Orateur
Dr
Filippo Varanini
(INFN Padova)
Description
ICARUS-T600 is the first example of an innovative detection technology, the liquid Argon TPC, which
is a sort of "electronic bubble chamber", potentially scalable to huge masses.
The excellent topology reconstruction, tracking and particle identification capabilities,
together with the calorimetric measurement of deposited energy, make the LAr-TPC an ideal detector for
the study of rare events such as neutrino interactions and nucleon decay.
With a mass of 600 tons, ICARUS is the largest LAr-TPC ever built. It has been installed at the
Gran Sasso underground laboratory and has been taking data since May 2010.
ICARUS is performing a broad physics programme, mainly centered on the study of the neutrinos
in the CNGS beam from CERN, but also including neutrinos from natural sources.
The characteristics and performance of LAr-TPCs will be illustrated, and first results from the
physics runs of ICARUS-T600 in 2010 and 2011 will be shown; future projects based on LAr-TPCs,
especially concerning the search for sterile neutrinos, will also be discussed.
Auteur principal
Dr
Filippo Varanini
(INFN Padova)
