Determine the optimal and feasible realization of medium-baseline surface neutrino detectors

Determine which medium-baseline surface-detector configuration for forward-produced LHC neutrinos, including the SINE and UNDINE concepts, is optimal and feasible to realize.

Background

The paper describes proposals to detect forward-produced LHC neutrinos at surface-level locations where the beam exits the ground. SINE and UNDINE would compensate for the reduced neutrino flux at longer baselines with much larger target masses, using a surface scintillator setup or a Geneva lake-based water volume.

These concepts face practical and experimental issues, including cosmic-ray backgrounds, event timing, detector siting outside CERN-owned land, and lower physics potential than detectors closer to the interaction point. The paper concludes that the relative optimality and feasibility of realizing such detectors remain unresolved.

References

The jury on what is optimal/feasible to realise is therefore still out.

— Neutrino Experiments at the LHC and the HL-LHC  (2609.00842 - Asawatangtrakuldee et al., 1 Sep 2026) in Section 5.3, Alternative experimental ideas, subsection “Medium baseline detectors near the surface”