Exploring neutrino parameters with a beta-beam experiment from FNAL to DUSEL

We discuss in detail the physics reach of an experimental set-up where electron neutrinos (anti-neutrinos) produced in a beta-beam facility at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) are sent, over a distance of L similar or equal to 1300 km, to the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). A 300 kt Water Cherenkov (WC) detector and a 50 kt Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) are considered as possible detector choices. We propose to use Ne-18 and He-6 as source ions for nu(e) and (nu) over bar (e) beams respectively. The maximum Lorentz boost factor, gamma, available for these ions using the Tevatron are gamma(Ne) = 585 and gamma(He) = 350. This particular set-up provides the opportunity to probe the first oscillation maximum using nu(e) beam and the second oscillation maximum using the (nu) over bar (e) beam which helps to evade some parameter degeneracies. The resulting physics sensitivities for theta(13), CP violation and the mass hierarchy are compared to those of a conventional superbeam from FNAL to DUSEL (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.