Dr Linda Cremonesi, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Lecturer in Particle Physics, has been appointed Analysis Coordinator of the NOvA Experiment
Dr Linda Cremonesi (she/her)
QMUL neutrino physicist, Dr Linda Cremonesi, is one of the two Analysis Coordinators appointed by the international NOvA experiment, which studies the most elusive particles in the universe: neutrinos.
Despite being the most abundant matter particles in the universe, the nature of neutrinos and their role in the evolution of the universe is still poorly understood. NOvA (https://novaexperiment.fnal.gov/) is a neutrino experiment based in the US, designed to understand how neutrinos change flavour as they propagate from one place to another. This phenomenon is called neutrino oscillations and its ground-breaking discovery was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015.
NOvA is able to produce an intense flux of neutrinos all in the same flavour at Fermilab (near Chicago, Illinois) and direct them 810km away in Minnesota where the experiment checks the final flavour composition. NOvA can then do the same with antineutrinos to address the question if neutrinos and antineutrinos oscillate in the same way. The answer to this question is related to the predominance of matter over antimatter in the universe.
In August 2022 Dr Cremonesi was appointed Analysis Coordinator. The physics output of the experiment includes neutrino oscillations, neutrino interaction cross sections, as well as neutrino astronomy. In her new role, Dr Cremonesi will oversee and manage the development of all the analyses produced by the experiment.