Novel Underwater Survey of Super-Kamiokande

Super-Kamiokande is a Japan-based, Nobel Prize winning underground neutrino detector aimed at measuring differences in the behaviours of tiny fundamental particles called neutrinos and their antiparticle counterparts, antineutrinos. These measurements would provide part of the answer as to why our universe is dominated by matter and why so much antimatter is missing.
The detector is a 50-kiloton water tank surrounded by 11000 single photon sensors. My project will focus on the research and development of a cross-disciplinary approach between particle physics and remote sensing called photogrammetry. Using underwater images and videos of the Super-Kamiokande detector, I will determine the geometry of the detector and its features to unprecedented levels of precision. This will reduce uncertainties arising from structural distortions, allowing us to better understand complicated neutrino interactions that occur within. In Japan, I will work with experts to build my photogrammetry analysis framework, altering the way the Super-Kamiokande detector is calibrated, analyzed and understood. It will additionally inform the system design for future detectors in Japan.

Faculty Supervisor:

Akira Konaka

Student:

Partner:

The University of Tokyo

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

TRIUMF

Program: