Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso
The Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso ( LNGS ) are the largest underground experimental laboratories for the study of elementary particles in the world and are located in the Gran Sasso d' Italia near L' Aquila. They belong to the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare ( INFN ). The experiments are shielded by 1400 meters of rock between the interfering cosmic radiation.
Experiments
OPERA
Since the end of August 2006 CERN sends a CNGS said beam of muons - neutrinos in the direction of 730 km away LNGS. There is the largest detector at LNGS, OPERA ( Oscillation Project with Emulsion - Tracking Apparatus), provide direct evidence of τ neutrinos and thus provide the last missing piece in the puzzle of neutrino oscillations. The detection of the τ - neutrino takes place in an approximately 1300 -ton lead -emulsion target. Electronic detectors are used for real-time reconstruction of charged particles, and as a trigger. OPERA is about 20 m long, 10 m wide and 10 m high and weighs including the surrounding structure almost 5,000 t. In September 2011, measured values obtained using the OPERA detector have been published that suggest that the CERN Neutrinos faster than light travel (see " OPERA neutrino anomaly "). Data of the ICARUS group show, however, that these readings are wrong (see " ICARUS (2012 )"). The experiment should be repeated in the U.S. at Fermilab.
ICARUS
The ICARUS experiment ( Imaging Cosmic And Rare Underground signal ) uses a liquid argon ( LAr ) detector to study neutrinos of the CNGS beam. The detector is filled with 760 tons of liquid argon.
BOREXINO
For the detection of low and medium energy solar neutrinos BOREXINO was designed. The detection of neutrinos via neutrino -electron scattering in a 300 -ton unsegmented liquid scintillator. Since May 2007 data are collected BOREXINO. For the first time with BOREXINO directly solar neutrinos were detected from the capture of electrons in 7- Be. The picture of neutrino oscillations could be confirmed. Since 2008, data on 8-B neutrinos were published. BOREXINO is the first experiment that has measured both neutrino sources the sun. BOREXINO will provide important data for thermonuclear fusion reactions in the center of the sun in the future.
LVD
The LVD experiment ( Large Volume Detector) is used to measure neutrinos from stellar outbursts in the Milky Way or the Magellanic Clouds, or the study of other astrophysical phenomena.
MACRO
Since 1989, the MACRO experiment is used to detect neutrinos from supernovae in real time. It was originally designed to search for magnetic monopoles and has a segmented target of 550 t of liquid scintillator.
XENON100 and XENON1T
The XENON100 experiment is the search for WIMPs and uses as a target 62 kg liquid, pure xenon and measures the difficult to detect charge and light signals that are expected on the rare collisions of WIMPs with xenon nuclei. In order to eliminate false signals due to the remaining radioactivity in the area of the detector, only events in the inner 34 kg of liquid xenon are considered as possible signals. In addition, the detector is blocked by layers of copper, polyethylene, lead and water, whereby the substrate is further reduced. The analysis of data from a 13 -month term of the XENON100 detector yielded an upper limit of cm ² for the cross section of a WIMP mass of 50 GeV.
GERDA
GERDA searches for the neutrinoless double - beta decay. In GERDA ( Germanium Detector Array ) are naked detectors that are 86% enriched in the isotope germanium 76, operated in a shield made of high purity liquid argon. In a first phase, the detector has been increasing since November 2011 data. First results for the two- neutrino double beta decay have been published and in the course of the year 2013, the first results are published for the neutrinoless double - beta decay.
Further experiments
Besides CUORE and GERDA COBRA search for the neutrinoless double - beta decay.
The experiments DAMA and CRESST - II are next XENON100 looking for WIMPs, the hypothetical constituents of the dark matter. DAMA uses to identify the very rare signals of WIMPs in the interfering background not elaborate Per- event discrimination techniques, but the fluctuations in the expected WIMP rate during the year. By analyzing the data of seven years, the detection of a WIMP candidates revealed with a mass of 60 GeV / c ² and a cross section of 10-41 cm. But this contradicts the negative results of other WIMP detectors.
LUNA ( Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics ) is an experiment for nuclear astrophysics and operates the only particle accelerator (400 keV ions) worldwide under the unique conditions of such underground laboratories.
In the years 1991 to 2003, the radiochemical GALLEX experiment and the follow-up experiment GNO were in the LNGS.
The Laboratori nazionali del Gran Sasso, like the three other European underground laboratories Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane, Laboratorio de subterráneo Canfranc and Boulby Underground Laboratory, the coordination group ILIAS connected.