Hiroko Watanabe

Assistant Professor, Research Center for Neutrino Science, Tohoku University *Profile is at the time of the award.

2024Inamori Research GrantsScience & Engineering

Research topics
Development of photodetector module for Ocean Bottom Detector toward geoneutrino observation
Keyword
Summary
The Earth's power engine is the source of various geophysical activities such as the earthquakes, volcano eruptions etc. Observation of the geoneutrinos, anti-neutrinos emitted from radioactive isotopes inside the Earth, bring unique and direct information on the Earth’s composition, which relate to the fundamental mysteries of its heat balance and thermal evolution. This program will focus on the development of new detector technology aiming to move "Ocean Bottom Detector" project forward. I will work on the development of the photo detector module which can operate in deep-sea environment. This program is a fundamental step towards the realization of large-scale research project.

Message

Thank you for accepting my proposal. Understanding of the Earth using geo-neutrinos is a research field, "Neutrino Geoscience", that is originally started and has been led by Japan. I will work on development of the detector technology to move forward to the larger science program.

Outline of Research Achievments

In this study, based on the development of deep ice detectors for the IceCube experiment, an international collaborative experiment leading high-energy cosmic neutrino observations using Antarctic ice as a reaction target, we estimated observation signals through detector development and detector simulation with the aim of observing the scintillation light of liquid scintillators with different wavelengths, luminescence intensities, and luminescence time constants in a deep sea environment. With an eye toward the development of larger detectors, we are continuing our research and development with the goal of operating a small prototype detector on the seabed.


Hiroko Watanabe et al. “Geoneutrinos:KamLAND, Hanohano, OBD” Workshop on Ghost Particle Hunting: Neutrino Physics and its Applications to World Peace, April 28 – May 2 2025.


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