This first identification of reactor antineutrinos in a Cherenkov detector has implications for future detectors. Nuclear reactors are widespread power generators that have been important tools in the study of neutrinos, and that could also serve a military use. With the nearest nuclear reactors located 240 km away from SNO+, this analysis also has implications to reactor power monitoring. With about half a year of data, reactor antineutrinos were identified by analytically suppressing the accidental background due to radioactivity by more than four orders of magnitude and by using sideband measurements for the three relevant backgrounds.
Host: Ariel Zuñiga Reyes