DUNE: Striving for Revolutionary Discoveries

The preparation stage of DUNE, the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, on the basis of the accelerator complex of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab, USA) has started long ago. An important milestone of the whole project was the ceremony marking the start of construction of the Far Detector infrastructure on 21 July 2017. At present, the DUNE project involves more than 1000 scientists from different countries of the world. And scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) are among the members of this large international collaboration. The DUNE experiment is expected to be launched after 2025. Nikolay Anfimov, PhD in Physics and Mathematics, Head of the Sector of Experimental Methodology of the DLNP Experimental Department of Particle Physics (EDPP), one of the leaders of the JINR group involved in the project, talks about the significance of DUNE for the world’s science, about experimental objectives and stages, and the role of our group in this project.

Compact Precision Laser Inclinometer Developed at JINR Installed at the International Science Centre “Garni Geophysical Observatory”

From 26 September to 2 October 2021, researchers from the Experimental Department of Multiple Hadron Processes of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems Mikhail Lyablin, Alexey Kuzkin and Grach Torosyan were on their working trip to Armenia with an aim to install a compact precision laser inclinometer at the International Science Centre “Garni Geophysical Observatory”.

DLNP at the Festival NAUKA 0+

These days, from 8 to 10 October 2021, the All-Russian Festival NAUKA 0+ is being held. It is the key event of the Year of Science and Technology. A JINR stand is presented on one of Moscow’s festival sites, at the MSU Fundamental Library, where models of basic facilities of our Institute are displayed. The models of the Baikal-GVD Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope and of the Medical-Technical Complex are among them. During these three festival days, DLNP researchers Yury Malyshkin (Experimental Department of Elementary Particle Physics) and Alexander Verkheev (Experimental Department of Hadron Physics) will answer guests’ questions. On Sunday, the lecture “Neutrinos are the clue to the comprehension of the Universe” will be given by D. V. Naumov at the Shuvalov building of MSU.

Lecture of D. V. Naumov at the All-Russian Festival NAUKA 0+

On Sunday, 10 October 2021, at 13:00, the offline lecture “Neutrinos are the clue to the comprehension of the Universe” will be given at the Shuvalov building of MSU by Dmitry Vadimovich Naumov, Deputy Director of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems (JINR). Attendees will be able to enjoy a fascinating story about the discovery of neutrinos, mysterious and elusive ghost particles that saved the law of conservation of energy-momentum. Despite their weak interaction, neutrinos left a significant imprint in the history of the Universe and assisted in revealing modern fundamental laws of physics. Intensive research within the JINR Neutrino Programme is being performed at JINR.

On 7 October, a Ceremony of Awarding the 2020 RAS Prizes for the Best Work on Science Popularization Took Place

On Tuesday, 7 October 2021, a ceremony of awarding the 2020 RAS Prizes for the best work on science popularization was held at the main building of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The RAS President A. M. Sergeev and members of the RAS Committee on science popularization participated in the ceremony. The RAS President Alexander Sergeev emphasised the significance of reliability of information in the present-day world, especially of science information, “Activities of people who earnestly deal with science information are of great value. They “digest” information, communicate with scientists to become entirely convinced of its reliability and share it with the community. It is the way we see activities of true science educators. And all of you present here are of this kind. We are really grateful to you. We believe that the significance of your activities will only increase with time.”

Decommissioning Phases of the Borexino Detector Will Start on Monday, 4 October

Ezio Previtali, Director of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, congratulated collaboration members on the unprecedented results obtained by the Borexino experiment. He believes that Borexino can be considered as one of the most important experiments in neutrino physics ever realized. In spite of the detector shutdown, the Borexino collaboration will continue its functioning for at least two years. The processing of the accumulated data is intended to be completed. The special focus will be on the data taken after the thermal insulation of the detector till its shutdown.

Theoretical Analysis of the BM@N Experiment Results Presented at the International Forum “Nuclear Science and Technology” (Almaty, Kazakhstan)

From 20 to 24 September 2021, Yuri Nikolaevich Uzikov, leading researcher of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems, took part in the III International Forum “Nuclear Science and Technology” at the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan (Almaty). The forum was devoted to the 30th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

First Results of the vGeN Experiment on Coherent Neutrino Scattering

The first results were obtained at the νGeN experimental facility aimed at the search for coherent neutrino scattering and other interactions. At present, coherent elastic neutrino−nucleus scattering is an intriguing task for modern physics. This process has not been detected for reactor neutrinos yet. After detection, it will open the way to search for New Physics by the search for nonstandard neutrino interactions, search for sterile neutrinos, and other investigations. Moreover, it will open up the possibility of applied research like reactor monitoring and remote control.

Seminar to Mark the 70th Birthday of Professor Yu. G. Kudenko

The Institute for Nuclear Research (INR) of the Russian Academy of Sciences will hold a seminar devoted to the 70th birthday of Yuri Grigorevich Kudenko, Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, chief researcher, head of the INR Department of High-Energy Physics. The seminar will be held online via the Zoom platform.

An Important Milestone Passed: New Tasks of the DLNP Experimental Department of Colliding Beams in the Medipix4 Collaboration

Since 2015, work on one of the top-priority DLNP directions, Theme 04-2-1126-2015/2023 “New semiconductor detectors for basic and applied research” has been underway at the Experimental Department of Colliding Beams (EDCB) of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems in close cooperation with the International Medipix Collaboration. Collaboration members are aimed at the development and design of unique matrix chips for semiconductor pixel detectors, including X-ray imaging detectors. Scientific cooperation between the EDCB group and this collaboration started as far back as 2008. By 2011, the world’s first pixel detector with a sensor of high-resistance GaAs and a Timepix chip was developed.

What Neutrino Telescopes Are Needed for, What are Neutrinos and in Which Way Scientists Catch Them

The DLNP senior researcher Bair Shaybonov was involved in the main event of the Science and Technology Year in Russia, the festival “Tekhnosreda” (Techno-Environment) which was held at VDNKh in Moscow last weekend. Bair talked about the Baikal-GVD Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope, one of the top-priority projects in neutrino physics of the Dzhelepov Laboratory.

The Second Stage of the Biological Experiment at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory

In September 2021, the group of researchers from the Sector of Molecular Genetics of the Cell (SMGC) of the Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems performed Stage II of the experiment at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory (BNO) of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INR of RAS) on the study of ultradeep microbial communities inhabiting the extreme environment near the Elbrus magma chamber. Water, soil and inorganic sediments were sampled in an underground hot spring at a distance of 4200 m away from the cross-passage entrance.