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| LBNF/DUNE | |
|---|---|
| Name | LBNF/DUNE |
| Location | Sanford Underground Research Facility, Fermilab |
| Status | Construction |
| Cost | Multi‑billion USD |
| Start | 2015 |
| Personnel | International collaboration |
LBNF/DUNE LBNF/DUNE is a large international scientific project to study neutrinos using a long‑baseline beam and deep underground detectors. The project brings together institutions such as Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Sanford Underground Research Facility, CERN, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and collaborators from countries including United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. It aims to address fundamental questions that connect to results from experiments like Super-Kamiokande, SNO, IceCube, and theories influenced by figures such as Enrico Fermi and Bruno Pontecorvo.
LBNF/DUNE comprises a high‑power neutrino beam produced at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and a far detector complex located at Sanford Underground Research Facility near Lead, South Dakota, with a near detector on the Fermilab site. The project infrastructure links to accelerator systems developed at Fermilab, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and engineering efforts informed by Argonne National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Scientific community engagement mirrors organizational models from collaborations like ATLAS, CMS, NOvA, and MINOS.
The scientific goals include determination of the neutrino mass ordering, measurement of CP violation in the lepton sector, precision studies of neutrino oscillations, searches for proton decay, and detection of supernova neutrinos. These goals relate to theoretical frameworks advanced by Pontecorvo–Maki–Nakagawa–Sakata matrix, experimental milestones set by T2K, KamLAND, Daya Bay, and astrophysical observations from SN 1987A and Hubble Space Telescope. The program tests implications for models proposed by researchers such as Wolfenstein, Mikheyev–Smirnov, Pati–Salam model, and scenarios examined in the context of Grand Unified Theory proposals.
Key facilities include the proton accelerator complex at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, civil construction at Sanford Underground Research Facility's 4850‑foot level, cryogenic systems influenced by designs at CERN and SNOLAB, and surface buildings patterned after Gran Sasso National Laboratory installations. Support infrastructure encompasses logistics coordination with entities like U.S. Department of Energy, engineering procurement from contractors comparable to those used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and safety programs drawing on standards from Occupational Safety and Health Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The far detectors employ massive liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) using technologies developed in prototypes such as MicroBooNE, ICARUS, and ProtoDUNE. Cryostat and cryogenic engineering reflect practices from ATLAS cryogenics and industrial partners with experience from General Electric divisions and national labs like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Readout electronics, data acquisition, and computing follow architectures established by CERN experiments and leverage software practices from ROOT and collaborations such as Open Science Grid and Worldwide LHC Computing Grid.
The beamline will use high‑intensity protons from the Fermilab accelerator chain including the Main Injector to produce pions and kaons that decay into neutrinos, a process analogous to beams at NuMI and historical facilities such as CERN Proton Synchrotron. Beam instrumentation, horns, and targetry are informed by designs employed by NOvA and lessons from BNL operations. The neutrino flux predictions incorporate hadron production data from experiments like NA61/SHINE and cross‑section inputs from MINERvA.
The collaboration governance involves an international consortium with institutional boards, technical boards, and executive leadership modeled after governance at ATLAS and DUNE Collaboration structures, with participation from universities such as University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, University of Tokyo, and national laboratories including Brookhaven National Laboratory and TRIUMF. Funding and oversight engage agencies like U.S. Department of Energy, European Commission, UK Research and Innovation, National Science Foundation, and national ministries comparable to those supporting ITER or SKA.
Construction phases include excavation at Sanford Underground Research Facility, assembly of cryostats and detector modules influenced by schedules used in ProtoDUNE commissioning, and beamline upgrades at Fermilab to reach multi‑megawatt power. The timeline projected major milestones through the 2020s and 2030s, with costs and baselines overseen by agencies such as U.S. Department of Energy and subject to reviews similar to those for James Webb Space Telescope and LHC upgrades. International in‑kind contributions and staged deployment aim to mitigate risks exemplified in large projects like ITER and Square Kilometre Array.