Gamma Ray and Neutrino Detector Facility (GRANDE). Progress report for Task C

GRANDE is an imaging, water Cerenkov detector, which combines in one facility an extensive air shower array and a high-energy neutrino detector. The authors proposed that the detector be constructed in phases, beginning with an active detector area of 31,000 m{sup 2} (GRANDE-I) and expanding to a final size of 100,000--150,000 m{sup 2}. Some of the characteristics of GRANDE-I are shown. GRANDE utilizes the proven technology of water Cerenkov detectors. A feasibility study has shown that the powerful background discrimination inherent in the directional property of the Cerenkov light and in the large size of the detector, will allow successful surface operation with an acceptably small trigger rate. The engineering analysis showed that the facility can be built over the reasonably short time span of 4 years using well-known construction technologies. Combining the neutrino detector and the extensive air shower array in a single facility greatly enhances the physics potential of GRANDE. It also achieves a considerable saving in cost and time since a sizable fraction of such costs, for either experiment, is in the site preparation. Additionally, the neutrino detector benefits from the efficient cosmic-ray anticoincidence afforded by the gamma detector. A site has been selected (a water-filled quarry near Little Rock, Arkansas) and an engineering firm has completed the preliminary design of the detector structure. They also have designed the water purification system, and have preliminary designs for the data harvesting electronics and other systems. During this past year the authors learned that the proposal to construct GRANDE-I was not approved by DOE. The construction of such a detector was considered premature by the reviewers and one major technical concern still dominated the reviews. In order to answer the technical concerns while waiting for the results from the current generation of gamma-ray detectors, they propose to construct and operate a small prototype of the GRANDE detector