The CLOUD Experiment: Opaque Scintillator for Reactor Neutrinos at Chooz

by Dr Wilf Shorrock (University of Sussex)

Wednesday 15 May 2024, 14:00 → 15:00 UTC

Hybrid - G O Jones 610 (Universe)

Scintillator detectors are commonly used within particle physics. They provide a large target mass as well as tracking ability. Yet most scintillator detectors rely on physical segmentation of the detector to localise scintillation photons to their point of emission. This leads to light losses at segmentation boundaries and complexities in detector construction. What if a detector could be made that naturally localises any scintillated light? In comes the new LiquidO technology, which uses opaque (highly scattering) scintillator rather than the standard transparent scintillator to naturally segment detectors. This new technology will be used in the CLOUD experiment to be carried out at Chooz to detect reactor neutrinos, commencing a new era of scintillator detector technology. This talk will introduce you to the physics of LiquidO and the design and goals of the new CLOUD experiment.