Physics & Astronomy Colloquium – Spring 2020 – Daughhetee

Speaker: Jake Daughhetee (University of Tennessee)

Title: First Detection of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering on Argon

Abstract: In 2017, the COHERENT collaboration made the first observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) using a 14.6 kg CsI scintillating crystal detector located at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In addition to neutrons, the 1.4 MW pulsed (60 Hz) proton beam at the SNS produces charged pions which subsequently decay to yield a large neutrino flux with a well-known energy spectrum and time structure. COHERENT employs a suite of detectors at the SNS to search for CEvNS in different target nuclei and to measure potential backgrounds. This multi-target program allows for testing of Standard Model predictions for CEvNS as well as for verifying the N2-dependence of the cross section of this interaction. CENNS-10, a 24 kg liquid argon scintillation detector, has been actively taking data at the SNS since the spring of 2017. This talk will detail the methods and results of a search for and detection of CEvNS in CENNS-10 data.