The Super-Kamiokande Experiment

TL;DR

Super-Kamiokande is a large water Cherenkov detector that has provided groundbreaking evidence for neutrino mass and oscillations, significantly advancing our understanding of neutrino physics and astrophysics since 1996.

Contribution

This paper summarizes the key scientific results of Super-Kamiokande, especially its definitive proof of neutrino mass and oscillations, a major milestone in particle physics.

Findings

Confirmed neutrino flavor oscillations

Set limits on nucleon decay

Detected astrophysical neutrinos

Abstract

Super-Kamiokande is a 50 kiloton water Cherenkov detector located at the Kamioka Observatory of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo. It was designed to study neutrino oscillations and carry out searches for the decay of the nucleon. The Super-Kamiokande experiment began in 1996 and in the ensuing decade of running has produced extremely important results in the fields of atmospheric and solar neutrino oscillations, along with setting stringent limits on the decay of the nucleon and the existence of dark matter and astrophysical sources of neutrinos. Perhaps most crucially, Super-Kamiokande for the first time definitively showed that neutrinos have mass and undergo flavor oscillations. This chapter will summarize the published scientific output of the experiment with a particular emphasis on the atmospheric neutrino results.