BackIndian scientists hope Nobel will help win over neutrino research project opponents
India-based Neutrino Observatory project faces protests from people living in villages surrounding the proposed site for the observatory in Tamil Nadu
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New Delhi: Scientists at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) were celebrating on Tuesday after the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics went to two scientists for their work in the field of neutrinos.
On Tuesday, Japan’s Takaaki Kajita and Canada’s Arthur B. McDonald were awarded the Nobel for their discovery of neutrino oscillations which showed that neutrinos have mass.
“This is great news for the neutrino community," said Naba Mondal, project director for the INO. “This will hopefully create an atmosphere of awareness, especially among people who are opposing the project without understanding this area of research."
The INO project was cleared in January by the prime minister’s office at a cost of ₹ 1,500 crore. The planned site of the observatory—1,500 metres underground in Pottipuram in Bodi West hills in Tamil Nadu—has faced protests from surrounding villages and activists who fear it will have an environmental impact. As a result, the project is awaiting clearance from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
There are several projects that Mondal and collaborating scientists have planned at the observatory, aiming to study the properties of atmospheric neutrinos, which are subatomic particles produced by the decay of radioactive elements.
“Neutrino oscillation was an important discovery and took physics beyond the standard model, but so much more has been found in the field since then and so much more needs to be found," said Mondal.
The physicist said there are three flavours (or types) of neutrinos, but no one knows which is the lightest and which the heaviest. This is one aspect that they will investigate at INO.
“There are also questions regarding matter and antimatter asymmetry; as in, why do we see matter but not antimatter? Neutrinos could give a clue regarding this," said Mondal.
The prize-winning discoveries on neutrino mass were made in two separate neutrino detectors in Japan and Canada.
India’s attempt to make a mark in this field of particle physics is the INO—the planned underground laboratory consisting of a large cavern that will be accessed by a 1900m long and 7.5m wide tunnel. The INO project is jointly supported by the departments of atomic energy and science and technology.
“Many experiments are taking place around the world," said Mondal. “We can also play a role in this exciting field of research."
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