What was the basis for the theorization of the neutrino?
After measuring a radioactive beta decay, something had to account for a seeming contradiction to the conservation of mass/energy.
100
Why is the neutrino hard to detect?
They weak force is weak! Neutrinos interact 100,000,000,000 times less often than quarks. They can often pass through 200 earths without being detected.
100
What is the charge of a neutrino?
A neutrino is uncharged
100
Where is FermiLab located?
(Just outside of) Chicago
100
Name 3 types of neutrino detectors.
LArTPCs,
Chlorine Tank → Ar,
Water Tank
200
Who first theorized the neutrino? How many Years later was it proven experimentally?
Wolfgang Pauli. 28 Years later.
200
What is the accuracy difference between MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE?
MiniBooNE cannot differentiate electrons from gammas (single photons), whereas MicroBooNE can
200
Which is more common: right-handed or left-handed neutrinos?
Left-handed. (but right-handed antineutrinos are more common!)
200
How many neutrino beams are there in the world? How many are at Fermilab?
4 facilities with neutrino beams (2 in Chicago, 1 in Japan, 1 in Europe)
3 functioning neutrino beams (European one is shut down)
2 beams at Fermilab
200
Which type of detector did Professor Fleming create?
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber
300
What is the significance of the 1987 supernova in neutrino history?
It allowed physicists to put a bound on the mass of a neutrino by measuring the time difference between photons and neutrinos emitted from the supernova.
300
Name three sources of neutrinos
The sun, neutrino beams, nuclear reactors, leftovers from the Big Bang
300
What are the three flavors of neutrinos?
Electron neutrino, Muon neutrino, and Tau neutrino
300
What is the primary type of flavor used in Professor Fleming’s work at Fermilab’s beam?
Muon
300
Where were neutrinos from the sun first detected?
The Homestake Mine in South Dakota.
400
What is the significance of the Super Kamiokande experiment?
It was the first experimental observation of neutrino oscillation
400
What makes the hypothesized sterile neutrino different from the other known neutrinos?
They do not interact by any of the forces described by the standard model thus far except for gravity, and therefore are extremely hard to detect.
We think.
400
By what fundamental force(s) do known neutrinos interact with other particles?
The Weak Force
400
Who was FermiLab named after (first & last name)?
Enrico Fermi
400
How does a LArTPC work (very basically)?
A neutrino collides with an atom in the detector (Argon in this case), and its lepton counterpart pops off (e.g. muon neutrino hits Argon, muon pops off and is detected)
500
Is the neutrino its own anti-particle?
Trick question! We don't know.
500
What are the 4 variables in the equation for probability of a neutrino oscillation?
Mixing angle, change in mass (squared), beam length, and energy
500
Which sector of the “particle physics periodic table” are neutrinos in?
Leptons
500
How many kilometers in circumference is Fermilab (currently non-functional)?
6.3 kilometers
500
For the LBNE, approximately how big will the detector be?