Speaker
Dr
Clarence Virtue
(Laurentian University / SNOLAB)
Description
This talk will present the case for lead-based supernova detectors. Such detectors are robust and economical to build and maintain over long timescales. By instrumenting tonnes of lead with He-3 neutron detectors supernova neutrinos create bursts of neutrons which can be detected with high efficiency. Electron anti-neutrino charged current reactions are Pauli-blocked by the neutron excess in lead. Neutrons from neutral current and electron neutrino charged current excitations provide complimentary sensitivity to water Cherenkov and liquid scintillator-based detectors. The HALO detector, constructed with 79 tonnes of lead, has been running at SNOLAB since May 2012. HALO-1kT is a proposal for a scaled up detector which would utilize 1000 tonnes of INFN lead from the decommissioned OPERA detector. With increased mass and improved neutron capture efficiency HALO-1kT would provide over a 20-fold increase in event statistics from the next galactic supernova.
Primary author
Dr
Clarence Virtue
(Laurentian University / SNOLAB)
