Abstract
The CROSS experiment is proposing to use a new technology of surface sensitive bolometers for low-background neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Efficient rejection of surface
α
and
β
...events will allow to reach background in the region of interest below than 10
−4
cnts/keV/kg/yr. The isotopes of interest, which are
130
Te and
100
Mo, are investigated with TeO
2
and Li
2
MoO
4
bolometers. The surface sensitivity is achieved thanks to the evaporation of thin metallic film on the crystal surface that modifies the pulse shape of near-surface events. An investigation of various pulse shape parameters was performed. The analysis shows that one of the best parameters for discrimination is the integrated area of the raw signal both for TeO
2
and Li
2
MoO
4
with Pd-Al (10 nm - 100 nm) bi-layer.
The first direct search for the double electron capture (2ε) and the electron capture with positron emission (εβ+) in 144Sm to the ground state and to the excited levels of 144Nd was realized by ...measuring --over 1899h-- a 342g sample of highly purified samarium oxide (Sm2O3) with the ultra-low background HP-Ge γ spectrometer GeCris (465cm3) at the STELLA facility of the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS). No effect was observed and half-life limits were estimated at the level of T1/2∼(0.1-1.3)×1020 yr (90% C.L.). Moreover, for the first time half-life limits of the double beta (2β-) decay of 154Sm to several excited levels of 154Gd have been set; they are at the level of T1/2∼(0.06-8)×1020 yr (90% C.L.).
Cadmium-116 is one of the favorable candidates for neutrinoless double-beta decay (
0
ν
β
β
) searches from both theoretical and experimental points of view, in particular thanks to the high energy ...of the decay (2813.49 keV), the possibility of the industrial enrichment in
116
Cd
and its use in the well-established production of cadmium tungstate crystal scintillators. In this work, we present low-temperature tests of two
0.6
kg
116
CdWO
4
crystals enriched in
116
Cd
to
82
%
as scintillating bolometers. These detectors were operated underground, with one at the Laboratoire Souterrain de Modane (LSM) in France and the second at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc (LSC) in Spain. The two crystals are coupled to bolometric Ge light detectors in order to register the scintillation light. The double readout of heat and scintillation enables reduction in the background in the region of interest by discriminating between different populations of particles. The main goal of these tests is the study of the crystals’ radiopurity and the detectors’ performance. The achieved results are extremely promising, in particular, the detectors demonstrate a high energy resolution (11–16 keV FWHM at 2615 keV) and a high-efficiency discrimination of the alpha background (
∼
20
σ
). These results, achieved for the first time with large mass enriched
116
CdWO
4
crystals, demonstrate prospects of the bolometric technology for high-sensitivity searches of
116
Cd
0
ν
β
β
decay.
The NEMO-3 results for the double-
β
decay of
150
Nd to the 0
1
+
and 2
1
+
excited states of
150
Sm are reported. The data recorded during 5.25 year with 36.6 g of the isotope
150
Nd are used in the ...analysis. The signal of the
2
ν
β
β
transition to the 0
1
+
excited state is detected with a statistical significance exceeding 5
σ
. The half-life is measured to be
T
1
/
2
2
ν
β
β
(
0
1
+
)
=
1
.
11
-
0.14
+
0.19
stat
-
0.15
+
0.17
syst
×
10
20
year, which is the most precise value that has been measured to date. 90% confidence-level limits are set for the other decay modes. For the
2
ν
β
β
decay to the 2
1
+
level the limit is
T
1
/
2
2
ν
β
β
(
2
1
+
)
>
2.42
×
10
20
year
. The limits on the
0
ν
β
β
decay to the 0
1
+
and 2
1
+
levels of
150
Sm are significantly improved to
T
1
/
2
0
ν
β
β
(
0
1
+
)
>
1.36
×
10
22
year
and
T
1
/
2
0
ν
β
β
(
2
1
+
)
>
1.26
×
10
22
year
.
CUPID is a next-generation tonne-scale bolometric neutrinoless double beta decay experiment that will probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and discover lepton number violation in case of ...observation of this singular process. CUPID will be built on experience, expertise and lessons learned in CUORE and will be installed in the current CUORE infra-structure in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. The CUPID detector technology, successfully tested in the CUPID-Mo experiment, is based on scintillating bolometers of Li
2
MoO
4
enriched in the isotope of interest
100
Mo. In order to achieve its ambitious science goals, the CUPID collaboration aims to reduce the backgrounds in the region of interest by a factor 100 with respect to CUORE. This performance will be achieved by introducing the high efficient
α
/
β
discrimination demonstrated by the CUPID-0 and CUPID-Mo experiments, and using a high transition energy double beta decay nucleus such as
100
Mo to minimize the impact of the gamma background. CUPID will consist of about 1500 hybrid heat-light detectors for a total isotope mass of 250 kg. The CUPID scientific reach is supported by a detailed and safe background model based on CUORE, CUPID-Mo and CUPID-0 results. The required performances have already been demonstrated and will be presented.
From 7 naturally occurring Nd isotopes, 5 are unstable in relation to
α
decay. If an excited level of the daughter nucleus is populated, or the daughter nucleus is unstable,
γ
quanta can be emitted. ...We used an ultra-low background spectrometry system with 4 high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors (about 225 cm
3
volume each) to search for such decays using a highly purified Nd-containing sample with mass of 2.381 kg. Measurements were performed at the INFN Gran Sasso underground laboratory (with an overburden of about 3600 m w.e.) during 51,237 h. Half-life limits for
α
decays of
143
Nd and
145
Nd were determined to be
T
1/2
(
143
Nd) > 1.1 × 10
20
year and
T
1/2
(
145
Nd) > 2.7 × 10
19
year at 90% C.L. This is an increase of three and two orders of magnitude, respectively, compared with the most restrictive values currently given in literature. A limit for
α
decay of
144
Nd to the excited level of
140
Ce with
E
exc
= 1596.2 keV was determined for the first time as
T
1/2
(
144
Nd →
140
Ce
*
) > 9.3 × 10
20
year. Restriction for the
α
decay of
146
Nd to the excited level of
142
Ce with
E
exc
= 641.3 keV was increased by 3 orders of magnitude to
T
1/2
(
146
Nd →
142
Ce
*
) > 1.4 × 10
21
year. For
α
and 2
α
decays of
148
Nd, first
T
1/2
limits were set as 4.2 × 10
18
year and 2.1 × 10
20
year, respectively.
Cadmium tungstate crystal scintillators enriched in 106Cd and 116Cd were developed. The produced scintillators exhibit good optical and scintillation properties, and a low level of radioactive ...contamination. Experiments to search for double beta decay of 106Cd and 116Cd are in progress at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories of the INFN (Italy). Prospects to further improve the radiopurity of the detectors by recrystallization are discussed.
► We developed cadmium tungstate scintillators enriched in 106Cd and 116Cd isotopes. ► The total irrecoverable losses of the enriched Cd on all the stages: <3%. ► The produced 106,116CdWO4 exhibit good scintillation properties and high radiopurity. ► Low segregation of K, Ra, and Th by cadmium tungstate crystals has been observed. ► Double beta experiments by using 106,116CdWO4 are in progress deep underground.
Abstract Using data from the NEMO-3 experiment, we have measured the two-neutrino double beta decay ($$2\nu \beta \beta $$ 2νββ ) half-life of $$^{82}$$ 82 Se as $$T_{\smash {1/2}}^{2\nu } \!=\! ...\left 9.39 \pm 0.17\left( \text{ stat }\right) \pm 0.58\left( \text{ syst }\right) \right \times 10^{19}$$ T1/22ν=9.39±0.17stat±0.58syst×1019 y under the single-state dominance hypothesis for this nuclear transition. The corresponding nuclear matrix element is $$\left| M^{2\nu }\right| = 0.0498 \pm 0.0016$$ M2ν=0.0498±0.0016 . In addition, a search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($$0\nu \beta \beta $$ 0νββ ) using 0.93 kg of $$^{82}$$ 82 Se observed for a total of 5.25 y has been conducted and no evidence for a signal has been found. The resulting half-life limit of $$T_{1/2}^{0\nu } > 2.5 \times 10^{23} \,\text{ y } \,(90\%\,\text{ C.L. })$$ T1/20ν>2.5×1023y(90%C.L.) for the light neutrino exchange mechanism leads to a constraint on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of $$\langle m_{\nu } \rangle < \left( 1.2{-}3.0\right) \,\text{ eV }$$ ⟨mν⟩<1.2-3.0eV , where the range reflects $$0\nu \beta \beta $$ 0νββ nuclear matrix element values from different calculations. Furthermore, constraints on lepton number violating parameters for other $$0\nu \beta \beta $$ 0νββ mechanisms, such as right-handed currents, majoron emission and R-parity violating supersymmetry modes have been set.
The BiPo-3 detector Loaiza, P.; Barabash, A.S.; Basharina-Freshville, A. ...
Applied radiation and isotopes,
05/2017, Letnik:
123
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The BiPo-3 detector is a low radioactive detector dedicated to measuring ultra-low natural contaminations of 208Tl and 214Bi in thin materials, initially developed to measure the radiopurity of the ...double β decay source foils of the SuperNEMO experiment at the μBq/kg level. The BiPo-3 technique consists in installing the foil of interest between two thin ultra-radiopure scintillators coupled to low radioactive photomultipliers. The design and performances of the detector are presented.
In this paper, the final results of the 208Tl and 214Bi activity measurements of the first enriched 82Se foils are reported for the first time, showing the capability of the detector to reach sensitivities in the range of some μBq/kg.
•BiPo3 : low radioactive detector to measure ultra-low levels of 208Tl and 214Bi.•Backgrounds characterized.•Surface background : A(208Tl) =(0.9±0.2)μBq/m2 and A(214Bi) =(1.0±0.3)μBq/m2.•First SuperNemo double β source foils measured : A(208Tl) =(21±11)μBq/kg and A(214Bi) < 290μBq/kg at 90% C.L.•Shows capability to measure 208Tl in the range of some μBq/kg.
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