The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE)

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a long baseline neutrino experiment which aims to:
  • Discover CP Violation in the leptonic sector 
  • Determine the neutrino Mass Ordering
  • Precisely measure neutrino oscillation parameters
  • Test the 3-flavour paradigm
 
This ambitious program also includes the search for Nucleon Decay and the astrophysical observations of Galactic Supernovae. 
To do so, neutrinos produced by a high power wide-band neutrino beam produced at Fermilab, will be detected at a baseline of 1300 km, by 4 giant liquid argon detector modules deep underground (SURF laboratory, South Dakota). Each module will have a fiducial mass of 10 kilotons.
The French DUNE collaboration with researchers from APC, Grenoble, IJCLab, LAPP, IPNL and the CEA, has recently been awarded with a TGIR program from the French ministry of science with very strong financial support.
 
The proposed thesis will be focused on the analysis of data from the planned second run of the prototype detectors at CERN. The DUNE prototypes are using either single phase with horizontal drift or a new proposal of single-phase with vertical drift technology. The later will use the learnings from the former dual-phase prototype. The aim is to characterize the performances and via simulation predict the performance of the full-size Far Detector. 
Both technologies are being prototyped at CERN on a large scale (with fiducial masses of 300 tons). The APC team participates in the commissioning that will take place during 2022, and that the data taking would be starting in Q3 or Q4 2022. The Single-Phase II prototype will be the "module 0" and will be built exactly as the far detector. Systematic studies and calibrations done with this data set will be the ones used in the first analysis of the DUNE far detector.
 
 
DUNE analysis relies heavily on the latest machine learning techniques for event reconstruction and particle identification. The candidate will become familiar with the use of these modern tools, in particular their tuning for particular analysis tasks.
 
With the now realistic simulation, the sensitivity of the Far Detector to key physics parameters such as the CP violating phase (dCP) will be determined. The systematic uncertainties will also be studied. Other physics analyses are also possible, which include amongst others, the capability to detect supernova neutrinos.
 
As well as simulation, the APC group is involved in the development of part of the electronics for the photodetectors (Light Read Out). A contribution towards the testing and characterization of this electronics is also possible. 
The candidate will participate to data taking campaigns with the prototype detectors at CERN and to collaboration meetings in the US and in Europe.

 

Responsable: 

Thomas Patzak, Sabrina Sacerdoti

Services/Groupes: 

Année: 

2021

Formations: 

Thèse

Niveau demandé: 

M2

Email du responsable: