The Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiment at DUSEL

Abstract

Rapid progress in neutrino physics in recent years has brought us closer to realization of a massive neutrino detector at the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) in the Homestake mine in the town of Lead, South Dakota, USA. The detector is being designed with the following scientific goals in mind: value of CP-violation phase S in lepton sector, neutrino mass hierarchy and value of the angle θ13. In addition, the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) will be able to search for proton decay, get a detailed energy spectrum in the case of galactic supernovae, detect solar and atmospheric neutrinos, possibly geoneutrinos and even relic supernovae neutrinos that have never been successfully detected before. The physics goals dictate the minimal size of 300 kton fiducial volume, and the plan is to realize it with three 100 kton fiducial volume modules that will be placed at the depth of 1480 m. LBNE will be able to obtain 3σ C.L. measurement of θ13 if the value of sin2 2θ13 ≥ 0.005 for any value of CP-δ phase; 3σ C.L. measurement of the neutrino mass hierarchy if sin2 2θ13 ≥ 0.012 for any value of CP-δ phase and measure 50% of all CP-δ phases with 3σ C.L. for sin2 2θ13 ≥ 0.012. This is all under the assumption that an upgraded neutrino beam is sent to LBNE from Fermilab, 1300 km away and experiment is run for 6 years. This paper describes physics reach, status and current undergoing research and development effort toward construction of the LBNE.