Supernova Neutrinos and Light Injection Calibration using Water Cherenkov Detectors

Student: Adam Tarrant
Supervisor: Neil McCauley

Adam Tarrant will be working on Super-Kamiokandia (Super-K) and WATCHMAN which are both water Cherenkov detectors. In his work he will be determining the ability of the detectors to discriminate between different supernova models using neutrinos which can inform us of the internal processes involved in supernova expulsions. Due to the rare nature of supernova events in our galaxy (around two a century) it is extremely important to understand what the neutrino spectrum will look like in our detectors so that we can be ready for the event to occur.

To complement this work, he will be working on the development and implementation of light injection systems in water Cherenkov detectors. This is where a monochromatic laser is injected into the fiducial volume allowing for the determining and monitoring of the detector’s performance.