Dec. 13, 2023

An international panel of physicists that convenes once each decade to prioritize future particle physics research is recommending infrastructure development alongside new and expanded scientific projects at the Sanford Underground Research Facility.

The Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel has spent nearly a year taking input from the the high-energy physics community and compiling a report that identifies strategic priorities, accounting for cost and schedule scenarios as well as other global plans.

The report, Exploring the Quantum Universe, was approved by the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel last week. It advises the U.S. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation funding agencies on the national particle physics program.

The report outlines recommendations for a number of large projects, including the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or DUNE, that can take years or decades to build and require contributions from thousands of scientists and billions of dollars in investment, according to a statement from the Sanford Underground Research Facility.

The report states: “With SURF, the U.S. has created a premier underground laboratory that is built on a decades-old distinguished history. The realization of this facility adds unparalleled infrastructure capability to the suite of national laboratories in the U.S. This facility enables the U.S. to be an international host for neutrino and dark matter experiments recommended in this report.”

The P5 report “highlights the important role that SURF plays in the advancement of physics in the United States and around the world,” Mike Headley, executive director for the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority and laboratory director of SURF, said in a statement.

The panel recommends pursuing a reenvisioned set of enhancements related to DUNE, which is led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, and now under construction at SURF. In particular, the report recommends funding for the third far detector in South Dakota, as well as increased accelerator and detector capabilities at Fermilab.

The P5 report also recommends funding for expansion of research space at SURF beyond the construction of LBNF/DUNE to house next-generation experiments. Initial funding for this proposed expansion was approved by the South Dakota Legislature in the 2023 session. Private funding is being sought for the excavation of the new underground spaces in a second phase of the expansion. The P5 panel recommends that the DOE fund the outfitting of the new research space following excavation to ensure continued U.S. leadership in particle physics.

“The public-private partnerships we are forging at SURF will drive the future of innovation in our country for decades to come while providing a huge return on investment with the growth of high-tech economy in our state and region,” Headley said.

The P5 report further recommends a third-generation, or G3, dark matter experiment, beyond the world-leading LUX-ZEPLIN G2 experiment now underway at SURF.

The report states: “Continued support by both DOE and NSF is needed to maximize the science and U.S leadership. A second, complementary G3 experiment would maximize the discovery potential and would teach us more about dark matter if one of the G2 experiments has promising results.”