Fermilab is ”ecstatic” over first NOvA neutrino results

The shorter track is most likely a proton. The new findings confirm that the extraordinary detector built for the project not only functions as planned but is also making great progress toward its goal of a major leap in our understanding of these particles.

Neutrinos are elusive particles that interact only very weakly with ordinary matter. There, scientists have been capable of filter via tens of millions of cosmic ray strikes and hone in on neutrino interactions.

“People are ecstatic to see our first observation of neutrino oscillations”, said Shanahan. “For all of the individuals who labored over the course of a decade on the designing, constructing, commissioning and working this experiment, it is past gratifying”. NOvA construction and operations are supported by the DOE Office of Science.

Fermilab presented an analysis of the first results from its NOvA neutrino experiment on August. 7 and physicists from William & Mary were heavily involved. The results show that the experiment is emitting and detecting neutrinos, as designed. The theory is that oscillations take place, changing the muon neutrinos fired out into other types – electron or tau – while in transit. “If the answer isn’t in neutrinos, it’s something really exotic”.

The coming neutrinos featured some electron neutrinos, suggesting that they had oscillated alongside their path by way of Earth.

The NOvA research project has found evidence of oscillating neutrinos.

NoVA will now be gathering data over the next six years even as researchers exercise to figure out the properties of these properties which so far are vaguely understood. “Having a beam of that power running so efficiently gives us a real competitive edge and allows us to gather data quickly”, said NOvA co-spokesperson Mark Messier. They described how they actually fired 201 muon neutrinos at NOvA, but only 33 were successful in reaching the detector. Conducted at the US Department of Energy’s Fermilab in Batavia Illinois, the experiment examines the subatomic particles that are created by sources as diverse as nuclear reactors, the sun, and the Big Bang. Scientists have been able to find that neutrinos come in three types; however, they don’t know which one is the heaviest and which one is the lightest. The measurement of the neutrino mass hierarchy is also crucial information for neutrino experiments trying to see if the neutrino is its own antiparticle. The results verify that NOvA is picking up neutrinos that have oscillated. The beam then travels more than 500 miles straight through the Earth oscillating (or changing types) along the way.

“One of many massive questions of the universe is that this: Why is there matter?” stated Jeffrey Nelson, a professor of physics at William & Mary who helped plan the NOvA experiment.