LIP Neutrino Physics group 20th anniversary
"LIP marked two decades of research in neutrino physics with an event that combined scientific talks, memories and celebration."
Experimental neutrino physics in Portugal started at LIP, with the participation in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO). The SNO+ collaboration was being formed in those early years and we joined from the start. Over time, the group grew and in 2018 joined also the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). LIP's Neutrino Physics group is now present at all LIP nodes.
This adventure was celebrated in short seminaries - by José Maneira, the group founder and leader, and Mark Chen, from Queen's University and Spokesperson of the SNO+ collaboration - followed by a true birthday party with cake and presents, small scale models of the SNO+ and protoDUNE detectors.
Mark Chen recalled the historical results of SNO, solving the longstanding "solar neutrino problem" via the discovery of neutrino oscillations and the journey that then led to the successor SNO+ experiment conceived to further study neutrinos and their properties, reusing most of the hardware. José Maneira then described the DUNE plans for neutrino oscillation measurements and its new technology developments. After a very successful prototyping and testing program at CERN, in the largest liquid argon time projection chambers ever built, LIP is now strongly involved in the preparation of the calibration systems for the final (and much larger) detectors.
Congratulations and best wishes for the next decades!
The 20th anniversary of LIP’s Neutrino Physics Group was also highlighted at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.