A proposal for MKU to get involved in India-based Neutrino Observatory

(MKU @ INO)

About INO
Via initiative from Prof G Rajasekaran of Institute of Mathematical Sciences
(IMSc), Chennai and soon others from all over India (see below the list of
collaborating institutes & universities), INO was conceived & nurtured for over
a decade now. Various preparatory experiments, simulations and designs are
well under way at TIFR Mumbai, SINP Kolkata, HRI Allahabad and IMSc
Chennai. After exploring suitable places among Theni-Bodi hills, INO is
planned in a tunnel under a peak near Pottipuram south of Bodi. After the
requisite surveys in collaboration with TNEB, locations for a building and the
beginning of the tunnel which will reach directly below the peak have been
fixed. On 26th January 2011, as part of an INO workshop in Madurai (see photo
below), preliminary radiation measurements were made at selected locations
near the peak. I was a participant at the workshop, and also visited the INO site
along with the measurement team. A centre for high energy physics is also
concurrently planned near PalkalaiNagar campus of MKU.

I give below some minimal background needed to appreciate what INO will
observe.

Physics & Astrophysics Background

(1) About Neutrinos
The neutrino (meaning the little neutral one – the big one being the neutron)
was postulated over 8 decades back to save the laws of conservation of energy
& momentum in interpreting particle collision tracks. It was soon discovered,
and found to occur in 3 flavours – electron-neutrino, muon-neutrino & tau-
neutrino. These neutrinos (& their antiparticles called antineutrinos) found a
natural niche in the standard model of particle physics. In this model, they are
assumed massless like the photon.

(2) Solar Neutrinos

The puzzle of the generation of solar energy was solved by nuclear physics
soon after the advent of neutrinos, which play a major role in the nuclear
reactions that power our Sun. Thus, about 70 billion neutrinos pass per second
through every square centimeter area held normal to direct sunlight at Earth.
Neutrinos are extremely inert in their interactions with matter & radiation. A
thick shield (like the kilometers thick rock in Theni-Bodi Hills) is necessary to
filter other cosmic ray particles so that neutrinos can be unambiguously
detected. Experimentally detected solar neutrinos fall short of the nuclear
physics prediction by a factor of 3. This remained a puzzle for a long time,
called the solar neutrino puzzle. The solution theoretically proposed involves
neutrino oscillations between the 3 flavours. This necessarily means that
neutrinos are not massless like the photon, but have small rest masses.
Experiments are under way all over the world to find various properties of
these massive neutrinos using neutrino beams from nuclear reactors. This is the
first concrete experimental effort that definitely goes beyond the standard
model of particle physics.

(3) Neutrino Astrophysics

Apart from detecting & studying solar neutrinos, studying atmospheric
neutrinos produced due to interactions of cosmic rays with air molecules,
neutrino astronomy & astrophysics also include studying transient bursts of
neutrinos from stellar explosions called supernovae. Supernova 1987A was
detected via neutrinos apart from its detailed observations over the
electromagnetic spectrum via photons. Neutrinos are also emitted by active
galactic nuclei. Further, they have an important role to play in cosmology.

---(extracted from info available on INO webpage)-------------------------------

THE INO COLLABORATION

This is an open collaboration and experimentalists are especially encouraged to join.

Currently, scientists & students from the following institutes & universities are members.

• Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh:

• Benares Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi:
• Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai:
• Calcutta University (CU), Kolkata:
• Delhi University (DU), Delhi:
• Harish Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Allahabad:
• University of Hawaii (UHW), Hawaii:
• Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla:
• Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), Mumbai:
• Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati:
• Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam:
• The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai:
• Institute of Physics (IOP), Bhubaneswar:
• University of Jammu, Jammu:
• University of Kashmir, Srinagar:
• University of Mysore, Mysore:
• North Bengal University (NBU), Siliguri:
• Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh:
• Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad:
• Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata:
 • Sambalpur University, Sambalpur:
• Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMI), Sikkim:
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai:
• Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata:

Scientific Steering Committee

C. V. K. Baba, Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi (deceased)
Ramnath Cowsik, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore
H. S. Mani, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
V. S. Narasimham, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
G. Rajasekaran, The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai
Amit Roy, Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi
Probir Roy, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
Bikash Sinha, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre,
Kolkata

INO Spokesperson
Naba K Mondal
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005, India
E-mail: nkm AT tifr.res.in

Participants at the first Madurai INO Collaboration Meeting, 23-26 January 2011
------------------------------------------------------------------------------(end of extract)----------

MKU @ INO

INO is a mega-project (current budget being Rs 1200 crores) through which Indian
science will regain prominence after earlier pioneering work from TIFR underground lab
at Kolar Gold Fields – e.g., the very first cosmic ray neutrino was detected at KGF in
1965. KGF lab was closed down in 1990 due to closure of the gold mine. INO’s
immediate goal is to study naturally produced neutrinos in Earth’s atmosphere using a
large magnetized iron calorimeter. Ultimately, the lab will carry out various studies in
Physics, Biology & Geology as well. INO is jointly funded by DAE & DST.

By active participation in INO, MKU will gain some infrastructure, national visibility,
attractive to serious students of Physics & other allied sciences, visits from international
physicists, & the pitchforking of MKU into the High Energy Physics seminar circuit.
This is apart from MSc / MPhil / PhD students of MKU associated with small INO
projects as their degree projects (see below) gaining a sure foothold in high energy
physics, advanced electronics & high fidelity simulation methods.

(1) Our university can participate in INO via MSc / MPhil & PhD student projects. These
projects will be for the sophisticated electronics needed at various levels for the INO
detectors, or in the simulations needed for the detector & other designs for INO, or
theoretical work on neutrino physics & astrophysics. The details should be systematically
worked out in consultation with INO spokesperson Prof Naba K Mondal & others at
TIFR Mumbai, Prof G Rajasekaran & others at IMSc Chennai and others involved in
various aspects of INO project (see above). Several faculty / scientists & students from
each of the universities / institutes in the collaboration list above are involved in specific
experiments funded by INO. I will be very glad to act as guide / supervisor for MKU
students selected for such INO-funded student projects.

(I would like to mention here that Prof Mondal & Prof Rajasekaran have visited MKU in
2010, briefing School of Physics faculty about INO, and also met the MKU VC along
with the then Chairperson of School of Physics.)

(2) On our own, we can start teaching 2 papers at School of Physics on (i) Neutrino
Astrophysics and (ii) Neutrino Physics for MSc 2nd year / MPhil.
I have chalked out the syllabus for the first one & can also teach this paper on Neutrino
Astrophysics, learning at the same time. For the second paper Neutrino Physics, I can
again chalk out a syllabus. However, I do not have sufficient background expertise to
teach the second paper rightaway.

(3) As an alternative to item (2) above or in addition to it, MKU can administer a PG
Diploma in Neutrino Physics consisting of 3 papers / courses as follows.
1 Basic Astroparticle Physics (with emphasis on neutrinos)
2 Advanced Electronics (to be designed with the detector in mind)
3 Numerical Computation & Simulation (with proficiency in using Geant as the aim)
Details of the syllabus and the facilities needed for this Diploma programme to create
trained manpower for INO should be worked out & implemented before teaching starts.

-Dr Dilip G Banhatti (School of Physics, MKU)

Madurai 21 / Tue, 2nd March 2011