The mass is determined by measuring the interactions in the detector of neutrinos fired from the Department of Energy's Fermilab near Chicago. Tufts is one of the founding institutions on this experiment, which is considered fundamental to the field of elementary particles.
"We built an intricate switchyard for the optical signals from the detector that provide the 'picture' of the neutrino interactions," said William Oliver, one of the lead researchers and chair of Tufts' department of physics. "The data will be fundamental to physicists and astronomers seeking to understand the building blocks of the universe."
The $300,000 optical switchyard that Tufts built was constructed by precisely guiding thousands of tiny fibers to the photodetectors that transform the optical signals to electrical signals. Neutrinos are subatomic particles that current research suggests change from one state to another among their three identities, similar to Clark Kent switching to and from Superman. They play an important role in the generation of energy in stars and other stellar objects.
In addition to Oliver, the Tufts team includes Professors Jacob Schneps and Tony Mann and University Research Scientist Hugh Gallagher. Schneps, a pioneer in this field, founded the Tufts High-Energy Group in 1956 during a time of rapid development in physics research during the post-war era.
The Tufts physicists worked with Fermilab and other universities on this Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search project. Also known as the MINOS Experiment, it is the only underground neutrino project in the U.S. to research the deepest structures of matter. (See http://www-numi.fnal.gov.)
Three years ago a Tufts team from the High-Energy Physics Group played a key role with Fermilab in proving the existence of the tau neutrino, the last piece in a puzzle physicists call the Standard Model of elementary particles.
"This groundbreaking high-energy physics experiment is an example of the major research that Tufts scientists are conducting in our labs and at our Science and Technology Center," said Susan Ernst, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. "Tufts is proud to play such an important role in this international endeavor."
NOTES TO EDITOR: Tufts photos are available at http://enews.tufts.edu/physics.htm
Also, DOE's Fermilab issued a release today, see http://www.fnal.gov
Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across the University's eight schools is widely encouraged.