Status of PANDA and Japanese reactors

Abstract

We are developing the Plastic Anti-Neutrino Detector Array (PANDA) to measure the reactor antineutrinos for the nuclear safeguard application. We completed construction of the PANDA100, which consists of 100 plastic scintillator modules, in August, 2016. After a study using background radiation in the laboratory at Kitasato University in Tokyo, we carried out a measurement of γ-ray bursts under the thunderclouds at Mt. Norikura in Gifu, Japan employing the PANDA100. As the results, we found three burst candidates in the data of 38 days. The original purpose of the PANDA project is to measure antineutrinos from a Japanese commercial reactor. We joined the Japanese reactor monitoring community arranged by University of Fukui group. In this community, we share the information about Japanese reactor activities and developement of a new monitoring tool. We are also preparing for a reactor monitoring with the PANDA100 when Japanese reactors resumed operation.