Speaker
Description
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation neutrino experiment that will consist of a near detector (ND) complex placed at Fermilab, within a kilometre of the neutrino production point, and a larger far detector (FD) to be built in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), approximately 1300 km away. DUNE will record neutrino interactions from an accelerator-produced beam (the LBNF multi-megawatt wide-band neutrino beam planned for Fermilab) arriving at predictable times, but will also aim to detect rare events such as supernova neutrinos, potential nucleon decays and other beyond the Standard Model phenomena. The main role of the DUNE ND is constraining the systematic uncertainties in the neutrino oscillation measurements by characterising the energy spectrum and composition of the neutrino beam, as well as performing precision measurements of neutrino cross sections. The plan for DUNE is to be built using a staged approach with two main phases. While the Phase I programme is sufficient for early physics goals, Phase II upgrades in ND, FD, and beam are essential to reach the designed sensitivity for the neutrino oscillation analyses. In particular, the Phase II ND upgrade to a magnetised high-pressure gaseous argon (GAr) TPC surrounded by an electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal) and a muon tagger is essential for controlling systematic uncertainties. The gaseous argon provides low detection thresholds, which would allow detailed measurements of nuclear effects at the interaction vertex using the same material as the FD. Additionally, the magnetic field and the ECal would enable efficient particle identification and momentum and charge reconstruction. This talk presents an overview of the capabilities of ND-GAr and its related ongoing R&D efforts.