Our National Science Funding Agency (FONDECYT) has selected two multidisciplinary basic science projects, where members of our HEP Group are involved. Each has a funding of ~$130k. One, lead by Dr. Alberto Gago, has the title «Exploring the physics frontiers using neutrinos and new HPC technologies». The second funded project, «Evaluation of high altitude Andean sites in Peru for the installation of the future Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO)», is lead by CONIDA and Dr. José Bazo is a research associate in it. These projects will fund undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as cover the purchase of a new computing server for the group.
The first project is focused on the study of new physics signal using neutrino data and simulation from current and planned experiments, such as DUNE. To increase the power of our searches we require High Performance Computing (HPC) as a fundamental tool. Thus, part of the project will include implementing our calculations using GPUs. This should have applications beyond fundamental science.
The second project is motivated by the new SWGO collaboration which plans to install a next-generation gamma-ray observatory in the Southern hemisphere. Other current observatories, such as HAWC and LHAASO, are located in the Northern hemisphere where the center of our galaxy cannot be seen. Thus it is important to build such a detector in the South covering an energy range from hundreds of GeVs to hundreds of TeVs. The Collaboration is evaluating the installation of either water Cherenkov tanks or water bags inside a lake. The second option is much cheaper, however it has not been used before. Peru is competing against Chile, Argentina and Bolivia for the site of the experiment. This project plans to install prototype detectors in Imata – Arequipa and Sibinacocha lake – Cusco. The SWGO collaboration will send to Peru meteorological stations and some prototype detectors to be installed in Imata. The group at PUCP will collaborate with the simulation part of the detectors.