Lake Superior photosensors to test neutrino beam from Fermilab

Researchers led by the University of Minnesota Duluth are deploying large arrays of photosensors on the floor of Lake Superior near Two Harbors to test whether lake water can serve as a detector for neutrinos sent from Fermilab in Illinois. The sensors will seek tiny flashes of light produced when neutrinos collide with atoms in the water, while researchers work to distinguish the accelerator’s beam from background particles and other noise. The project could demonstrate a way to build a very large neutrino detector using a natural body of water; researchers also plan related testing in Lake Vermilion. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s research vessel Neil Armstrong is supporting the deployment, and scientists say the work could advance understanding of neutrinos, among the universe’s most abundant but least understood particles. The Defense Department is sponsoring the project, which researchers say may also have potential applications such as monitoring nuclear reactors or submarines.