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The WATer CHerenkov Monitor for Anti-Neutrinos (WATCHMAN) project has been proposed as the initial flagship detector for the Advanced Instrumentation Testbed (AIT). The AIT is a new facility at the STFC Boulby Underground Laboratory in North Yorkshire, which is a US-UK collaboration in fundamental and applied science.
WATCHMAN will contain 6000 tonnes of target material for antineutrino detection. The primary aim of the project is to demonstrate a new and scalable technology that can be used for nuclear non-proliferation via remote monitoring of nuclear reactors. The STFC Boulby Underground Laboratory is optimally located to observe cycles of the EDF Hartlepool dual-core AGR nuclear reactors at a standoff distance of 26 kilometres.
When complete, WATCHMAN will be the largest particle physics experiment ever constructed within the United Kingdom. Complementing its primary objective of nuclear threat reduction, WATCHMAN will conduct fundamental research in neutrino physics and neutrino astrophysics. The baseline design will be sensitive to antineutrinos from a galactic supernova burst; the alternative designs may also open up opportunities to study geoneutrinos, CNO-cycle solar neutrinos, and to conduct searches for neutrinoless double beta decay.