Jeff Hartnell
(University of Sussex)
Abstract:
The recent discovery in 2012 of the last neutrino mixing angle has opened a door to discovering the pattern of the neutrino masses and whether neutrinos violate CP symmetry: two of the very last missing pieces of the standard model of particle physics extended to include neutrino masses. Neutrinos may provide the answer to the big question of why the universe is dominated by matter and not antimatter. The NOvA experiment will compare data taken with a beam of neutrinos to those from a beam of antineutrinos, looking for differences. The physics reach of NOvA is unique due to its long 810 km baseline combined with the high power and well understood beam of (anti)neutrinos. Detector construction is well under way and first beam data will arrive imminently.