Bridging funds for LBNE-UK

In recent years we have learnt a great deal about the properties of the elusive neutrino from accelerator experiments where a beam of neutrinos is fired over distances of hundreds of miles and their rare interactions are detected in large deep underground experiments. As the propagate over large distances neutrinos change flavour and by studying these neutrino oscillations we can learn a lot about their nature. The next generation of long baseline (LBL) neutrino oscillation experiments will address one of the most crucial questions in particle physics: is CP violated in the neutrino sector? If this is the case, that it would represent a breakthrough discovery with the potential to explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe through the process called leptogenesis.

LBNE is the US flagship next generation neutrino oscillation project. It will send a neutrino beam 1300 km from Fermilab towards a large Liquid Argon (LAr) detector located in South Dakota. In 2012 LBNE received US DoE CD-1 approval with a provisional budget of $867M and CD-2/CD-3 approval is expected by 2017, with start of data taking planned for 2023. This proposal is for initial bridging funds for 9 months, which will allow the UK to retain and build on existing leadership in this crucial period that will see first operations in 2014 of both the LBNE 35 ton prototype detector and the first neutrino beam interactions in the MicroBooNE detector; these are significant steps towards the full LBNE LAr far detector.

The project is for short-term investment in to the next-generation LBL neutrino experiment, which in the coming decade will be one of a small number of large-scale particle physics projects. Investment at this stage will secure leadership with potential downstream benefits to UK science (through public engagement with this large-scale cutting edge project) and with UK industry through a potential multi-million pound investment in the LBNE far detector construction.