DUNE is an an international experiment for neutrino science, under construction in the US. It will consist of two neutrino detectors placed in the world’s most intense neutrino beam. One detector will record particle interactions near the source of the beam, at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. A second, much larger, detector will be installed more than a kilometer underground at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in Lead, South Dakota — 1,300 kilometers downstream of the source.
DUNE is aiming for groundbreaking discoveries
- Origin of Matter: Investigate whether neutrinos could be the reason that the universe is made of matter rather than antimatter. By exploring the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations, DUNE seeks to revolutionize our understanding of neutrinos and their role in the universe.
- Unification of Forces: With the world’s largest cryogenic particle detector located deep underground, DUNE can search for signs of proton decay. This could reveal a relation between the stability of matter and the Grand Unification of forces, moving us closer to realizing Einstein’s dream.
- Black Hole Formation: DUNE’s observation of thousands of neutrinos from a core-collapse supernova in the Milky Way would allow us to peer inside a newly-formed neutron star and potentially witness the birth of a black hole.