Hello
I am a staff scientist at SNOLAB. I am a member of the DEAP and SNO+ collaborations. I have worked on KamLAND, Daya Bay, and SNO.How To Find Me
Postal address for site
jillings _AT_ snolab.ca
Phone: (705) 692-7000 x2266
Fax: (705) 692-7001.
Skype: chrisjillings
Three Big Questions
- What is the universe made of? Beautiful measurements in cosmology have taught us in great detail about the history of the universe. But we don't know most of what had this history. Only about 5% of the universe is "normal" matter. About 25% of the universe is dark matter. But no one has ever measured it. That is why I am a member of the DEAP collaboration.
- Why is there any normal matter in the universe at all? If matter and anti-matter are truly "equal and opposite" then there would be no matter left over from the big bang. There is a small asymmetry between the two. However, the known assymmetry can account for only about 20% of the matter in the universe. One possible source of asymmetry is CP violation in the neutrino sector. For this to be true the third neutrino mixing angle (the first, made famous by SNO and KamLAND is about 32 degrees; the second, made famous by SuperKamiokande is about 45 degrees) must be non-zero. So far all that is known is the angle is small. The Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, a mostly Chinese/American collaboration, is preparing to make a very sensitive measurement of this angle. I worked on this experiment before taking on my post at SNOLAB.
- Are neutrinos their own antiparticles? This question is really about why and how neutrinos get their mass. But this question is at the heart of double beta decay. Normal double beta decay in which two electrons and two anti-neutrinos are emitted is a slow but "normal" decay. (Normal means it is described nicely by known physics.) But what about zero neutrino double-beta decay? Several experiments are trying to detect this rare process. Should a measurement be made then neutrinos must be majorana particles (ie their own antiparticle). SNO++ will use Nd in liquid scintilator to look for this process.
