Physics and Astronomy Colloquium

Elementary particle physics today is well-explained by the so-called Standard Model (SM). Although the SM has gaps, it explains almost all phenomena observed to date. One effect clearly not included in the SM is neutrino oscillation, a phenomenon in which neutrinos spontaneously change from one of three types to another. The MINOS Experiment, currently collecting data using the NuMI long-baseline neutrino beam from Fermilab to northern Minnesota, is investigating the disappearance of muon-type neutrinos. The upcoming NOvA Experiment will examine another aspect of the oscillation effect, namely the appearance of electron-type neutrinos. In this talk, I will describe MINOS and its results to date and briefly describe NOvA and the measurements it expects to make.