After years of hard work, HALO (pictured right), a neutrino detector located in SNOLAB, is now up and running! TRIUMF researcher, Stan Yen, played a significant role in the design and construction of the detector. Below, are more details from the collaboration:
Just in time for the grand opening of SNOLAB, the Helium and Lead Observatory for Supernova Neutrinos (HALO) is up and running. The concept of HALO dates back to 1996 when Cliff Hargrove proposed the Lead Astronomical Neutrino Detector (LAND) as a long lifetime supernova detector. In 2004 Charles Duba renamed the nascent detector to HALO when we decided to use the 3He proportional counters from the SNO experiment. The design and construction of HALO started in 2007.
The purpose of HALO is to observe the neutrinos from the next galactic supernova. These particles stream out before the photons do, which gives astronomers the opportunity through the Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS) for the light signal taht can be caught in real-time. Just as the SNO detector gives the ability to look into the Sun, a window into the mechanics of supernova explosions is provided by HALO.
Although there is still much work to do to fully calibrate the detector, all of the 128 proportional counters are connected to 64 data acquisition channels.
Supernova, the HALO Collaboration is ready for you!
About SNOLAB:
SNOLAB is an underground science laboratory specializing in neutrino and dark matter physics. Situated two km below the surface in the Vale Creighton Mine located near Sudbury Ontario Canada, SNOLAB is an expansion of the existing facilities constructed for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) solar neutrino experiment. SNOLAB follows on the important achievements in neutrino physics achieved by SNO and other underground physics measurements.
- Based off a SNOLAB News Story