Baksan Neutrino Observatory. Baksan Neutrino Observatory (31 photos) Neutrino Observatory in the Elbrus region

The first thing that attracted the children's attention was the snow, which, despite December, had not yet fallen. While organizational issues were being resolved with the observatory management, the children had a blast playing with snowballs.

We were surprised by the observatory's strict rules. Only persons over 12 years old can enter the observatory. Upon entering, we put on the shoe covers we had brought with us. Then we were invited to follow the senior researcher at the BNO, Rita Viktorovna Novoseltseva, who began her story about the observatory.

The underground facilities of the observatory are located in two tunnels 3670 m long under Mount Andyrchi, their equivalent depth ranges from 100 to 4800 m of water equivalent. Belongs to the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She said that BNO has the following installations:

Baksan underground scintillation telescope (BPST) with a volume of 3000 m³ at a depth of 300 m below the surface;

gallium-germanium neutrino telescope (GGNT) - a radiochemical detector of solar neutrinos with a gallium metal target weighing 60 tons (SAGE project, located at a distance of 3.5 km from the entrance to the tunnel);

the Andyrchi installation for recording extensive air showers (EAS), located on the surface of a mountain (altitude 2060 m above sea level) above the BPST on an area of ​​5 × 104 m² and consists of 37 scintillation detectors;

a complex of ground-based installations COVER (includes a Large muon detector, a scintillation telescope and a neutron monitor), designed to study the hard component cosmic rays and widespread atmospheric showers).

The size of the structures and the tunnel were impressive.

Zaynaf Uyanaeva asked what the observatory employees do? Our guide told us that they are studying the internal structure and evolution of the Sun, stars, the galactic core and other objects of the Universe by recording their neutrino radiation; search for new particles and ultra-rare processes predicted by modern theories of elementary particles at a level of sensitivity inaccessible to other methods; research of high energy cosmic rays, gamma astronomy.

Valeria Nikoghosyan was interested in the question of the number of observatory employees and what specialists the BNO needs. We were told that the number of employees, including service personnel, is about 250 people, the majority live in the village of Neutrino. One of the employees of the BNO is a graduate of our school, a Soros Prize laureate - Sergei Kurenya. And to work at the observatory you need to graduate from the faculties of physics, mathematics, chemistry or radio engineering.

The excursion was organized with the assistance of the uncle of the physics teacher of our school, candidate of physical sciences - Dakhir Daniyalovich Dzhappuev.

The lands of the aul are located on the territory of the Elbrus rural settlement ( municipality), which is part of the Elbrus region of Kabardino-Balkaria. The closest settlements to Neutrino are: Elbrus, Verkhniy Baksan, Kurmu, Kyzgen, Dzhapyr-Tala.

Toponymy

The sound of the name of the village is more reminiscent of the name of a famous fashion brand or enterprise associated with innovative technologies. The toponym was given to the village in honor of the fastest solar particle, which is being studied by scientists at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory, located in the local area.

Features of relief and climate

Neutrino is located in the Baksan Gorge at an altitude of about 1.6 km above sea level. Mountainous terrain and sudden changes in altitude had a significant impact on local climate, which is characterized by the presence of hot foehn winds in the spring. The danger of such winds is that they are usually accompanied by a sharp drop in pressure, which has a bad effect on well-being.

Founding history

The village of Neutrino arose on the remains of the ancient settlement of Gubasanta, which occupied the territory of the right bank of the Guba-Santa-Suu River. The ancient aul was a settlement consisting of two quarters, in which representatives of two teips lived: the Tilovs and the Kurdanovs.

At the end of the Second World War, the entire population of Gubasanta was deported to Central Asia, and the lands were transferred to the Georgian SSR. In 1957, the residents of the settlement were rehabilitated, but they had nowhere to return - nothing was left of their homes.

In 1977, it was decided to create the largest scientific center in the Baksan Gorge, around which a new village was formed with the new name Neutrino.

Modern life of the village

All infrastructure and economic life Neutrinos are equipped to meet the needs of the Baksan Neutrino Laboratory.

IN modern world this scientific complex is largest center, who is engaged in experimental research in the field of astrophysics and nuclear physics. The observatory consists of underground laboratories divided into two tunnels more than 3.6 km long under Mount Andyrchi.

The main composition of the population is represented by Balkars (67%) and Russians (15%). Most of employees of the laboratories of the Baksan research complex live in Neutrino.

Not far from the village (approximately 10-20 km) there are popular ski resorts– Elbrus and Cheget. Neutrino – perfect place for temporary shelter for ski tourists. Since the village is a little distant from the resort area, rental prices here are quite reasonable, and the road to the base will not take more than half an hour.


Towards the end at the 25th minute, reporters began to talk about a certain laboratory to which a 4-kilometer tunnel leads, in which the Baksan Neutrino Laboratory is located

As usual, the journalists lied. Here's what we managed to find about her:
“Construction began in 1967. The project involved the construction of two parallel horizontal tunnels in Mount Andyrchi (height more than 4000 m), along which it was planned to place physical installations. The underground location of the installations is due to the fact that the background from cosmic rays (muon flux) decreases along as they go deeper underground and at the end of the tunnel is almost 107 times lower than on the surface. The implementation of these plans was the creation of the Baksan Neutrino Observatory. A. A. Pomansky was appointed the first head of the station. The place for the future observatory was chosen not far from Mount Elbrus, in Baksan Gorge, located in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. Since 2003, an experiment has been carried out at the Carpet-2 installation to detect the hadronic component of EAS using a unique technique. As part of the experiment, during the analysis of experimental data, a new physical phenomenon, located at the intersection of nuclear physics and geophysics - radon-neutron tidal waves. The Observatory's research program expanded as new above-ground and underground structures were put into operation. In the process of development, a complex of unique scientific structures arose at the BNO, meeting all modern requirements.
The creation of a complex of scientific installations made it possible: - to begin direct research into the internal structure and evolution of the Sun, stars, the galactic core and other objects of the Universe by recording their neutrino and gamma radiation;
- to search for new particles and ultra-rare processes predicted by modern theories of elementary particles at a level of sensitivity inaccessible to other methods;
In 1998, for the creation of the BNO scientific complex, a team of employees of the Institute and the Observatory was awarded the State Prize Russian Federation, in 2001, for achievements in the field of research of neutrino flux from the Sun, the International Prize named after. B. M. Pontecorvo.
- to study the interactions of neutrinos and muons with matter in the region of high and ultra-high energies that lie beyond the capabilities of accelerator technology.
The main directions of scientific research of the BNO are:
-particle physics, high energy physics, cosmology;
-neutrino astrophysics, neutrino and g-astronomy, cosmic ray physics, solar neutrino problem;
-development and creation of neutrino telescopes in low-background underground laboratories for studying natural flows of neutrinos and other elementary particles;
-double beta decay;
Applied research includes:
-search for dark matter.
-checking the radiation purity of various natural and artificial materials, for example, raw materials for the production of scintillation single crystals;
-control of the natural environment;
Currently, the Observatory staff includes 29 researchers actively conducting scientific work (2 doctors and 14 candidates of physical and mathematical sciences).
- study of the radioisotope composition of lunar soil delivered by the automatic stations “Luna-16” and “Luna-20”, etc.
The Observatory includes the following scientific units: -Baksan underground scintillation telescope;
- “CARPET” - installation for recording widespread atmospheric showers;
- "CARPET-2" is a complex installation for recording widespread atmospheric showers.
- "ANDYRCHI" - a mountain installation for recording widespread atmospheric showers;
- gallium-germanium neutrino telescope;
- low-background laboratory No. 1;
- low-background laboratory No. 2;

The Baksan Neutrino Observatory (BNO) of the INR RAS is the first (operating since 1973) and one of two large-scale underground laboratories operating today in the world, which includes a set of complementary unique installations for interdisciplinary research at the intersection of fundamental physics, astrophysics and geophysics.

The second similar observatory with a complex of underground installations is located in Gran Sasso (Italy; since 1989); the rest of the underground laboratories in the world solve more specific problems.

Only in laboratories located deep underground can the extremely low levels of background radiation required for most key research in neutrino physics and experiments aimed at searching for rare events in particle physics be achieved. Only underground laboratories can provide conditions for the creation of ultra-low-background gamma spectrometers for determining trace amounts of radioactive impurities in materials used in low-background experiments. In the last few decades, underground physics has received intensive development throughout the world. Almost everything the developed countries have and are currently intensively creating new or expanding existing underground laboratories.

The Baksan Neutrino Observatory (Elbrus region, Kabardino-Balkaria) consists of a complex of underground structures located along two parallel horizontal adits in the thickness of Mount Andyrchi (the height of the mountain is over 4 km; the length of the adits is about 4 km), and a complex of ground laboratories. BNO is a city-forming enterprise: the complex of engineering and economic structures and housing for employees constituted a new locality- village Neutrino. The general diagram of the underground part of the observatory is shown in Fig. 1, the general view of the ground structures is shown in Fig. 2.

Rice. 1. Longitudinal section of the underground complex of BNO laboratories

The main directions of scientific research of the BNO INR RAS are:

  • particle physics, high energy physics, cosmology;
  • neutrino astrophysics, neutrino and gamma astronomy, cosmic ray physics, solar neutrino problem;
  • development and creation of neutrino telescopes in low-background underground laboratories to study natural fluxes of neutrinos and other elementary particles;
  • double beta decay;
  • search for dark matter;
  • geophysical research: seismology and gravity

Areas of scientific directions
Registration of solar neutrinos. Search and study of rare reactions and decays generated by weak interactions. Study of radioactivity of materials. Study of the characteristics of cosmic rays.

Rice. 2. View of the village. Neutrinos and Mount Andyrchi. Ground-based structures of the BNO: 1 – “Carpet” installation, 2 – muon detector, 3 – laboratory buildings, 4 – “Andyrchi” installation, 5 – entrances to adits