The working meeting «Baikal-GVD 2025 Neutrino Telescope» was held in Listvyanka, Irkutsk Region
The working meeting «Baikal-GVD 2025 Neutrino Telescope» was held in Listvyanka, Irkutsk Region, organized within the framework of the Neutrino Physics and Particle Astrophysics Research Program. The event was attended by more than 30 representatives of leading scientific and educational organizations of Russia, including Irkutsk State University, INR RAS, INP SB RAS, Moscow State University, MEPhI, NSU, JINR, TPU, FIAN and the Kabardino-Balkarian State University of Kh.M. Berbekov (KBSU). The Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov participated online.
The rector of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI Vladimir Shevchenko presented an overview of the results of the completed projects. He noted that the Kabardino-Balkarian State University had developed an optimal composition of a liquid organic scintillator to search for neutrinoless double beta decay, created a prototype of a detector with an effective volume of 3 liters, and developed its digital model. As part of the KBSU project, 21 scientific articles were published, 3 patents for inventions were received, and 3 computer programs were created.
Dmitry Naumov, Deputy Director of the JINR Laboratory of Nuclear Problems, in his report emphasized the prospects for research within the neutrino program. He announced plans to conduct an experiment at KBSU to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a prototype of a 3-liter detector with dissolved zirconium-96. In addition, the university is developing an algorithm for classifying signals from the optical modules of the Baikal-GVD telescope.
Director of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences Maxim Libanov emphasized the importance of neutrino research conducted at the Baikal and Baksan Neutrino Observatories of the INR RAS. Libanov also highlighted another area of cooperation with KBSU — the creation of a popular science tourist route in Kabardino-Balkaria based on the Baksan Neutrino Observatory of the INR RAS.
Valery Falkov, minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, in his speech assessed the scientific level of the completed projects and the results obtained. He paid special attention to the creation of laboratories and the active participation of young scientists in research.
Acting rector of KBSU Yuri Altudov said that the university has successfully completed the project to create a neutrinoless double beta decay detector and is ready to develop this promising area. Kabardino-Balkarian State University plans to join the Baikal-GVD collaboration and already has a cooperation agreement with the INR RAS. The University has a unique center for advanced materials and additive technologies, which allows producing high-tech structural elements for the Baikal-GVD project.
Anna Veresnikova, head of the project «New methods for studying neutrinoless double beta decay», senior researcher at the joint laboratory «Astrophysics and Physics of Cosmic Rays» of KBSU and INR RAS, scientific secretary of INR RAS, emphasized the importance of the experiments and the high level of training of scientists, students and postgraduates of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh.M. Berbekov. She noted that the results of the project will allow Russia to take a leading position in the development of detectors based on liquid metal-containing organic scintillators.
Baikal-GVD is a deep-sea neutrino telescope installed in Lake Baikal. It is designed to study high-energy neutrinos and is one of the key projects in the field of particle astrophysics. The meeting in Listvyanka confirmed the importance of international cooperation and further development of research in this area.