A team of scientists and engineers from Shanghai Transport University has begun construction of the first deep-sea neutrino detector. It will be placed 3.5 kilometers deep in the western Pacific Ocean and analyze streams of particles from space in the hope of one day discovering their source. Measuring neutrino oscillations will allow scientists to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model and will also provide the opportunity to conduct new experiments in the field of quantum gravity. The plan for the TRIDENT project was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Detail

Neutrinos are constantly bombarding the Earth’s atmosphere. They can pass through matter without leaving a trace. Measuring neutrino oscillations will allow scientists to discover new physics beyond the Standard Model and will also provide the opportunity to conduct new experiments in the field of quantum gravity. In addition, today we can only guess about the sources of neutrinos, and new research will help find out what exactly emits them.

According to the TRIDENT (“Tropical Deep Sea Neutrino Telescope”) project, the detector will be built on an underwater platform in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, at a depth of about 3.5 kilometers. The bottom of the selected area is flat and the current is weak within a few hundred meters from the bottom.

• The detector will consist of 1,200 vertical cables 700 meters long fixed to the base.
• They will be installed at a distance of 70 to 100 meters from each other, like moss thickets.
• Each will host 20 high-resolution digital optical modules.
• The telescope, which has a diameter of 4 kilometers, will monitor high-energy neutrinos in an area of ​​12 square kilometers.
• The estimated service life of the detector is 20 years.

Diagram of the TRIDENT detector / Photo by Jiao Tong University

First, scientists will build a scaled-down replica of the telescope with 10 cables to test the technology. It is expected to be ready in 2026. The full-fledged TRIDENT telescope, which has already been in operation for a year, will be able to capture a stream of neutrinos moving towards us from the active galaxy NGC 1068. The telescope will use the Earth as a shield and capture neutrinos passing through the planet. opponent.