At -40 meters in the pool to test JUNO’s electronics
Researchers of the INFN Sections of Milan and Padua and of the University of Padua have carried out an unusual test in the Y-40 pool in Montegrotto Terme (PD), to verify the correct functioning of the “submarine” electronics of JUNO (Jiangmeng Underground Neutrino Observatory), a next generation neutrino physics experiment under construction in southern China, Guangdong region.
JUNO is a 20 kton underground liquid scintillator detector whose main physical objective is the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy that will be accessible through the measurement of the antineutrino spectrum from two high-power nuclear complexes installed 52 km from the experimental site. Furthermore, the large mass of the experiment, together with the excellent energy resolution, will allow JUNO to address many other aspects of physics related to the observations of neutrino events of astrophysical and terrestrial origin.
The electronics of JUNO’s photomultipliers will operate in conditions similar to those found in the the Y-40 pool, the deepest thermal water pool in the world (42 meters). Part of the activity required freediving operations, which were performed by Paolo Lombardi and above all by Gaspare Battaglia, a world champion of this sport.
The test took place on 23-25 May 2021 and provided important data for the characterization and certification of JUNO’s underwater electronics, of which the INFN is the lead partner together with the IHEP (Institute of High Energy Physics) of the Chinese Academy of Science.
For videos and interviews, see the website https://ilbolive.unipd.it/it/news/esperimento-juno-test-sullelettronica-piscina.
The people and institutions that have made a significant contribution to the test are:
INFN Milano: Augusto Brigatti, Paolo Lombardi
INFN e Università di Padova: collaborazione JUNO-PD
Pianeta Acqua: Gaspare Battaglia (freediving world champion)