Research Project
I work on the tRopIcal DEep-sea Neutrino Telescope (TRIDENT) experiment. TRIDENT is an envisioned neutrino observatory at South China Sea, which aims to discover multiple high-energy astrophysical neutrino sources and provide a significant boost to the measurement of cosmic neutrino events of all flavors.
Role in the experiment
Our group spearheads two critical subsystems for TRIDENT:
- Hybrid Digital Optical Modules (hDOMs) Integration. hDOM has an innovative design by combining PMTs and SiPMs to maximize Cherenkov light detection from neutrino-induced relativistic charged particle showers in water.
- In-situ Calibration System. An in-situ calibration system ensures detector precision by monitoring real-time PMT/SiPM responses, optical properties of seawater, and acoustic positioning, and environmental noise.
Science Topics
▸ Indirect detection of dark matter using neutrinos. Dark matter (DM) particles, like WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles), could annihilate or decay into Standard Model particles, including neutrinos. These neutrinos could travel to earth and be detected by large-scale neutrino observatories such as TRIDENT. Indirect detection probes the thermally averaged cross-section for DM annihilation-the very process to the freeze-out mechanism, which has been predicted at <σv> ~ 3 × 10-26 cm3g-1 for DM masses between 1 – 105 GeV.
▸ Neutrino detector development & calibration Hands-on instrumentation on neutrino detection, including novel particle detector R&D, prototyping, PMT & SiPM characterization, and in-situ calibration techniques.
▸ Machine learning in neutrino telescope data. Explore applications for better event reconstruction and signal identification
Student Training
We offer interdisciplinary training in experimental physics, detector R&D, and data science, preparing students for careers in fundamental research and high-tech industries.
Recruiting
Always looking for motivated postdoc, graduate and undergraduate students to join the group.