Speaker
Description
Recent advances in low-energy antineutrino detection have expanded the range of environments and applications in which neutrinos can serve as unique, penetrating probes. We report new results on the potential use of neutrino detectors to constrain fission yield in nearby energetic events, based on a detailed sensitivity study of inverse beta decay detection in realistic background conditions. This work demonstrates that detectors ranging from the ton to multi-kiloton scale can set meaningful upper limits on fission yield for large chemical explosions at standoff distances of meters to kilometers, while also clarifying the fundamental limitations of neutrino-based exclusion for subcritical experiments.
Building on this framework, we present ongoing and future studies exploring neutrino detection in nontraditional environments, including maritime deployments and lunar-based detectors. For maritime sensing, we examine detector configurations and backgrounds relevant to mobile or near-surface platforms, assessing sensitivity to nearby reactor and transient sources in realistic oceanic conditions. For lunar detection, we outline the environment defined by the lack of an atmosphere, and consider the possibility for monitoring nuclear activity.
Together, these efforts highlight a unifying theme: neutrino detectors as versatile instruments for monitoring, characterization, and discovery across terrestrial, maritime, and extraterrestrial settings. We discuss the implications for detector design, deployment strategies, and the broader role of neutrinos in fundamental physics and applied sensing.