Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
Encyclopedia
Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) is a particle physics
laboratory of the INFN, situated near the Gran Sasso
mountain in Italy
, between the towns of L'Aquila
and Teramo
, about 120 km from Rome
. In addition to a surface portion of the laboratory, there are extensive underground facilities beneath the mountain. The first large experiments at LNGS ran in 1989; the facilities were later expanded. According to its official website, the Gran Sasso lab is, , the largest underground particle physics laboratory in the world.
The lab is located within the Gran Sasso and the Monti della Laga National Park
.
The underground facilities are located next to a freeway tunnel, the 10km long Traforo del Gran Sasso
. The experimental halls are covered by about 1400m of rock, protecting the experiments from cosmic rays.
The mission of the laboratory is to host experiments that require a low background environment in the field of astroparticle physics and nuclear astrophysics and other disciplines that can profit of its characteristics and of its infrastructures.
The LNGS is, like the three other Europe
an underground astroparticle laboratories, Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, Laboratorio subterráneo de Canfranc, and Boulby Underground Laboratory, a member of the coordinating group ILIAS
.
has directed a beam
of muon neutrino
s from the CERN SPS accelerator
to the Gran Sasso lab, 730 km away, where they will be detected by the OPERA
and ICARUS detectors, in a study of neutrino oscillation
s that will improve on the results of the Fermilab
to MINOS
experiment.
In May 2010, Lucia Votano, Director of the Gran Sasso laboratories, announced that "[t]he OPERA experiment has reached its first goal: the detection of a tau neutrino obtained from the transformation of a muon neutrino
, which occurred during the journey from Geneva to the Gran Sasso Laboratory." This finding indicates a deficiency in the Standard Model
of particle physics
, as neutrinos would have to have mass for this change to occur.
An effort to determine the mass of the neutrino, called CUORE
(Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events), is scheduled to begin in 2011. The detector will be shielded with lead recovered from an ancient Roman shipwreck, due to the ancient lead's lower radioactivity than recently minted lead. The artifacts are being given to CUORE from the National Archaeological Museum in Cagliari
.
In September 2011, Dario Autiero of the Institut de Physique Nucléaire de Lyon presented findings that indicated neutrinos were arriving at OPERA about 60 ns earlier than they would if they were travelling at the speed of light. These results
are as yet unexplained.
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
laboratory of the INFN, situated near the Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso
Gran Sasso d'Italia is a mountain located in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The Gran Sasso forms the centerpiece of the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park which was established in 1993 and holds the highest mountains in continental Italy south of the Alps and is part of the...
mountain in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, between the towns of L'Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
and Teramo
Teramo
Teramo is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast...
, about 120 km from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In addition to a surface portion of the laboratory, there are extensive underground facilities beneath the mountain. The first large experiments at LNGS ran in 1989; the facilities were later expanded. According to its official website, the Gran Sasso lab is, , the largest underground particle physics laboratory in the world.
The lab is located within the Gran Sasso and the Monti della Laga National Park
Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park
The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park is a natural park in Italy, which was established in 1991. It has an area of 2,014 square kilometres...
.
The underground facilities are located next to a freeway tunnel, the 10km long Traforo del Gran Sasso
Traforo del Gran Sasso
The Gran Sasso Tunnel is part of the A24 Motorway that links Rome and the Adriatic Sea via L'Aquila and Teramo, through the Apennine Mountains via the Gran Sasso in Abruzzo....
. The experimental halls are covered by about 1400m of rock, protecting the experiments from cosmic rays.
The mission of the laboratory is to host experiments that require a low background environment in the field of astroparticle physics and nuclear astrophysics and other disciplines that can profit of its characteristics and of its infrastructures.
The LNGS is, like the three other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an underground astroparticle laboratories, Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, Laboratorio subterráneo de Canfranc, and Boulby Underground Laboratory, a member of the coordinating group ILIAS
ILIAS
ILIAS is an open source web-based learning management system . It supports learning content management and tools for collaboration, communication, evaluation and assessment...
.
Neutrino research
Since late August 2006, CERNCERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
has directed a beam
CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso
The CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso project is a physics project of the European Organization for Nuclear Research . The aim of the project is to analyse the hypothesis of neutrino oscillation by directing a beam of neutrinos from CERN's facilities to the detector of the OPERA experiment at the Gran...
of muon neutrino
Muon neutrino
The muon neutrino is a subatomic lepton elementary particle which has the symbol and no net electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence its name muon neutrino. It was first hypothesized in the early 1940s by several people, and was discovered in 1962 by...
s from the CERN SPS accelerator
Super Proton Synchrotron
The Super Proton Synchrotron is a particle accelerator of the synchrotron type at CERN. It is housed in a circular tunnel, in circumference, straddling the border of France and Switzerland near Geneva, Switzerland. The SPS was designed by a team led by John Adams, director-general of what was...
to the Gran Sasso lab, 730 km away, where they will be detected by the OPERA
OPERA Experiment
The Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus is a scientific experiment for detecting tau neutrinos from muon neutrino oscillations. It is a collaboration between CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Gran Sasso, Italy and uses the CERN Neutrinos...
and ICARUS detectors, in a study of neutrino oscillation
Neutrino oscillation
Neutrino oscillation is a quantum mechanical phenomenon predicted by Bruno Pontecorvowhereby a neutrino created with a specific lepton flavor can later be measured to have a different flavor. The probability of measuring a particular flavor for a neutrino varies periodically as it propagates...
s that will improve on the results of the Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
to MINOS
MINOS
MINOS is a particle physics experiment designed to study the phenomena of neutrino oscillations, first discovered by a Super-Kamiokande experiment in 1998...
experiment.
In May 2010, Lucia Votano, Director of the Gran Sasso laboratories, announced that "[t]he OPERA experiment has reached its first goal: the detection of a tau neutrino obtained from the transformation of a muon neutrino
Muon neutrino
The muon neutrino is a subatomic lepton elementary particle which has the symbol and no net electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence its name muon neutrino. It was first hypothesized in the early 1940s by several people, and was discovered in 1962 by...
, which occurred during the journey from Geneva to the Gran Sasso Laboratory." This finding indicates a deficiency in the Standard Model
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is a theory concerning the electromagnetic, weak, and strong nuclear interactions, which mediate the dynamics of the known subatomic particles. Developed throughout the mid to late 20th century, the current formulation was finalized in the mid 1970s upon...
of particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, as neutrinos would have to have mass for this change to occur.
An effort to determine the mass of the neutrino, called CUORE
Cuore
Cuore is Italian term for "heart". It may refer to:* Heart * Heart * Daihatsu Cuore* Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events, particle physics facility in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso...
(Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events), is scheduled to begin in 2011. The detector will be shielded with lead recovered from an ancient Roman shipwreck, due to the ancient lead's lower radioactivity than recently minted lead. The artifacts are being given to CUORE from the National Archaeological Museum in Cagliari
Cagliari
Cagliari is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle. It has about 156,000 inhabitants, or about 480,000 including the outlying townships : Elmas, Assemini, Capoterra, Selargius, Sestu, Monserrato, Quartucciu, Quartu...
.
In September 2011, Dario Autiero of the Institut de Physique Nucléaire de Lyon presented findings that indicated neutrinos were arriving at OPERA about 60 ns earlier than they would if they were travelling at the speed of light. These results
OPERA neutrino anomaly
The OPERA neutrino anomaly is the detection of apparently faster-than-light neutrinos by the OPERA experiment as publicly announced in September 2011. The detection is anomalous because speeds exceeding that of light in a vacuum are generally thought to violate special relativity, a prevailing...
are as yet unexplained.
Secondary experiments
See also
- Astroparticle physicsAstroparticle physicsAstroparticle physics, the same as particle astrophysics, is that branch of particle physics that studies elementary particles of astronomical origin, and their relation to astrophysics and cosmology. It is a relatively new field of research emerging at the intersection of particle physics,...