three types of neutrinos is the source of serious scientific debate. The answers to these questions are not simply for their own sake; they have significant ramifications as to how we construct our Standard Model and could be the gateway for an entirely new physics paradigm. Toward this goal, we are optimizing technology originally developed for dark matter detectors and high-resolution X-ray spectrometers for the explicit purpose of detecting neutrino interactions with matter. I will describe the cryogenic detector technology we are working on, the new interaction channel we seek to exploit (Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering), and preview some of the science we seek to do with experiments at nuclear reactors and underground using high-intensity electron-capture neutrino sources.