Observatory to unravel universe's mysteries

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 10 December 2023 06:46

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Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 11, 2023

Deep beneath a hill in the rural Kaiping area of Jiangmen, China's largest underground laboratory, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), is on the verge of completing a decade-long construction project that promises to shed light on some of the universe's most enduring mysteries. Our expedition to this clandestine scientific haven began with a 15-minute journey in a dimly l

Observatory to unravel universe's mysteries
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 11, 2023

Deep beneath a hill in the rural Kaiping area of Jiangmen, China's largest underground laboratory, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), is on the verge of completing a decade-long construction project that promises to shed light on some of the universe's most enduring mysteries.

Our expedition to this clandestine scientific haven began with a 15-minute journey in a dimly lit cable car, traversing a 1,266-meter-long sloping tunnel. Here, in the depths of the earth, the environment was unexpectedly warmer, with rocky walls radiating heat up to 31 degrees Celsius in a stifling, damp atmosphere.

Equipped with protective gear and having passed through a disinfectant-infused airlock, the main laboratory's grand doors slowly revealed a massive steel-framed sphere, a marvel of scientific engineering. This sphere, meticulously assembled with numerous components and equipped with super-acute detectors, is designed to catch and analyze neutrinos. These elusive particles, nearly massless and traveling at near the speed of light, are fundamental to understanding the universe's origins.

Heng Yuekun, deputy manager of JUNO and a professor at the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared that upon completion, this colossal sphere will be submerged in a 44-meter-deep pool of ultra-pure water. This unique setup is essential for shielding the detector from interfering signals and vetoing background cosmic rays.

JUNO's design is remarkable: a stainless-steel shell 41 meters in diameter, an acrylic sphere of 35.4 meters diameter, filled with 20,000 metric tons of liquid scintillator, and outfitted with 20,000 20-inch and 25,600 3-inch photomultiplier tubes. This complex array is pivotal for the detection and analysis of neutrinos, particles whose study could revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.

Seventy-four research institutions from 17 countries and regions are collaborating in this neutrino experiment, contributing to its hardware, software, and physical analysis. This international cooperation underscores the global significance of neutrino research and JUNO's role as a major player in the field. Participating institutions will gain access to JUNO's data, facilitating a wide range of research endeavors.

The construction of this underground laboratory, initiated in early 2015, marks nearly a decade of dedicated effort. With its expected operational launch at the end of next year, JUNO is poised to become a key site in the quest to understand the properties of neutrinos and their role in the universe.

JUNO's strategic underground location provides a shield against cosmic rays and other external interferences, crucial for neutrino detection. The facility's focus on neutrino oscillations and determining the neutrino mass hierarchy is expected to yield significant insights into these 'ghost particles.' Neutrinos, due to their weak interaction with matter, are essential in exploring the early universe and stellar processes.

China's significant investment and leadership in this high-profile international physics experiment demonstrate its burgeoning role in global scientific research. JUNO not only represents a technological marvel but also a testament to international scientific collaboration in unraveling the mysteries of the universe.