The research, published in Nature, leverages data from both NOvA and T2K to improve precision in measuring how neutrinos and antineutrinos change type, or oscillate, while traveling through space. This technique helps probe why the Big Bang resulted in a universe of matter rather than total annihilation by antimatter. Each experiment directs beams of neutrinos over long distances and uses advanced detectors to identify the rare events when these particles interact, then reconstructs these interactions to reveal transformation patterns.
The combined analysis gives a more accurate measurement of the so-called CP symmetry violation, a phenomenon that would signal a difference in how matter and antimatter behave. The findings show an asymmetry in oscillation behaviors between neutrinos and their antimatter counterparts, which may explain why matter dominates over antimatter in the cosmos.
IUs involvement includes technical leadership, detector development, and analysis efforts, led by Distinguished Professor Mark Messier along with Jon Urheim, James Musser, Stuart Mufson, and Jonathan Karty. Numerous IU students have contributed to the experiments, both in ongoing research and the development of new technology for detection and data processing. Messier noted that answering why there is something rather than nothing in the universe involves breaking the problem into manageable scientific steps, and emphasized the influence of large-scale physics experiments on industry innovations, such as electronics and data science.
Looking ahead, the collaboration establishes a model for future multinational projects, with the joint work funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and involving hundreds of scientists worldwide.
"We've made progress on this really big, seemingly intractable question: why is there something instead of nothing?" said Professor Messier. "And, we've set the stage for future research programs that aim to use neutrinos to tackle other questions."
"There has been transformative technological innovation across all sectors of society that's come out of high-energy physics," noted Messier. "Further, next-generation scientists immerse themselves in data science, in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and in electronics, and then go into industries with the deep skills they've gained while trying to answer these really difficult questions."
Research Report:Joint neutrino oscillation analysis from the T2K and NOvA experiments
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