University of Pennsylvania
Department of Physics and Astronomy
High Energy Physics Seminar

Abstract

The KamLAND detector is nearing completion, with filling scheduled for this fall and first data in early 2001. By measuring the anti-neutrino rates from reactors 150 to 250 km away, KamLAND will be sensitive to neutrino-mass-squared differences less than $10^-5$ eV$^2$, which is over two orders of magnitude better than any other "laboratory" experiment with electron neutrinos or anti-neutrinos. This will completely cover the large mixing angle solution to the solar neutrino problem. KamLAND will also detect terrestrial anti-neutrinos. Eventually, when ultra-low backgrounds are achieved, low-energy neutrinos may be observed, including Be-7 solar neutrinos. This talk will mostly discuss the detector itself, the signals and backgrounds expected in the detector, and the resulting physics potential; the calibration, data acquisition, and purification systems will also be described.