The start of things for Kamiokande: The Kamioka Nucleon Decay Experiment

TL;DR

This paper recounts the development and initial findings of the Kamiokande experiment, which was designed to detect proton decay as evidence for Grand Unified Theories, marking a significant step in experimental particle physics.

Contribution

It introduces the Kamiokande experiment's design, development, and first candidate events, pioneering the search for proton decay in the context of GUTs.

Findings

First candidate events for proton decay observed

Kamiokande demonstrated feasibility for GUT proton decay detection

Pioneered large-scale underground neutrino detection

Abstract

In 1980, detecting the evidence of the so-called Grand Unified Theory (GUT) became a major challenge for experimentalists. The GUT predicted that protons would decay, and M. Koshiba proposed the Kamioka Nucleon Decay Experiment (Kamiokande), which was originally conceived and designed for the detection of proton decay signals. This article describes the story of the Kamiokande experiment from the preparation stage to the observation of the first candidate events for proton decays.