Louisiana State University Physics & Astronomy

Thomas Kutter
Assistant Professor of Physics

Ph.D., 1999 - The University of Heidelberg

Experimental High Energy Physics

Office: 220-C Nicholson
Telephone: 8310-Office
E-mail:

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My principal research interest is in experimental particle and astro-particle physics. I am primarily interested in neutrino physics because neutrinos are a good probe to test for physics beyond the successful standard model of particle physics and also serve as messengers from the Sun and possibly other astrophysical objects.

Since February 2000, I have worked on the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), a solar neutrino experiment which recently measured the flavor content of the solar neutrino flux and thereby established neutrino flavor transformation as the solution to the 30 year old solar neutrino problem. For the past 2 years, I led a search for electron antineutrinos with the SNO detector, an analysis that was directly aimed to look for "new physics" phenomena such as a neutrino magnetic moment and neutrino decay.

Current and future research also includes the operating neutrino long baseline experiments K2K and the upcoming T2K probject. Both experiments are located in Japan and utilize a high intensity muon neutrino beam directed into the Earth and towards the Super-Kamiokande detector to measure neutrino oscillation parameters. The main goal of the T2K project will be to observe the transformation of muon neutrinos into electron neutrinos and the search for CP violation in the neutrino sector.

CURRENT AND SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

B. Aharmim, et al., The SNO Collaboration, "A Search for Neutrinos from the Solar hep Reaction and the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory," Ap. J. 653, 1545 (2006).
arXiv: hep-ex/0607010
O. Mineev, et al., "Scintillator Counters with Multi-pixel Avalanche Photodiode Readout for the ND280 Detector of the T2K Experiment," Nucl. Instrum. Methods A577, 540-551 (2007).
ArXiv: physics/0606037
M.H. Ahn, et al., The K2K Collaboration, "Measurement of Neutrino Oscillation by the K2K Experiment," Phys. Rev. D 74 072003 (2006).
arXiv: hep-ex/0606032
S. Yamamotoo, et al., The K2K Collaboration, "An Improved Search for nu_mu to nu_e Oscillation in a Long-baseline Accelerator Experiment," Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 181801 (2006).
arXiv: hep-ex/0603004
Q.R. Ahmad, et al., The SNO Collaboration, "Electron Antineutrino Search at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory," Phys. Rev. D 70, 093014 (2004).
arXiv: hep-ex/0407029
Q.R. Ahmad et al., The SNO Collaboratio), "Measurement of the Total Active ⁸B Solar Neutrino Flux at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory with Enhanced Neutral Current Sensitivity", Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 181301 (2004).
Q.R. Ahmad et al., The SNO Collaboration, "Measurement of charged current interactions by 8B solar neutrinos at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory", Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 071301 (2001).

Updated: Thu, 04-Oct-2007 10:11 AM