Speaker
Pranava Teja Surukuchi
(Illinois Institute of Technology)
Description
PROSPECT is a multi-phased reactor antineutrino experiment with primary goals of making a precise measurement of the $^{235}$U reactor antineutrino spectrum and performing a search for sterile neutrinos. The detectors will be deployed at short baselines of $\sim$ 7-19m from the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition to being optimally located to search for oscillations arising from $\Delta$ m$^2 \sim$1eV$^2$ sterile neutrinos, the short distance of the detector from the reactor provides a large $\overline{\nu}_{e}$ flux from the reactor core. However, the close proximity also poses challenges such as constraints on space, lack of overburden and backgrounds from the reactor. Therefore, the detector must be designed to have excellent background rejection capabilities, along with good position and energy resolution, to meet the physics goals of the experiment. PROSPECT's use of segmented $^6$Li-loaded liquid scintillator detector target enables the achievement of these varied requirements. In this poster, we give a detailed description of the experimental strategy of PROSPECT, the PROSPECT detector design, and supporting R\&D activities.
Primary author
Pranava Teja Surukuchi
(Illinois Institute of Technology)
