European accelerator-based neutrino projects

TL;DR

European neutrino projects are progressing with medium-term long-baseline experiments like OPERA and ICARUS, and long-term plans include new proton drivers and radioactive ion facilities for advanced neutrino beams.

Contribution

This paper reviews the upcoming European neutrino projects, highlighting the development of new beam technologies and experimental setups for future neutrino research.

Findings

OPERA and ICARUS focus on tau appearance.

Potential for low-energy super-beam with new CERN proton driver.

Heavy ion facility could produce pure electron neutrino beams.

Abstract

Future neutrino projects in Europe will follow two distinct time lines. On the medium term, they will be dominated by the CERN-Gran Sasso long-baseline project, with two experiments OPERA and ICARUS, mainly concentrated on $\tau$ appearance. On the longer term, several projects are under discussion. A new proton driver at CERN that accelerates a 4 MW beam to 2.2 GeV of energy would open the possibility of a low-energy super-beam, possibly sent to the French laboratory under the Frejus. A new radioactive heavy ion facility could produce a pure $\nu_e$ beam, to be used independently or simultaneously with the super-beam. In the framework of R&D for Super-Beam and Neutrino Factory, the HARP experiment is studying hadron production at low energies on various targets.