Advanced Scintillator Detector Concept (ASDC): A Concept Paper on the Physics Potential of Water-Based Liquid Scintillator

Abstract

The recent development of Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS), and the concurrent development of high-efficiency and high-precision-timing light sensors, has opened up the possibility for a new kind of large-scale detector capable of a very broad program of physics. The program would include determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy and observation of CP violation with long-baseline neutrinos, searches for proton decay, ultra-precise solar neutrino measurements, geo- and supernova neutrinos including diffuse supernova antineutrinos, and neutrinoless double beta decay. We outline here the basic requirements of the Advanced Scintillation Detector Concept (ASDC), which combines the use of WbLS, doping with a number of potential isotopes for a range of physics goals, high efficiency and ultra-fast timing photosensors, and a deep underground location. We are considering such a detector at the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) far site, where the ASDC could operate in conjunction with the liquid argon tracking detector proposed by the LBNE collaboration. The goal is the deployment of a 30-100 kiloton-scale detector, the basic elements of which are being developed now in experiments such as WATCHMAN, ANNIE, SNO+, and EGADS.