science

ProtoDUNE

ProtoDUNE is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ProtoDUNE rather than just read about it. In short: The ProtoDUNE experiment is a prototype for DUNE in development by CERN, which will measure neutrino interactions with target atoms. DUNE will use a liquid-argon time projection chamber as a target for these neutrinos, also known as a LArTPC.

Key takeaways

ProtoDUNE belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ProtoDUNE to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ProtoDUNE from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The ProtoDUNE experiment is a prototype for DUNE in development by CERN, which will measure neutrino interactions with target atoms. DUNE will use a liquid-argon time projection chamber as a target for these neutrinos, also known as a LArTPC. Neutrino collisions knock electrons off of atoms in the LArTPC and release light energy, both of which can be measured by ProtoDUNE. Scientists use a negatively-charged anode plane array (APA) to attract and record the path of the electrons, thereby recording information about the collision itself. The ProtoDUNE detector is around the size of a three-storey house, and the DUNE project will use modules twenty times the size of ProtoDUNE. ProtoDUNE was successfully tested in 2018; as of 2023 it is the largest LArTPC ever constructed. Two detectors have been built at the neutrino platform, each containing around 800 metric tons of liquid argon. A cryostat is used to insulate the detector, which needs to be kept at temperatures of -184°C (-300°F) for the argon to remain liquid.

Construction It took two years to build the first ProtoDUNE detector, and another eight weeks to fill it with 800 tons of liquid argon. Originally, one detector was built to be single-phase (ProtoDUNE-SP), using only liquid argon, while the other was built to be dual-phase (ProtoDUNE-DP), using both liquid and gaseous argon. The goal of the prototypes is to solve any engineering problems that DUNE might face before construction begins. A group led by Bob Paulos in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Physical Sciences Lab designed the APA for the single-phase detector, and the APAs were built by the UW–Madison group and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Daresbury Laboratory. In addition, CERN designed a cathode plane that would repel electrons. The dual-phase detector operated similarly, but with a slightly different array configuration. Although DUNE's neutrinos will be provided by the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, CERN expanded their existing network to use a particle beam to test the detectors. The beam window system that allowed researchers to test ProtoDUNE was designed, fabricated, and installed by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Testing In 2018, ProtoDUNE recorded its first particle tracks. In 2020, researchers published a paper regarding the testing of the ProtoDUNE-SP detector. They used an 800-GeV beam of protons and electrons from CERN's SPS accelerator to test the capabilities of the ProtoDUNE-SP detector. In the test, the results from ProtoDUNE-SP were cross-checked with those from particle detectors located just before the detector. ProtoDUNE uses reconstruction software to differentiate an actual interaction from noise. This test revealed that the detector had a signal-to-noise ratio of fifty to one and that over 99% of the detector channels were working properly. As of 2023, CERN is building ProtoDUNE II, which will include a vertical drift detector (ProtoDUNE-VD). ProtoDUNE II will contain four APAs and light sensors.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ProtoDUNE

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ProtoDUNE claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ProtoDUNE before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ProtoDUNE ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ProtoDUNE

In research: ProtoDUNE appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ProtoDUNE in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ProtoDUNE is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics CERN experiments, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Neutrino experiments, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ProtoDUNE outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study ProtoDUNE in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ProtoDUNE means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ProtoDUNE out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ProtoDUNE in simple terms?

Why does ProtoDUNE matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ProtoDUNE?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ProtoDUNE.