Experiments and Facilities
There are two major experiments in progress at the Soudan Underground Lab, a new facility in the planning stage, as well as smaller experiments both operational and under construction. All are sited here to take advantage of the depth of rock overhead, low background radiation levels, and constant environmental conditions.
Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS):
MINOS (the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search) is a long-baseline neutrino experiment. The Far Detector is located in the Lab, and is at the receiving end of the "NuMI" beam of muon-neutrinos, created at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab 735km (near Chicago). The beam is measured by the "Near Detector" soon after it is made at Fermilab, and comparisons of the neutrinos before and after they have traveled the 735km northward will shed light on the phenomenon of neutrino oscillation.
Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II):
CDMSII (the second Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) uses very cold (fractions of a degree above absolute zero) and super-sensitive semiconducting detectors to look for the prime suspect in the "Dark Matter" mystery: Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS).
NUMI Off-Axis ve Appearance (NOvA):
While the far detector for the NOvA (NUMI Off-axis ve Appearance) experiment is not located in Soudan Lab, it is the lab's nearest experimental neighbor. Located in Ash River, MN the NOvA experiment is a long-baseline neutrino experiment searching for muon neutrino to electron neutrino oscillation as would be evidence by the appearance of electron neutrinos (ve)
Low Background Counting Facility (LBCF)
The Low Background Counting Facility (LBCF) will be a facility to
provide researchers a place to make very low level measurements. It
will include extra passive shielding (in addition to that naturally
afforded by the lab) as well as an active veto shield.
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