T2K gets 7th in the top ten Physics breakthroughs - 2011

Physics World annually lists the top ten breakthroughs in physics research. In their recently announced 2011 list, seventh place is awarded to the international team of physicists (including a number here at UBC & TRIUMF) working on the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) experiment in Japan.

The researchers generate a beam of muon neutrinos at J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex). The beam is fired 300 km underground to the Super-Kamiokande detector, where six electron neutrino-like events were observed. As the expected background of electron neutrinos was only 1.5, this may be evidence that muon neutrinos had changed, or "oscillated", into electron neutrinos. While the measurement is not good enough to claim the discovery of the muon-to-electron neutrino oscillation, it is the best evidence yet that one "flavour" of neutrino can oscillate into another.

The UBC researchers include Chris Hearty, Scott Oser, Hiro Tanaka, Thomas Lindner, Brian Kirby, Daniel Brook-Roberge, Christine Nielsen, Jiae Kim, Shimpei Tobayama and Sophie Berkman.

At TRIUMF are Akira Konaka, Rich Helmer, Kendall Mahn, Sujeewa Kumaratunga, Mike Wilking, Fabrice Retiere, Renee Poutissou, Jean-Michel Poutissou, Robert Henderson, Stan Yen, Andy Miller.