All that you need to know about Neutrino Observatory Project

Why in news, again ? 

Government has approved setting up of India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Bodi West Hills, Tamil Nadu.  This will be the second big project that the government has approved, the first being the thirty-metre telescope, which would come up in Hawaii.

Where is it located ?

Bodi West Hills, Pottipuram village in Theni district , Tamil Nadu. The location was chosen because of the following advantages.

•  It has all geographical features the project needs. The neutrino detectors  are extremely sensitive detectors which would require a 360-degree earth curve. For that it needs a rock mass for at least a kilometre.  A mountain feature at least one km or one and a half km high, with little or no gorge area are needed. And as the detectors would be placed in tunnels, the tunnels should be straight without any big turnarounds.

What is the goal of the project ?

– Study neutrinos, whether they have finite but small mass or not an provide a precise measurement of neutrino mixing parameters.

– The underground facility is expected to develop into a full-fledged underground science laboratory for other studies in physics, biology, geology, hydrology etc.

– Development of detector technology and its varied applications is also an important aspect of the project.

In the 1960s, India hosted one of the world’s first underground neutrino experiments. Called the Kolar Gold Fields neutrino experiment, it was built inside a 2316-metre-deep mine. The observatories were shut down with the mines later.

The present project includes –
(a) construction of an underground laboratory and associated surface facilities at Pottipuram in Bodi West hills of Theni District of Tamil Nadu.
(b) construction of a magnetized Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector for studying neutrinos.
(c) setting up of National Centre for High Energy Physics at Madurai, for the operation and maintenance of the underground laboratory.

Now that the entire Ramayana is over, question – who is Ram. What is this NEUTRINO after all ?? You just need to know the basics.

What is Neutrino ? 

• Elementary particle that usually travels close to the speed of light .
• No definite mass has been measured for the neutrino. Evidence suggests that neutrinos have mass , but the upper bounds established for their mass are tiny even by the standards of subatomic particles.
• Interacts with other matter only through gravitational and weak forces.
• Electrically neutral, can pass through ordinary matter unaffected. This makes neutrinos difficult to detect.
• Created as a result of certain types of radioactive decay.
• Most neutrinos passing through Earth emanate from Sun.
• There are three types of neutrinos – Electron Neutrino, Muon Neutrino, Tau neutrino
• Antineutrino are antiparticles of neutrinos, which are nuclear particles produce din nuclear beta decay. This means that they are emitted in beta particle emissions where a neutron turns into a proton.
• Because antineutrinos and neutrinos are neutral particles, it is possible that they are actually the same particle. Particles which possess this property are called Majorana Particles.
• Because neutrinos were produced in great abundance in the early universe and rarely interact with matter, there are a lot of them in the Universe. Their tiny mass but huge numbers may contribute to total mass of the universe and affect its expansion.

Neutrino Sources

• Artificial – nuclear reactors
• Geological – neutrinos are a part of Natural Background Radiation.
• Atmospheric – Neutrinos result from the interaction of cosmic rays with atomic nuclei in the atmosphere.
• Solar – solar neutrinos originate form nuclear fission powering the Sun.
• Supernovae- neutrinos are an important by product of supernovae.

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🙂