The particles, called anti-neutrinos, were detected at the underground Daya Bay experiment, located near a nuclear reactor in China, 55 kilometers north of Hong Kong.
McDonough and his colleagues are proposing a 10,000-ton submersible detector they have named "Hanohano" (Hawaiian for "magnificent"), for the Hawaii Anti-Neutrino Observatory.
In neutron radiative [beta]-decay, the polarization can differ appreciably from unity, so that the calculation of the polarization is necessary to realize a SM test; significant deviations from this prediction would nevertheless signify the palpable presence of a left-handed anti-neutrino or of non-V-A currents.
To study them you have to produce them at very high rates and my research is all about maximising anti-neutrino production," said Dr Adriana Bungau, a research fellow at the University of Huddersfield and a member of its International Institute for Accelerator Applications.