RII Track-4:NSF: Exploring the Potential of ANNIE Physics Phase and Beyond

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector at the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, small by particle physics standards but with big ambitions. The goal is to develop a next-generation neutrino detector using advanced photosensors and new experimental techniques while making important measurements to understand neutrino-nucleus interactions.

The ANNIE result will have a direct impact on the reduction of the systematic uncertainties and the improvement of the signal-background discrimination in future large neutrino detectors, which is essential for long-baseline oscillation physics, proton decay searches, and supernova detection. The proposed research will develop new analysis algorithms to improve the neutrino detection capability in ANNIE and perform fundamental simulations and tests to explore the physics potential beyond the current phase.

The fellowship will advance the collaboration between South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SD Mines) and Fermilab. It will also provide comprehensive training for the PI and a graduate student to enhance the group's research capability in developing next-generation neutrino detectors. The results of the research will significantly advance knowledge and understanding of new technologies for neutrino detection.

ANNIE will perform several fundamental tests of new technologies to be used in neutrino detectors, such as a novel kind of photodetectors called Large-Area Picosecond PhotoDetector (LAPPD) and Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS) that is a newly-developed detection medium. The technology behind the ANNIE detector will have a high impact on the development of future large water Cherenkov detectors as well as on detection techniques for neutrino physics.

This fellowship supports the PI and a graduate student to visit Fermilab for six months to work closely with their ANNIE collaborators onsite at Fermilab. The proposed research aims at (1) developing analysis algorithms to push the ANNIE detector to its full potential demonstrating its promise for future experiments, (2) testing a new neutrino detection medium WbLS by deploying a target vessel into the existing water tank, and (3) performing simulations to investigate the feasibility of measuring the number of final state neutrons from neutrino-argon interaction using the ANNIE infrastructure.

The proposed research will deliver an optimized fast-timing-based reconstruction package to facilitate the physics analysis and explore the ANNIE's potential beyond the current phase. The WbLS deployment and the feasibility study of liquid argon target deployment connect ANNIE to future larger-scale neutrino experiments with broader impacts on the field.

This research fellowship would provide the PI with expertise on new neutrino detection technologies and enable the PI to sustain his career in experimental neutrino physics in the long term.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.