Neutrinos are the second most numerous type of particle in the Universe. These almost “invisible” particles are incredibly difficult to detect, passing freely through matter. However, as a result of a series of innovative large experiments in the last 20 years, we have learnt a great deal about neutrinos. For example, we now know that neutrinos have a mass, providing clear evidence for physics beyond our current understanding. The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is the next step in this decades long experimental programme. DUNE will address profound question in neutrino physics and particle astrophysics - it aims to do for neutrinos what the LHC did for the Higgs boson. DUNE consists of an intense neutrino beam fired a distance of 800 miles from Fermilab (near Chicago) to the 40,000 ton Liquid Argon DUNE detector, located deep underground in the Homestake mine in South Dakota. In this colloquium I will discuss why the mysterious neutrino may hold the key to understanding physics beyond the current Standard Model and describe how we intend to study neutrinos with unprecedented precision in the DUNE experiment.
INFORMAÇÕES SOBRE O PALESTRANTE: Dr. Mark Thomson is Professor of Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Cambridge. He has over 700 publications covering a number of major areas in High Energy Particle Physics. His main research interests are in electron-positron collider physics, neutrino physics and the development of novel and powerful reconstruction techniques for cutting edge detector technologies. In addition to his research activities, he has chaired a number of scientific reviews for STFC and, until recently, was the chair of its main peer-review committee. He is the author of “Modern Particle Physics” which is a major new undergraduate textbook covering all areas of contemporary particle physics.
