Akaer was selected to develop critical systems for one of the largest scientific experiments in the world today: DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment).
The project, led by the Fermilab-USA laboratory, which brings together more than 200 institutions and research centers from all over the planet, seeks to unravel the origin of matter by studying neutrinos, fundamental particles that can help understand the formation and future of the universe.
In this ecosystem, Akaer is responsible for developing, in partnership with Unicamp, a pioneering argon filtration and purification system, an essential element for detecting these particles. This equipment will be installed in underground caverns over a kilometer deep in South Dakota, in the United States, the epicenter of the program.
“This is a milestone that places Brazil among the protagonists of international science,” said Akaer CEO Cesar Silva.
“DUNE brings together science, engineering and logistics on an unprecedented scale. While the program’s primary goal is to unlock the secrets of the universe, the technologies involved can have direct applications in everyday life. From advances in medicine, such as imaging and diagnostic techniques, to improvements in engineering and the energy sector, the impact of this scientific research promises to be vast and lasting.”
Expertise
Akaer and UNICAMP are working to overcome technological challenges associated with the purification of liquid argon (LAr). Unicamp is the leading institution of the project in Brazil.
The LAr purification system, tested in the PULArC cryostat (stainless steel structure with a capacity of 90 liters for the fluid to be purified) at Unicamp, in the Iceberg (restricted infrastructure where several experiments are carried out and the results obtained by Unicamp in the purification are validated) at Fermilab and with tests underway at CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) — the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, located in Geneva, Switzerland — will now be applied on a large scale in phase 2 of the project.
Liquid argon plays a crucial role in the experiment: it allows the interaction with neutrinos, making their detection possible. However, the argon used needs to be ultrapure, which requires a complex purification system coupled to the experiment.
This task involves high quality standards and was assigned to Akaer, through Unicamp, due to its solid experience in highly complex projects, expertise in implementing rigorous quality controls and also the ability to track critical parts throughout the product life cycle.
This combination of precision and reliability was decisive in choosing the company for the management and engineering project of the DUNE purification plants.
In addition to developing and conducting the engineering process in Brazil, Akaer will operate as an integrating company, responsible for:
– Select and coordinate specialized suppliers, ensuring excellence;
– Manage technical requirements at all stages of the project;
– Offer full technical to suppliers and partners;
– Manage the quality and traceability of critical parts;
– Monitor the project progress and report advances to Fermilab and UNICAMP;
– Monitor and certify the delivery of the system to the USA.
“Transporting high-precision equipment to the depths of caves is also a logistical challenge. “It’s like building a ship inside a bottle. Every detail requires unprecedented precision,” explains Fernando Ferraz, Vice President of Operations at Akaer.
The participation of the company and Unicamp in DUNE is ed by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) and FINEP (Study and Project Funding Agency).
Neutrinos: universal mystery
Neutrinos are the second most abundant particle in the universe, sured only by photons. A billion times more numerous than the particles that make up stars and planets, they are electrically neutral, have almost no mass and interact minimally with matter. These characteristics make them extremely challenging to study.
In recent decades, experiments have revealed that the three known types of neutrinos can transform into each other, a phenomenon called “neutrino oscillation.” This transformation is similar to imagining a cat that could transform into a jaguar, then into a tiger, and finally back into a cat.
Neutrino oscillation is one of the mysteries that the DUNE project seeks to unravel and has already been the subject of a Nobel Prize-winning study.
By understanding how neutrinos behave, scientists hope to answer fundamental questions such as: Why is the universe dominated by matter? What is the origin of the chemical elements that make up life? And how are the fundamental forces of nature related?
The project
DUNE is led by Fermilab, the leading particle physics laboratory in the United States, in collaboration with more than 30 countries, some 1.400 scientists and engineers, and more than 200 institutions around the world, including CERN. The program has an investment of more than $5 billion, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and international partners.
The experiment consists of installing a large detector 1.500 meters deep in South Dakota to capture neutrinos emitted by a beam projected from Fermilab in Illinois, at a distance of 1.300 kilometers.
The detector will be installed in an underground cavern the size of eight football fields. When fully operational, DUNE will contain about 70 tons of liquid argon.
Advances
The first phase of DUNE, which included preliminary studies and the construction of prototypes, was successfully completed and approved.
Akaer, through its subsidiary Equatorial Sistemas, has been participating in the project since 2021, collaborating with research and development of the filtering system for the X-Arapuca detectors (a light “trap” designed to increase the efficiency of capturing photons from the scintillation generated in the weak interaction between neutrinos and liquid argon), also developed by researchers from UNICAMP for the project.
Phase 2, currently underway, covers the engineering, fabrication and testing of the purification and regeneration systems for the DUNE detectors. The neutrino detectors are scheduled to begin operations in 2028, marking a new chapter in global science.
“Akaer plays an extraordinary leading role in being responsible for engineering the components of the argon purification system, contributing directly to one of the most important international scientific experiments. This partnership is a unique opportunity to boost scientific and technological development in Brazil, connecting research centers and high-tech industries to an unprecedented project in Particle Physics, with the potential for major discoveries about the origin of the Universe,” said Múcio Sormani de Melo, Program Manager at Akaer.
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