Speaker
Description
The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a neutrino detector at the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. It is a gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector, designed to measure the neutron multiplicity in neutrino-nucleus interactions and the charged-current cross section of muon neutrinos. Additionally, ANNIE has a strong focus on testing new detector technologies, amongst which is Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS), which allows for the simultaneous detection of scintillation and Cherenkov light. WbLS promises to combine advantages of a scintillator such as a low energy threshold with the directionality, high transparency and metal-loading capabilities of a water-Cherenkov detector. To test the detection capabilities of WbLS, a 366 L cylindrical vessel named SANDI, filled with WbLS was deployed twice in ANNIE. The first deployment was done with a pure WbLS and the subsequent analysis demonstrated the simultaneous detection of scintillation and Cherenkov light from a neutrino beam. The second deployment was done with a Gd-loaded WbLS for an enhancement of neutron capture signals. To fully explore the hybrid event detection with WbLS for GeV neutrinos, the WbLS volume in ANNIE will be increased to 8 m³. For this purpose, a nylon vessel is currently being designed and will be deployed in summer 2026. Here, an overview of the WbLS activity in ANNIE is presented.
| Position | PhD student |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz |
| Country | Germany |