Andreopoulos group IG feed

Neutrino interaction phenomenology

I am founder and co-spokesperson of the international GENIE collaboration, and one of the main authors of the GENIE project. GENIE performs influential phenomenology research in the boundary between nuclear and particle physics, and it provides a crucial bridge between theory and measurement. As such, it plays a central role throughout the lifecycle of every neutrino experiment.

The GENIE collaboration provides a well-known neutrino event generator used by all neutrino experiments, associated charged lepton-nucleus and hadron-nucleus event generators, and event generators for several BSM channels accessible in intensity frontier experiments. It maintains a modern event generation framework for neutrino experiments, and several analysis-related tools and experimental interfaces (such as flux and geometry navigation drivers for building realistic simulations with off-the-shelf components). GENIE also develops the leading global analysis of neutrino scattering data for the derivation of improved physics tunes and data-driven evaluation of modelling uncertainties. GENIE maintains large curated archives of relevant neutrino, electron and hadron scattering data and corresponding data/MC comparison tools, as well as state-of-the-art tuning machinery.

My effort is currently focussed on further development of the GENIE global analysis, amalgamating the best theory and all available measurements into predictive semi-empirical comprehensive model of neutrino interaction physics.

Some research outputs (codes and papers) can be found below:


Physics exploitation of current neutrino experiments

Recently, I joined (initially as an observer) the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) in southern China. I am excited by the prospect of using atmospheric neutrinos to enhance the overall JUNO sensitivity (in combination with reactor neutrinos), and help JUNO achieve the first definitive neutrino mass-ordering determination. I work in the modelling of atmospheric neutrino interactions using GENIE, as well as in event reconstruction and the incorporation of atmospheric event samples in a VALOR-based 3-flavour oscillation analysis.

I am centrally involved in preparations for the physics exploitation of the Fermilab Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Programme, in particular in the SBN Near Detector (SBND). This is an experimental programme aiming to achieve the sensitivity to perform a definitive 5σ test of the light-sterile neutrino hypothesis associated with several long-standing experimental anomalies.

I am the Liverpool PI for SBN and SBND, and I have served as a member of the SBND Executive Committee (2020-2023), SBND Physics co-Coordinator (2017-2023), and Systematics & Oscillation Sensitivity WG co-Coordinator (2018-2022) for the overall SBN program.

Our group focuses on the development of SBN physics simulations, the development of a VALOR-based simultaneous sterile neutrino oscillation and systematics constraint fit exploiting the power of exclusive samples and the SBND-PRISM concept, as well as preparations for SBND neutrino cross-section measurements of unprecedented precision.

I have supervised a number of SBN/SBND doctoral theses:
  • (10/2021 - present) Doctoral thesis of Ms. Beth Slater (University of Liverpool)
    Thesis: `Neutrino Flux and Interaction Systematic Constraints for the SBN Sterile Neutrino Oscillation Search from a Joint Analysis of Exclusive Topological Event Samples on SBND and the Utilization of the SBND PRISM Capabilities'.
  • (10/2018 - 05/2023) Doctoral thesis of Dr. Thomas Ham (University of Liverpool) Thesis: `New Physics Searches with Single Electromagnetic Shower Events at the Fermilab Short Baseline Neutrino Program.'
  • (10/2016 - 09/2021) Doctoral thesis of Dr. Rhiannon Jones (University of Liverpool)
    Thesis: `Muon-Neutrino Disappearance with Multiple Liquid Argon Time Projecton Chambers in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam'

Previous work on neutrino experiments


Between 2007-2020, I was active on the T2K experiment in Japan where I performed electron (anti-)neutrino appearance searches and precision measurements of muon (anti-)neutrino disappearance. I was founder, coordinator and one of the main authors of the VALOR fitting group. From 2010 to 2020, VALOR produced over 20 reviewed oscillation physics analyses and it contributed to 12 published T2K papers, culminating in the 2020 Nature paper. Details of the T2K outputs of the VALOR group (codes, technical notes, papers) can be found here.

Some of my T2K research outputs can be found below:

While I was active on T2K, I co-authored the following VALOR/T2K oscillation analyses and technical notes for various T2K datasets [*]. (VALOR contributions to published papers are also indicated):
Our codes to reproduce all analyses listed above can be found online in the official VALOR GitHub organization. (Special permissions are required for the products listed with a .)
  • The experiment-agnostic VALOR analysis framework can be found in the VALOR-SDK () repository
  • T2K-specific configurations and scripts can be found in the VALOR-T2K () repository.

During my time on T2K, I supervised a number of excellent T2K doctoral theses:

[*] T2K collected data in several periods with different conditions and proton-on-target (POT) exposures, both in neutrino-enhanced Forward Horn Current (FHC) and antineutrino-enhanced Reversed Horn Current (RHC) modes: Run 1 (01-06/2010, FHC: 0.323x1020 POT), Run 2 (10/2010-03/2011, FHC: 1.108x1020 POT), Run 3 (03-06/2012, FHC: 1.579x1020 POT), Run 4 (10/2012-05/2013, FHC: 3.560x1020 POT), Run 5 (05-06/2014, FHC: 0.242x1020 POT and RHC: 0.506x1020 POT), Run 6 (10/2014-06/2015, FHC: 0.190x1020 POT and RHC: 3.505x1020 POT), Run 7 (02-05/2016, FHC: 0.480x1020 POT and RHC: 3.460x1020 POT), Run 8 (10/2016-04/2017, FHC: 7.170x1020 POT), Run 9 (10/2017-05/2018, FHC: 0.204x1020 POT and RHC: 8.788x1020 POT), and Run 10 ().

MINOS Experiment (1999-2010)

DONUT Experiment (1997-2003)

COSMOS Experiment (1997-1998)

R&D for future neutrino experiments

I am a member of the DUNE experiment in US since 2014.
In the past, I served as DUNE-UK Physics Coordinator (2014-2019) and participated in early Near Detector design efforts (NDTF). I developed end-to-end 3-flavour oscillation analyses based on VALOR for the derivation of physics-driven requirements for the experiment optimization.
Currently, my efforts on the Fermilab LArTPC program are directed mainly towards the SBN program, but I continue to coordinate and support development of GENIE, which is the primary physics simulation used by DUNE.

Data analysis software

I am one of the founders, main authors and coordinator of the VALOR fitting group. The group plays a central role both in the physics exploitation and design optimisation several experiments, both by maintaining and developing the VALOR Software Development Kit (SDK), and by implementing and performing numerous trusted data analyses and sensitivity studies on top of that SDK.

Quantum Computing applications in HEP

Currently, I am entering into the field of Quantum Information Science. I work with scientists from the Fermilab Quantum Institute, and Liverpool PhD students, on a project to use quantum processors for neutrino interaction simulations.