scholarly journals Sensitivity of a tonne-scale NEXT detector for neutrinoless double-beta decay searches

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
C. Adams ◽  
V. Álvarez ◽  
L. Arazi ◽  
I. J. Arnquist ◽  
...  

Abstract The Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT) searches for the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of 136Xe using high-pressure xenon gas TPCs with electroluminescent amplification. A scaled-up version of this technology with about 1 tonne of enriched xenon could reach in less than 5 years of operation a sensitivity to the half-life of 0νββ decay better than 1027 years, improving the current limits by at least one order of magnitude. This prediction is based on a well-understood background model dominated by radiogenic sources. The detector concept presented here represents a first step on a compelling path towards sensitivity to the parameter space defined by the inverted ordering of neutrino masses, and beyond.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zackaria Chacko ◽  
Patrick J. Fox ◽  
Roni Harnik ◽  
Zhen Liu

Abstract We consider a class of models in which the neutrinos acquire Majorana masses through mixing with singlet neutrinos that emerge as composite states of a strongly coupled hidden sector. In this framework, the light neutrinos are partially composite particles that obtain their masses through the inverse seesaw mechanism. We focus on the scenario in which the strong dynamics is approximately conformal in the ultraviolet, and the compositeness scale lies at or below the weak scale. The small parameters in the Lagrangian necessary to realize the observed neutrino masses can naturally arise as a consequence of the scaling dimensions of operators in the conformal field theory. We show that this class of models has interesting implications for a wide variety of experiments, including colliders and beam dumps, searches for lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay, and cosmological observations. At colliders and beam dumps, this scenario can give rise to striking signals involving multiple displaced vertices. The exchange of hidden sector states can lead to observable rates for flavor violating processes such as μ → eγ and μ → e conversion. If the compositeness scale lies at or below a hundred MeV, the rate for neutrinoless double beta decay is suppressed by form factors and may be reduced by an order of magnitude or more. The late decays of relic singlet neutrinos can give rise to spectral distortions in the cosmic microwave background that are large enough to be observed in future experiments.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (35) ◽  
pp. 1850198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debasish Borah ◽  
Arnab Dasgupta ◽  
Sudhanwa Patra

We present a detailed discussion on neutrinoless double beta decay [Formula: see text] within left–right symmetric models based on the gauge symmetry of type [Formula: see text] as well as [Formula: see text] where fermion masses including that of neutrinos are generated through a universal seesaw mechanism. We find that one or more of the right-handed neutrinos could be as light as a few keV if left–right symmetry breaking occurs in the range of a few TeV to 100 TeV. With such light right-handed neutrinos, we perform a detailed study of new physics contributions to [Formula: see text] and constrain the model parameters from the latest experimental bound on such a rare decay process. We find that the new physics contribution to [Formula: see text] in such a scenario, particularly the heavy–light neutrino mixing diagrams, can individually saturate the existing experimental bounds, but their contributions to total [Formula: see text] half-life cancel each other due to unitarity of the total [Formula: see text] mass matrix. The effective contribution to half-life therefore, arises from the purely left and purely right neutrino and gauge boson mediated diagrams. We find that the parameter space saturating the [Formula: see text] bounds remains allowed from the latest experimental bounds on charged lepton flavor violating decays like [Formula: see text]. We finally include the bounds from cosmology and supernova to constrain the parameter space of the model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Li ◽  
Shaobo Wang ◽  
Yu Chen ◽  
Ke Han ◽  
Heng Lin ◽  
...  

Abstract Particle tracks and differential energy loss measured in high pressure gaseous detectors can be exploited for event identification in neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) searches. We develop a new method based on Kalman Filter in a Bayesian formalism (KFB) to reconstruct meandering tracks of MeV-scale electrons. With simulation data, we compare the signal and background discrimination power of the KFB method assuming different detector granularities and energy resolutions. Typical background from 232Th and 238U decay chains can be suppressed by another order of magnitude than that in published literatures, approaching the background-free regime. For the proposed PandaX-III experiment, the 0νββ search half-life sensitivity at the 90% confidence level would reach 2.7× 1026 yr with 5-year live time, a factor of 2.7 improvement over the initial design target.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (09) ◽  
pp. 1843004 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
M. Agostini ◽  
A. M. Bakalyarov ◽  
M. Balata ◽  
I. Barabanov ◽  
...  

The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) is a low background experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) of INFN designed to search for the rare neutrinoless double beta decay ([Formula: see text]) of [Formula: see text]Ge. In the first phase (Phase I) of the experiment, high purity germanium diodes were operated in a “bare” mode and immersed in liquid argon. The overall background level of [Formula: see text] was a factor of ten better than those of its predecessors. No signal was found and a lower limit was set on the half-life for the [Formula: see text] decay of [Formula: see text]Ge [Formula: see text] yr (90% CL), while the corresponding median sensitivity was [Formula: see text] yr (90% CL). A second phase (Phase II) started at the end of 2015 after a major upgrade. Thanks to the increased detector mass and performance of the enriched germanium diodes and due to the introduction of liquid argon instrumentation techniques, it was possible to reduce the background down to [Formula: see text]. After analyzing 23.2 kg[Formula: see text]⋅[Formula: see text]yr of these new data no signal was seen. Combining these with the data from Phase I a stronger half-life limit of the [Formula: see text]Ge [Formula: see text] decay was obtained: [Formula: see text] yr (90% CL), reaching a sensitivity of [Formula: see text] yr (90% CL). Phase II will continue for the collection of an exposure of 100 kg[Formula: see text]yr. If no signal is found by then the GERDA sensitivity will have reached [Formula: see text] yr for setting a 90% CL. limit. After the end of GERDA Phase II, the flagship experiment for the search of [Formula: see text] decay of [Formula: see text]Ge will be LEGEND. LEGEND experiment is foreseen to deploy up to 1-ton of [Formula: see text]Ge. After ten years of data taking, it will reach a sensitivity beyond 10[Formula: see text] yr, and hence fully cover the inverted hierarchy region.


Universe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Caminata ◽  
Douglas Adams ◽  
Chris Alduino ◽  
Krystal Alfonso ◽  
Frank Avignone ◽  
...  

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first bolometric experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay that has been able to reach the 1-ton scale. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO 2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers, each of them made of 52 crystals. The construction of the experiment was completed in August 2016 and the data taking started in spring 2017 after a period of commissioning and tests. In this work we present the neutrinoless double beta decay results of CUORE from examining a total TeO 2 exposure of 86.3 kg yr , characterized by an effective energy resolution of 7.7 keV FWHM and a background in the region of interest of 0.014 counts / ( keV kg yr ) . In this physics run, CUORE placed a lower limit on the decay half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay of 130 Te > 1.3 · 10 25 yr (90% C.L.). Moreover, an analysis of the background of the experiment is presented as well as the measurement of the 130 Te 2 ν β β decay with a resulting half-life of T 1 / 2 2 ν = [ 7.9 ± 0.1 ( stat . ) ± 0.2 ( syst . ) ] × 10 20 yr which is the most precise measurement of the half-life and compatible with previous results.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco del Aguila ◽  
Alberto Aparici ◽  
Subhaditya Bhattacharya ◽  
Arcadi Santamaria ◽  
Jose Wudka

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