First Observation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering

This thesis describes the experimental work that finally led to a successful measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering—a process proposed forty-three years ago. The experiment was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source facility, sited at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee.

Of all known particles, neutrinos distinguish themselves for being the hardest to detect, typically requiring large multi-ton devices for the job. The process measured here involves the diffi...