scholarly journals Status of the R2D2 project: A future neutrinoless double beta decay experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 2105 (1) ◽  
pp. 012016
Author(s):  
Ioannis Katsioulas
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Beta Decay ◽  
Energy Resolution ◽  
Experimental Approach ◽  
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
Double Beta Decay ◽  
Majorana Particle ◽  
Excellent Energy Resolution ◽  
Double Beta Decay Experiment

Abstract The nature of the neutrino is a central questions in physics. The search for neutrinoless double beta decay is the most sensitive experimental approach to demonstrate that the neutrino is a Majorana particle. Observation of such a rare process demands a detector with an excellent energy resolution, extremely low background, and a large mass of a double beta decaying isotope. R2D2 aims to develop a novel spherical high-pressure TPC that meets all the above requirements. As a first step, the energy resolution of the R2D2 prototype was measured. A 1.1% (FWHM) energy resolution was achieved for 5.3 MeV α-particles in Ar:CH4 at pressure up to 1.1 bar. This is a major milestone for R2D2 and paves the way for further studies with Xe gas and the possible use of this technology for neutrinoless double beta decay searches.

scholarly journals Barium Chemosensors with Dry-Phase Fluorescence for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Thapa ◽  
I. Arnquist ◽  
N. Byrnes ◽  
A. A. Denisenko ◽  
F. W. Foss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Beta Decay ◽  
Particle Physics ◽  
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
Double Beta Decay ◽  
Bulk Liquid ◽  
Gas Detectors ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Experimental Challenge

Abstract The nature of the neutrino is one of the major open questions in experimental nuclear and particle physics. The most sensitive known method to establish the Majorana nature of the neutrino is detection of the ultra-rare process of neutrinoless double beta decay. However, identification of one or a handful of decay events within a large mass of candidate isotope, without obfuscation by backgrounds is a formidable experimental challenge. One hypothetical method for achieving ultra- low-background neutrinoless double beta decay sensitivity is the detection of single 136Ba ions produced in the decay of 136Xe (“barium tagging”). To implement such a method, a single-ion-sensitive barium detector must be developed and demonstrated in bulk liquid or dry gaseous xenon. This paper reports on the development of two families of dry-phase barium chemosensor molecules for use in high pressure xenon gas detectors, synthesized specifically for this purpose. One particularly promising candidate, an anthracene substituted aza-18-crown-6 ether, is shown to respond in the dry phase with almost no intrinsic background from the unchelated state, and to be amenable to barium sensing through fluorescence microscopy. This interdisciplinary advance, paired with earlier work demonstrating sensitivity to single barium ions in solution, opens a new path toward single ion detection in high pressure xenon gas.

scholarly journals Design and performance of a high-pressure xenon gas TPC as a prototype for a large-scale neutrinoless double-beta decay search

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ban ◽  
M Hirose ◽  
A K Ichikawa ◽  
Y Iwashita ◽  
T Kikawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Beta Decay ◽  
Energy Resolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay ◽  
Double Beta Decay ◽  
Detector Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Time Projection

Abstract A high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber, with a unique cellular readout structure based on electroluminescence, has been developed for a large-scale neutrinoless double-beta decay search. In order to evaluate the detector performance and validate its design, a 180 L size prototype is being constructed and its commissioning with partial detector has been performed. The obtained energy resolution at 4.0 bar is 1.73 $\pm$ 0.07% (FWHM) at 511 keV. The energy resolution at the $^{136}$Xe neutrinoless double-beta decay $Q$-value is estimated to be between 0.79 and 1.52% (FWHM) by extrapolation. Reconstructed event topologies show patterns peculiar to the track endpoint that can be used to distinguish $0\nu\beta\beta$ signals from gamma-ray backgrounds.

scholarly journals Results from the Cuore Experiment †

Universe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Caminata ◽  
Douglas Adams ◽  
Chris Alduino ◽  
Krystal Alfonso ◽  
Frank Avignone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beta Decay ◽  
Energy Resolution ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Precise Measurement ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay ◽  
Double Beta Decay ◽  
Effective Energy ◽  
Β Decay ◽  
Compact Structure

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.

scholarly journals Searching for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of130Te with CUORE

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Artusa ◽  
F. T. Avignone ◽  
O. Azzolini ◽  
M. Balata ◽  
T. I. Banks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beta Decay ◽  
Energy Resolution ◽  
Confidence Level ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay ◽  
Lepton Number ◽  
Double Beta Decay ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Upper Limit

Neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay is a hypothesized lepton-number-violating process that offers the only known means of asserting the possible Majorana nature of neutrino mass. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an upcoming experiment designed to search for 0νββdecay of130Te using an array of 988 TeO2crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK. The detector will contain 206 kg of130Te and have an average energy resolution of 5 keV; the projected 0νββdecay half-life sensitivity after five years of livetime is 1.6 × 1026 y at 1σ(9.5 × 1025 y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in the range 40–100 meV (50–130 meV). In this paper, we review the experimental techniques used in CUORE as well as its current status and anticipated physics reach.

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