United States, India sign agreement to collaborate on neutrino physics research

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and India’s Atomic Energy Secretary Sekhar Basu signed an agreement Monday to expand the two countries’ science and technology collaboration and jointly advance neutrino science projects underway in both countries.

The agreement will advance the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) with the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Fermilab and the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO).

“The LBNF/DUNE project hosted by Fermilab in collaboration with our international partners is an important priority for the Department, the Administration, and America’s leadership in science,” Perry said. “I am pleased to expand our partnership with India in neutrino science and look forward to making discoveries in this promising area of research.”

More than 1,000 scientists from over 170 institutions in 31 countries work on LBNF/DUNE. The project uses Fermilab’s particle accelerators to send beams of high-energy neutrinos to massive neutrino detectors to study their interactions with matter.

Scientists at INO will use an iron calorimeter to observe neutrinos produced in Earth’s atmosphere to learn more about their properties. Scientists from more than 20 institutions are working on INO.

“India has a rich tradition of discoveries in basic science,” Basu said. “We are pleased to expand our accelerator science collaboration with the U.S. to include the science for neutrinos. Science knows no borders and we value our Indian scientists working hand-in-hand with our American colleagues. The pursuit of knowledge is a true human endeavor.”