Join the Wichita Space Initiative as we welcome Caleb Gimar, a graduate student in the Physics Department, who will present a talk entitled "Looking into the Heart of the Sun: A Space Mission Concept". The talk will take place on Thursday, March 28, at 3:30 pm in 233 RSC. As always, WSI Talks are free and open to the public.
Abstract: This talk will describe design studies conducted at WSU for a novel approach to observing the solar neutrino flux. Neutrinos are weakly interacting subatomic particles that often result from nuclear processes, and they are the only direct insight we have into the core ofthe Sun. Earlier experiments successfully detected solar-origin neutrinos, proving hydrogen fusion to be the Sun’s energy production mechanism. However, these experiments’ large size and Earth-based location limit their capabilities. His concept is to station a solar neutrino detection satellite in an orbit that comes within 3 to 7 solar-radii of the sun, which could revolutionize solar interior studies. At such proximity, the neutrino flux increases by several orders of magnitude, allowing for a much smaller detector design than Earth-based devices. An off-ecliptic orbital location also allows for fusion core geometry studies.
Bio: Caleb Gimar is currently a graduate student in the Physics M.S. program at Wichita
State Uni-
versity. His current research focuses on computer simulations of subatomic particle
detection
technologies for a future space mission to study the solar interior. A native of Hutchinson,
Kansas, Gimar earned his B.S. in Physics at WSU in 2015. Research conducted during
his un-
dergraduate studies as part of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center summer internships
focused
on the Eta Carinae binary star system and the Venus ionosphere. He is also a part-time
Space
Science Educator at the Cosmosphere International SciEd Center and Space Museum.