Title: Reactor Antineutrino Physics: Fundamentals, Global Landscape, and Brazil's Emerging Role

Abstract:
Reactor antineutrinos have been at the heart of some of the most transformative discoveries in particle physics, from the first direct detection of the neutrino by Reines and Cowan to the precision measurement of the mixing angle θ₁₃ by the Daya Bay, RENO, and Double Chooz experiments. In this seminar, I present an overview of reactor antineutrino physics, covering the production mechanism in nuclear reactors, the theoretical framework of neutrino oscillations, and the key open questions driving the field today — including the so-called reactor antineutrino anomaly, its implications for sterile neutrino searches, and the prospects for determining the neutrino mass ordering with medium-baseline experiments.

Against this global backdrop, I discuss Brazil's growing engagement in the field. I present the Neutrinos Angra experiment, the first Brazilian neutrino detector deployed at the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant, and describe the physics program it enables. I then discuss future opportunities for Brazil to play a more prominent role in reactor neutrino science, including possible contributions to next-generation experiments and the development of domestic detector technology.

The seminar aims to give a broad audience of physicists a clear picture of why reactor antineutrinos remain one of the most powerful tools in our search for physics beyond the Standard Model, and why Brazil is well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to this endeavor.