From gold rush to cosmic questions: a South Dakota mine and the search for the secrets of the universe
A mile beneath the Black Hills, scientists are building giant detectors to analyse neutrino particles – and possibly find the answer to existence For more than a century, the minin
By The Guardian
Scientists are preparing to install giant particle detectors nearly a mile underground at the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota.
The site will host the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, known as DUNE, an international project aimed at studying neutrinos — subatomic particles that rarely interact with other matter.
The experiment is being built at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, which occupies the former gold mine in the Black Hills. The underground facility will serve as DUNE’s far site, with a neutrino beam travelling from Fermilab in Illinois to the detectors.
DUNE will examine how neutrinos change during their journey, helping researchers investigate the ordering of neutrino masses and possible differences between neutrinos and antineutrinos.
The project could also help explain why the universe contains far more matter than antimatter. Researchers hope the experiment will contribute to the search for physics beyond the current Standard Model.
The underground caverns were excavated between 2020 and 2024. They are now being fitted out for four detector modules, with steel components being assembled to form the structures that will contain the detectors.
DUNE is hosted by Fermilab and involves institutions from around the world. Initial data-taking is expected to begin in early 2030.
The work links the former mining site’s history of gold production with a new search for answers about particles, matter and the origins of the universe.