GNN Memorandum of Understanding
Adopted: 18 January 2024
Preamble
The Global Neutrino Network (GNN) is established with the goals to:
- Promote international cooperation and scientific exploitation of neutrino telescopes
- Promote the development of neutrino detection as an astronomical tool, and facilitate the potential of neutrino telescopes for multi-messenger astrophysics
- Organize regular meetings and workshops (e.g. MANTS and VLVNT) to foster advancement and sharing of techniques and technology for the advancement of neutrino astronomy
- Provide a forum for project leaders to meet and discuss common issues within the field of neutrino astronomy.
This MoU describes the operation and governance of the GNN.
Membership
The GNN is composed of representatives of the neutrino telescope detector collaborations or projects. The initial member collaborations at the acceptance of this MoU are: ANTARES, Baikal/GVD, IceCube, KM3NeT, P-ONE, RNO-G, and TRIDENT. Membership is open to all large-scale neutrino telescope collaborations or projects. Criteria for membership include:
- having successfully deployed detector components, or
- having a well-developed plan for a detector and a collaboration of sufficient size and resources to carry the plan to fruition.
Governance
The GNN will be led by a Board of Representatives, composed of up to three members per collaboration. The Board will be chaired by two co-chairs, elected by the Board for a two-year term. They may be re-elected for a second consecutive term. They serve in a personal capacity and not on behalf of their collaboration.
The Chairs of the Board are responsible for calling and chairing GNN meetings, maintaining the GNN mailing list, coordinating GNN activities, and representing GNN externally. The Board will make decisions by a simple majority of the votes cast unless otherwise specified.
Meetings
A GNN meeting will be organized at least once a year at a location and date to be decided by the Board. This meeting will be attended by the Board members. Additional meetings may be organized, including virtual meetings. Meeting minutes and any decisions will be circulated to the Board for ratification. The Board may convene open GNN meetings or workshops, including open sessions where input and participation from outside the Board members is sought.
New Members
- New collaborations or projects wishing to participate in the GNN should contact the Chairperson of the Board.
- Prospective new members will be invited to a GNN meeting to make a presentation about their project and collaboration and to discuss their status and plans. A majority vote in closed session is required to approve new projects or collaborations.
- GNN may extend invitations to individuals whose participation may further its goals. A majority vote of the membership is required for approval.
- Projects or collaborations which cease to be active may be removed from the GNN either through resignation or through a two-thirds vote of the membership.
Voting
The board will most often make decisions by consensus. When a vote is called by the Chair, each collaboration will have 1 vote and the result is determined by the threshold specified in the relevant section of this MoU.
Amendments to the MoU
The MoU may be amended by two-thirds vote. Amendments may be proposed by any member of GNN. Such amendments will be brought to the attention of the Chairperson. Amendments will be circulated to the membership at least two weeks prior to the meeting at which they will be considered.
Cooperative Activities
GNN activities comprise all activities where representatives of at least two collaborations cooperate to perform a task or achieve a common goal, and which lead to a scientific output with a greater scope than, or complementary to, the output that would have been achieved by a single experiment alone. The scope of GNN activities spans the full range of scientific research, detector development, technology and engineering, computer science, analysis methodology, and public outreach. A major goal of the GNN is to stimulate and promote cooperative activities that increase the sensitivity to astrophysical neutrino signals and multi-messenger observations beyond that of individual detectors. Possible example projects may include:
- performing joint analyses
- cross-checks of results with different systematic uncertainties
- coordination of alert and multi-messenger policies
- exchange and mutual checks of software
- creation of a common software pool
- standards for data representation
- exchange of expertise through mutual working visits of scientists and engineers
- exchange of expertise by forming ad-hoc advisory committees of members of the participating collaborations, if requested by a participating party
Confidentiality
Confidential information shared through the activities of the GNN will not be disclosed without explicit approval of the individual collaborations concerned.
Membership as of 18 January 2024: ANTARES, Baikal/GVD, IceCube, KM3NeT, P-ONE, RNO-G, TRIDENT