The Super-Kaminokande is the world’s largest underground neutrino detector. Dr. Yoji Totsuka, the successor to Dr. Koshiba, led its construction. It studies the nature of neutrinos and tries to reveal the history of the universe using neutrinos. The facility also investigates neutrino beams from an accelerator in Tokaimura, Ibaraki as well as searching for proton decay phenomenon.
KamLAND is an abbreviation of “Kamioka Liquid-scintillator Anti-Neutrino Detector”. It precisely measures reactor neutrino oscillations and has succeeded in the detection of geologically-produced neutrinos. It will contribute to our understanding of the Earth’s formation and its interior dynamics.
In laboratories underground the effect of cosmic rays can be reduced, which allows for experiments that require conditions with little to no signal noise. In this facility, we aim to reveal the mystery of the elementary particles of the universe by studying very rare phenomenon like “neutrino-less double-beta decay” (a process in which neutrinos are not emitted) or dark matter collisions.
KAGRA is a gravitational wave telescope. It utilizes laser technology and measures tiny distortions of space-time to detect gravitational waves. Some of the distinctive features of this underground location include the use of sapphire mirrors kept at -253ºC. KAGRA works to reveal the mystery of the Universe by developing a “gravitational wave astronomy”.