Lancaster University has helped to build half of the 137 giant neutrino sensors being assembled in the UK for a groundbreaking international physics experiment in the US.

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) project aims to advance our understanding of the origin and structure of the universe. Hosted by the US Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), DUNE is the flagship of the future US particle physics programme and forms a major part of the UK strategy for experimental particle physics.

DUNE will study the behaviour of particles called neutrinos and their antimatter counterparts, antineutrinos. This could provide insight as to why we live in a matter-dominated universe while antimatter has largely disappeared. DUNE will also watch for supernova neutrinos produced when a star explodes, which will allow the scientists to observe the formation of neutron stars and black holes.

The giant neutrino sensors, known as Anode Plane Assemblies (APAs), are roughly the height of a two-storey building and are being assembled at the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Daresbury Laboratory with the help of universities including Lancaster.

In 2024 the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) awarded Lancaster University £928,000 for the APA project which is led by Lancaster University Physics Professor Jaroslaw Nowak.

Professor Nowak said: “"Reaching the halfway point is a significant achievement. Lancaster has contributed across the full production programme, with particular responsibility for APA frame delivery, testing more than 42,000 circuit boards, and the quality assurance of both individual components and completed APAs. The success of DUNE depends on this level of precision, and I'm immensely proud of what the team has accomplished."

Lancaster University's contribution to the DUNE APA programme has spanned every stage of production. Professor Nowak led the APA frame programme, delivering a critical component of the detector infrastructure. Other staff included Gwenn Mouster, Dr Agnieszka Nowak, Tom Walsh, Matthew Handy with Lancaster PhD student Krittika Adhikari and 15 undergraduate physics students, alongside postgraduate researchers, research staff and technicians.

Together, the Lancaster team has tested more than 42,000 printed circuit boards, delivered the APA frames, and played a central role in assuring the quality of both individual components and completed APA assemblies, helping to ensure the reliability and performance required for one of the world's most ambitious particle physics experiments.

The completed APAs will ultimately be installed nearly a mile underground at Sanford Underground Research Facility, where DUNE's detector will contain tens of thousands of tonnes of liquid argon.

Ian Lazarus, Head of Technology at STFC's Daresbury Laboratory, said: "Reaching the halfway point on APA production is a fantastic milestone for everyone involved. These are exceptionally large and technically demanding detector components, and getting to this stage reflects the skill, care and teamwork that has gone into every part of the programme.

"From the engineers building the APAs at Daresbury Laboratory, to the university teams supplying components, carrying out testing and providing scientific expertise, this has been a genuinely UK-wide effort. It's exciting to see this work taking shape as part of DUNE, and to know that these detector panels will ultimately help scientists investigate some of the biggest questions about our Universe."

With half of the UK's 137 APAs now complete, work continues towards delivering all remaining assemblies to the experiment. The remaining APAs are due to be completed in April/May 2029 and delivered for installation in South Dakota between January and November 2029.