A. Giachero, D. Q. Adams, C. Alduino, K. Alfonso, F. T. Avignone, O. Azzolini, G. Bari, F. Bellini, G. Benato, M. Biassoni, A. Branca, C. Brofferio, C. Bucci, J… 展开作者
A. Giachero, D. Q. Adams, C. Alduino, K. Alfonso, F. T. Avignone, O. Azzolini, G. Bari, F. Bellini, G. Benato, M. Biassoni, A. Branca, C. Brofferio, C. Bucci, J. Camilleri, A. Caminata, A. Campani, L. Canonica, X. G. Cao, S. Capelli, L. Cappelli, L. Cardani, P. Carniti, N. Casali, E. Celi, D. Chiesa, M. Clemenza, S. Copello, C. Cosmelli, O. Cremonesi, R. J. Creswick, A. D'Addabbo, I. Dafinei, C. J. Davis, S. Dell'Oro, S. Di Domizio, V. Dompè, D. Q. Fang, G. Fantini, M. Faverzani, E. Ferri, F. Ferroni, E. Fiorini, M. A. Franceschi, S. J. Freedman, S. H. Fu, B. K. Fujikawa, L. Gironi, A. Giuliani, P. Gorla, C. Gotti, T. D. Gutierrez, K. Han, K. M. Heeger, R. G. Huang, H. Z. Huang, J. Johnston, G. Keppel, Yu. G. Kolomensky, C. Ligi, L. Ma, Y. G. Ma, L. Marini, R. H. Maruyama, D. Mayer, Y. Mei, N. Moggi, S. Morganti, T. Napolitano, M. Nastasi, J. Nikkel, C. Nones, E. B. Norman, A. Nucciotti, I. Nutini, T. O'Donnell, J. L. Ouellet, S. Pagan, C. E. Pagliarone, L. Pagnanini, M. Pallavicini, L. Pattavina, M. Pavan, G. Pessina, V. Pettinacci, C. Pira, S. Pirro, S. Pozzi, E. Previtali, A. Puiu, C. Rosenfeld, C. Rusconi, M. Sakai, S. Sangiorgio, B. Schmidt, N. D. Scielzo, V. Sharma, V. Singh, M. Sisti, D. Speller, P. T. Surukuch, L. Taffarello, F. Terranova, C. Tomei, K. Vetter, M. Vignati, S. L. Wagaarachchi, B. S. Wang, B. Welliver, J. Wilson, K. Wilson, L. A. Winslow, S. Zimmermann, S. Zucchelli
备注：
Proceeding of 40th International Conference on High Energy physics (ICHEP2020), July 28 - August 6, 2020, Prague, Czech Republic (virtual meeting). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1905.07667
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first cryogenic experiment searching for neutrinoless double-beta ($0νββ$) decay that has been able to reach the one-ton scale. The detector, located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, consists of an array of 988 TeO$_2$ crystals arranged in a compact cylindrical structure of 19 towers. Following the completion of the detector construction in August 2016, CUORE began its first physics data run in 2017 at a base temperature of about 10 mK. Following multiple optimization campaigns in 2018, CUORE is currently in stable operating mode. In 2019, CUORE released its 2\textsuperscript{nd} result of the search for $0νββ$ with a TeO$_2$ exposure of 372.5 kg$\cdot$yr and a median exclusion sensitivity to a $^{130}$Te $0νββ$ decay half-life of $1.7\cdot 10^{25}$ yr. We find no evidence for $0νββ$ decay and set a 90\% C.I. (credibility interval) Bayesian lower limit of $3.2\cdot 10^{25}$ yr on the $^{130}$Te $0νββ$ decay half-life. In this work, we present the current status of CUORE's search for $0νββ$, as well as review the detector performance. Finally, we give an update of the CUORE background model and the measurement of the $^{130}$Te two neutrino double-beta ($2νββ$) decay half-life.
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a ton-scale cryogenic experiment designed to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{130}$Te and other rare events. The CUORE detector consists of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers operated underground at 10 mK in a dilution refrigerator at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. Candidate events are identified through a precise measurement of their energy. The absolute energy response of the detectors is established by the regular calibration of each individual bolometer using gamma sources. The close-packed configuration of the C…
CUPID is a proposed future ton-scale bolometric neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) experiment to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and discover Lepton Number Violation in the so-called inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass. CUPID will be built on experience, expertise and lessons learned in CUORE, and will exploit the current CUORE infrastructure as much as possible. In order to achieve its ambitious science goals, CUPID aims to increase the source mass and dramatically reduce the backgrounds in the region of interest. This requires isotopic enrichment, upgraded purification…
CUORE Data Release for ML Applications: Pulse Shape Analysis Dataset
University of South Carolina（南卡罗来纳大学）；Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University（弗吉尼亚理工大学）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro（意大利国家核物理研究所-莱尼亚罗国家实验室）；INFN – Sezione di Bologna（意大利国家核物理研究所-博洛尼部分部）；Sapienza Università di Roma（罗马大学）；INFN – Sezione di Roma（意大利国家核物理研究所-罗马部分部）；Gran Sasso Science Institute（格兰萨索科学研究所）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（意大利国家核物理研究所-格兰萨索国家实验室）；University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；INFN – Sezione di Milano Bicocca（意大利国家核物理研究所-米兰比可卡部分部）；Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca（米兰比可卡大学）
The past few decades have seen major developments in the design and operation of cryogenic particle detectors. This technology offers an extremely good energy resolution - comparable to semiconductor detectors - and a wide choice of target materials, making low temperature calorimetric detectors ideal for a variety of particle physics applications. Rare event searches have continued to require ever greater exposures, which has driven them to ever larger cryogenic detectors, with the CUORE experiment being the first to reach a tonne-scale, mK-cooled, experimental mass. CUORE, designed to search…
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the most sensitive experiment searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay ($0νββ$) in $^{130}\text{Te}$. CUORE uses a cryogenic array of 988 TeO$_2$ calorimeters operated at $\sim$10 mK with a total mass of 741 kg. To further increase the sensitivity, the detector response must be well understood. Here, we present a non-linear thermal model for the CUORE experiment on a detector-by-detector basis. We have examined both equilibrium and dynamic electro-thermal models of detectors by numerically fitting non-linear differential equa…
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 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. The construction of the experiment and, in particular, the installation of all towers in the cryostat was completed in August 2016, followed by the cooldown to base temperature at the beginning of 2017. The CUORE detector is now operational and has been taking science data since Spring 2017. We pres…
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) experiment at Gran Sasso National Laboratory of INFN searches for neutrinoless double beta decay using TeO2 crystals as cryogenic bolometers. The sensitivity of the measurement heavily depends on the energy resolution of the detector, therefore the success of the experiment stands on the capability to provide an extremely low noise environment. One of the most relevant sources of noise are the mechanical vibrations induced by the five Pulse Tube cryocoolers used on the cryogenic system which houses the detectors. To address this pro…
CUORE is a cryogenic experiment searching primarily for neutrinoless double decay in $^{130}$Te. It will begin data-taking operations in 2016. To monitor the cryostat and detector during commissioning and data taking, we have designed and developed Slow Monitoring systems. In addition to real-time systems using LabVIEW, we have an alarm, analysis, and archiving website that uses MongoDB, AngularJS, and Bootstrap software. These modern, state of the art software packages make the monitoring system transparent, easily maintainable, and accessible on many platforms including mobile devices.
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a bolometric experiment for neutrinoless double-beta decay in $^{130}$Te search, currently taking data at the underground facility of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The CUORE cryostat successfully cooled down a mass of about 1 ton at $\sim$7\,mK, delivering an uniform and constant base temperature. This result marks a fundamental milestone in low temperature detectors techniques, opening the path for future ton-scale bolometric experiments searching for rare events. In this paper we present the CUORE cryogenic infras…
The cryogenic underground observatory for rare events (CUORE) is a 1-ton scale bolometric experiment whose detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. This will be the largest bolometric mass ever operated. The experiment will work at a temperature around or below 10 mK. CUORE cryostat consists of a cryogen-free system based on pulse tubes and a custom high power dilution refrigerator, designed to match these specifications. The cryostat has been commissioned in 2014 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories and reached a record te…
CUORE - the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events - is an experiment searching for the neutrinoless double-beta ($0νββ$) decay of $^{130}$Te with an array of 988 TeO$_2$ crystals operated as bolometers at $\sim$10 mK in a large dilution refrigerator. With this detector, we aim for a $^{130}$Te $0νββ$ decay half-life sensitivity of $9\times10^{25}$ y with 5 y of live time, and a background index of $\lesssim 10^{-2}$ counts/keV/kg/y. Making an effort to maintain radiopurity by minimizing the bolometers' exposure to radon gas during their installation in the cryostat, we perform all …
CUORE is the first ton-scale experiment based on the bolometric technique to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Its core is made of 988 $\mathrm{TeO_{2}}$ crystals cooled down to $10~\mathrm{mK}$. The temperature must be as stable as possible during detector operations, for an integrated live-time of about 5 years. To reach these goals, a dedicated cryogenic system has been developed. Temperature stabilization of the crystals response will be performed to compensate for residual instabilities. External vibrations that can deteriorate the crystals energy resolution, are dumped thanks to…
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) in $^{130}$Te and other rare processes. CUORE is a cryogenic detector composed of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers for a total mass of about 741 kg. The detector is being constructed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, where it will start taking data in 2015. If the target background of 0.01 counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$y) will be reached, in five years of data taking CUORE will have an half life sensitivity around $1\times 10^{26}$ y at 90\% C.L. As a first s…
CUORE is a 1 ton scale cryogenic experiment aiming at the measurement of the Majorana mass of the electron neutrino. The detector is an array of 988 TeO2 bolometers used for a calorimetric detection of the two electrons emitted in the BB0n of 130Te. The sensitivity of the experiment to the lowest Majorana mass is determined by the rate of background events that can mimic a BB0n. In this paper we investigate the contribution of external sources i.e. environmental gammas, neutrons and cosmic ray muons to the CUORE background and show that the shielding setup designed for CUORE guarantees a reduc…
Bolometric detectors are used in particle physics experiments to search for rare processes, such as neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter interactions. By operating at cryogenic temperatures, they are able to detect particle energies from a few keV up to several MeV, measuring the temperature rise produced by the energy released. This work focusses on the bolometers of the CUORE experiment, which are made of TeO$_2$ crystals. The response of these detectors is nonlinear with energy and changes with the operating temperature. The noise depends on the working conditions and significantl…
We have developed and tested a new way of coupling bolometric light detectors to scintillating crystal bolometers based upon simply resting the light detector on the crystal surface, held in position only by gravity. This straightforward mounting results in three important improvements: (1) it decreases the amount of non-active materials needed to assemble the detector, (2) it substantially increases the light collection efficiency by minimizing the light losses induced by the mounting structure, and (3) it enhances the thermal signal induced in the light detector thanks to the extremely weak …
CUORE is a tonne-scale cryogenic detector operating at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) that uses tellurium dioxide bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{130}$Te. CUORE is also suitable to search for low energy rare events such as solar axions or WIMP scattering, thanks to its ultra-low background and large target mass. However, to conduct such sensitive searches requires improving the energy threshold to 10 keV. In this paper, we describe the analysis techniques developed for the low energy analysis of CUORE-like detectors, using the data acquired from No…
CUORE is a bolometric experiment that will search for the Neutrinoless Double Beta decay of $^{130}$Te. CUORE-0 is a single CUORE-like tower that was run between 2013 and 2015 to test the performance of the CUORE experiment. In this proceeding we present the results of the model developed to disentangle and quantify the background sources that combine to form the CUORE-0 energy spectrum. We use detailed Geant4-based simulations and a Bayesian fitting algorithm to reconstruct the experimental data and evaluate the activities of the background sources. A direct outcome of this analysis is the me…
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a 1-ton scale bolometric experiment devoted to the search of the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0ν\b{eta}\b{eta}) in 130Te. The CUORE detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals operated at 10 mK. CUORE-0 is the CUORE demonstrator: it has been built to test the performance of the upcoming CUORE experiment and represents the largest 130Te bolometric setup ever operated. CUORE-0 has been running at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy) from 2013 to 2015. The final CUORE-0 analysis on 0ν\b{eta}\b{eta} and the correspon…
Cryogenic macro-calorimeters instrumented with NTD thermistors have been developed for several decades. The choice of the optimal bias current is crucial for a proper operation of these detectors, both in terms of energy resolution and stability. In this paper we present a set of automatic measurements and analysis procedures for the characterization and optimization of the working configuration of the NTD thermistors. The presented procedures were developed for CUORE, an array of 988 cryogenic macro-calorimeters instrumented with NTD thermistors that has been taking data since 2017. These pro…
The external shell of the CUORE cryostat is a large cryogen-free system designed to host the dilution refrigerator and the bolometers of the CUORE experiment in a low radioactivity environment. The three vessels that form the outer shell were produced and delivered to the Gran Sasso underground Laboratories in July 2012. In this paper, we describe the production techniques and the validation tests done at the production site in 2012.
The CALDER project aims at developing cryogenic light detectors with high sensitivity to UV and visible light, to be used for particle tagging in massive bolometers. Indeed the sensitivity of CUORE can be increased by a factor of 3, thanks to the reduction of the $α$-background, obtained by detecting the Cherenkov light (100 eV) emitted by $β/γ$ events. Currently used light detectors have not the features required to address this task, so we decided to develop a new light detector using Kinetic Inductance Detector as a sensor. This approach is very challenging and requires an intensive R$\&$D …
The CUORE experiment is the world's largest bolometric experiment. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals, for a total mass of 742 kg. CUORE is presently taking data at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. A large custom cryogen-free cryostat allows reaching and maintaining a base temperature of about 10 mK, required for the optimal operation of the detector. This apparatus has been designed in order to achieve a low noise environment, with minimal contribution to the radioactive background for the experiment…
In the present work, we describe the results obtained with a large ($\approx 133$ cm$^3$) TeO$_2$ bolometer, with a view to a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay ($0νββ$) of $^{130}$Te. We demonstrate an efficient $α$ particle discrimination (99.9\%) with a high acceptance of the $0νββ$ signal (about 96\%), expected at $\approx 2.5$ MeV. This unprecedented result was possible thanks to the superior performance (10 eV rms baseline noise) of a Neganov-Luke-assisted germanium bolometer used to detect a tiny (70 eV) light signal from the TeO$_2$ detector, dominated by $γ$($β$)-induced Cheren…
CUPID is a proposed future tonne-scale bolometric neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) experiment to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and discover Lepton Number Violation in the so-called inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass. CUPID will be built on experience, expertise and lessons learned in CUORE, and will exploit the current CUORE infrastructure as much as possible. In order to achieve its ambitious science goals, CUPID aims to increase the source mass and dramatically reduce the backgrounds in the region of interest. This requires isotopic enrichment, upgraded purificati…
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 $0νββ$ decay of $^{130}$Te using an array of 988 TeO$_2$ crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK. The detector will contain 206 kg of $^{130}$Te and have an average energy resolution of 5 keV; the projected $0νββ$ decay half-life sensitivity after five years of live time is $1.6\times 10^{26}$ y at $1σ$ ($9.…
The paper describes the Faraday room that shields the CUORE experiment against electromagnetic fields, from 50 Hz up to high frequency. Practical contraints led to choose panels made of light shielding materials. The seams between panels were optimized with simulations to minimize leakage. Measurements of shielding performance show attenuation of a factor 15 at 50 Hz, and a factor 1000 above 1 KHz up to about 100 MHz.
With 741 kg of TeO2 crystals and an excellent energy resolution of 5 keV (0.2%) at the region of interest, the CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment aims at searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te with unprecedented sensitivity. Expected to start data taking in 2015, CUORE is currently in an advanced construction phase at LNGS. CUORE projected neutrinoless double beta decay half-life sensitivity is 1.6E26 y at 1 sigma (9.5E25 y at the 90% confidence level), in five years of live time, corresponding to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in…
The CUORE experiment will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^{130}$Te with an array of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers arranged in 19 towers. CUORE-0, the first tower assembled according to the CUORE procedures, was built and commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, and took data from March 2013 to March 2015. In this paper we describe the design, construction and operation of the CUORE-0 experiment, with an emphasis on the improvements made over a predecessor experiment, Cuoricino. In particular, we demonstrate with CUORE-0 data that the design goals of CUORE are within reach.
CUORE-0 is a cryogenic detector that uses an array of tellurium dioxide bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of ^{130}Te. We present the first data analysis with 7.1 kg y of total TeO_2 exposure focusing on background measurements and energy resolution. The background rates in the neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest (2.47 to 2.57 MeV) and in the α background-dominated region (2.70 to 3.90 MeV) have been measured to be 0.071 \pm 0.011 and 0.019 \pm 0.002 counts/keV/kg/y, respectively. The latter result represents a factor of 6 improvement from a predecessor expe…
The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{130}$Te. With 741 kg of TeO$_2$ crystals and an excellent energy resolution of 5 keV (0.2%) at the region of interest, CUORE will be one of the most competitive neutrinoless double beta decay experiments on the horizon. With five years of live time, CUORE projected neutrinoless double beta decay half-life sensitivity is $1.6\times 10^{26}$ y at $1σ$ ($9.5\times10^{25}$ y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in …
TeO2 bolometers have been used for many years to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in 130-Te. CUORE, a tonne-scale TeO2 detector array, recently published the most sensitive limit on the half-life, $T_{1/2}^{0ν} > 1.5 \times 10^{25}\,$yr, which corresponds to an upper bound of $140-400$~meV on the effective Majorana mass of the neutrino. While it makes CUORE a world-leading experiment looking for neutrinoless double beta decay, it is not the only study that CUORE will contribute to in the field of nuclear and particle physics. As already done over the years with many small-scale experi…
Searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0$ν$2$β$) is one of the main experimental challenges of modern physics. One experimental technique is given by cryogenic detectors named bolometers that are really promising for this purpose. The current generation tonne-scale experiment CUORE using this technology is putting the best limit on $^{130}$Te 0$ν$2$β$ half-life with TeO$_2$ crystals but its sensitivity is limited by its background. Therefore, it will be followed by the next generation experiment CUPID (CUORE Upgrade with Particle IDentification) that will study $^{100}$Mo embedded insid…
CUORE is an array of thermal calorimeters composed of 988 crystals held at about 10 mK, whose absorbed energy is read out with semiconductor thermistors. The composition of the crystal is TeO2, and the aim is the study of the double beta decay of 130Te on very long and stable runs. CUPID-0 is an array of 26 Zn82Se crystals with double thermistor readout to study the double beta decay of 82Se. In the present paper, we present an overview of the entire front-end electronic readout chain, from the preamplifier to the anti-aliasing filter. This overview includes motivations, design strategies, cir…
CUORE is a 741 kg array of TeO2 bolometers for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. The detector is being constructed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, where it will start taking data in 2015. If the target background of 0.01 counts/keV/kg/y will be reached, in five years of data taking CUORE will have a 1 sigma half life sensitivity of 10E26 y. CUORE-0 is a smaller experiment constructed to test and demonstrate the performances expected for CUORE. The detector is a single tower of 52 CUORE-like bolometers that started taking data in spring 2013. The status a…
Exploring the keV-scale physics potential of CUORE
University of South Carolina（南卡罗来纳大学）；Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University（弗吉尼亚理工大学）；Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro（意大利国家核物理研究所-莱尼亚罗国家实验室）；INFN – Sezione di Bologna（意大利国家核物理研究所-博洛尼部分部）；Sapienza Università di Roma（罗马第一大学）；INFN – Sezione di Roma（意大利国家核物理研究所-罗马分部）；Gran Sasso Science Institute（格兰萨索科学研究所）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（意大利国家核物理研究所-格兰萨索国家实验室）；Università di Milano-Bicocca（米兰比可卡大学）；INFN – Sezione di Milano（意大利国家核物理研究所-米兰分部）；INFN – Sezione di Milano Bicocca（意大利国家核物理研究所-米兰比可卡分部）
The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te with an array of 988 TeO2 bolometers operating at temperatures around 10 mK. The experiment is currently being commissioned in Hall A of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. The goal of CUORE is to reach a 90\% C.L. exclusion sensitivity on the \tect decay half-life of 9$\times$10$^{25}$ years after 5\,years of data taking. The main issue to be addressed to accomplish this aim is the rate of background events in the region of interest, which must not be higher …
Reconstruction of cosmic-ray muon events with CUORE
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University（弗吉尼亚理工大学）；INFN – Sezione di Roma（罗马意大利国家核物理研究所分部）；INFN – Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso（格兰萨索意大利国家核物理研究所实验室）；INFN – Sezione di Milano Bicocca（米拉诺比科卡意大利国家核物理研究所分部）；INFN – Sezione di Genova（热那亚意大利国家核物理研究所分部）
CUORE is a 741 kg array of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometeric crystals designed to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{130}$Te and other rare processes. CUORE has been taking data since summer 2017, and as of summer 2018 collected a total of 86.3 kg$\cdot$yr of TeO$_2$ exposure. Based on this exposure, we were able to set a limit on the $0νββ$ half-life of $^{130}$Te of $T^{0ν}_{1/2}>1.5\times10^{25}$ yr at 90% C.L. At this conference, we showed the decomposition of the CUORE background and were able to extract a $^{130}$Te $2νββ$ half-life of $T_{1/2}^{2ν}=[7.9\pm0.1 \mathrm{(stat.)}\pm0…
We describe in detail the methods used to obtain the lower bound on the lifetime of neutrinoless double-beta ($0νββ$) decay in $^{130}$Te and the associated limit on the effective Majorana mass of the neutrino using the CUORE-0 detector. CUORE-0 is a bolometric detector array located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso that was designed to validate the background reduction techniques developed for CUORE, a next-generation experiment scheduled to come online in 2016. CUORE-0 is also a competitive $0νββ$ decay search in its own right and functions as a platform to further develop the anal…
We report on a search for double beta decay of $^{130}$Te to the first $0^{+}$ excited state of $^{130}$Xe using a 9.8 kg$\cdot$yr exposure of $^{130}$Te collected with the CUORE-0 experiment. In this work we exploit different topologies of coincident events to search for both the neutrinoless and two-neutrino double-decay modes. We find no evidence for either mode and place lower bounds on the half-lives: $τ^{0ν}_{0^+}>7.9\cdot 10^{23}$ yr and $τ^{2ν}_{0^+}>2.4\cdot 10^{23}$ yr. Combining our results with those obtained by the CUORICINO experiment, we achieve the most stringent constraints av…
The CUORE experiment, a ton-scale cryogenic bolometer array, recently began operation at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. The array represents a significant advancement in this technology, and in this work we apply it for the first time to a high-sensitivity search for a lepton-number--violating process: $^{130}$Te neutrinoless double-beta decay. Examining a total TeO$_2$ exposure of 86.3 kg$\cdot$yr, characterized by an effective energy resolution of (7.7 $\pm$ 0.5) keV FWHM and a background in the region of interest of (0.014 $\pm$ 0.002) counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr), we f…
Next-generation experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay must be sensitive to a Majorana neutrino mass as low as 10 meV. CUORE, an array of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers being commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, features an expected sensitivity of 50-130 meV at 90% C.L, that can be improved by removing the background from $α$ radioactivity. This is possible if, in coincidence with the heat release in a bolometer, the Cherenkov light emitted by the $β$ signal is detected. The amount of light detected is so far limited to only 100 eV, requiring low-noise cryoge…
CUPID is a proposed future tonne-scale bolometric neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) experiment to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and discover Lepton Number Violation in the so-called inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass. CUPID will be built on experience, expertise and lessons learned in CUORE, and will exploit the current CUORE infrastructure as much as possible. In order to achieve its ambitious science goals, CUPID aims to dramatically reduce the backgrounds in the region of interest introducing a high efficiently $α$/$β$ discrimination techniques, also demonstrated …
We report the results of a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in a 9.8~kg$\cdot$yr exposure of $^{130}$Te using a bolometric detector array, CUORE-0. The characteristic detector energy resolution and background level in the region of interest are $5.1\pm 0.3{\rm~keV}$ FWHM and $0.058 \pm 0.004\,(\mathrm{stat.})\pm 0.002\,(\mathrm{syst.})$~counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr), respectively. The median 90%~C.L. lower-limit sensitivity of the experiment is $2.9\times 10^{24}~{\rm yr}$ and surpasses the sensitivity of previous searches. We find no evidence for neutrinoless double-beta decay of $^…
CUORE, an array of 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers, is about to be one of the most sensitive experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Its sensitivity could be further improved by removing the background from $α$ radioactivity. A few years ago it has been pointed out that the signal from $β$s can be tagged by detecting the emitted Cherenkov light, which is not produced by $α$s. In this paper we confirm this possibility. For the first time we measured the Cherenkov light emitted by a CUORE crystal, and found it to be 100 eV at the $Q$-value of the decay. To completely reject the $α$ back…
High light collection efficiency is an important requirement in any application of scintillation detectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility for improving this parameter in cryogenic scintillation bolometers, which can be considered as a promising detectors in experiments investigating neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter. Energy resolutions and relative pulse amplitudes of scintillation detectors using ZnWO4 scintillation crystals of different shapes (cylinder 20 mm in dimater by 20 mm and hexagonal prism with diagonal 20 mm and height 20 mm), reflector ma…
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) opens new approaches for the search of new physics beyond the Standard Model. The NUCLEUS experiment aims to use the intense antineutrino flux produced from nuclear reactor cores to perform measurements of the CEvNS cross-section via gram-scale ultra-low threshold cryogenic detectors. A common problem with low threshold detectors is the calibration, since most radioactive sources tend to saturate the dynamical range of the sensors. In this dissertation, a photon-statistic based optical calibration setup has been developed and tested using de…
Cryogenic Avalanche Detectors (CRADs) are referred to as a new class of noble-gas detectors operated at cryogenic temperatures with electron avalanching performed directly in the detection medium, the latter being in gaseous, liquid or two-phase (liquid-gas) state. Electron avalanching is provided by Micro-Pattern Gas Detector (MPGD) multipliers, in particular GEMs and THGEMs, operated at cryogenic temperatures in dense noble gases. The final goal for this kind of detectors is the development of large-volume detectors of ultimate sensitivity for rare-event experiments and medical applications,…
Cryogenic phonon-scintillation detectors (CPSD) for rare event search experiments require reliable, efficient and robust photon detectors that can resolve individual photons in a scintillation event.
This paper describes results on R&D of an economical and efficient cryogenic system prototype for future liquid xenon detector. The test module of the prototype has a "cold head" attached to a copper rod, which is specially designed to transport heat loads to a free-boiling liquid nitrogen bath. The performance of the test module and commercial refrigerators is compared. The module with an optimized copper rod has demonstrated more than 1500W cooling power at 178K.The temperature of the "cold head" can be kept stable with an error of 0.02K, its fluctuation is within 0.1K.
There are valuable arguments to perform neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu2β$) decay experiments with several nuclei: the uncertainty of nuclear-matrix-ele\-ment calculations; the possibility to test these calculations by using the ratio of the measured lifetimes; the unpredictability of possible breakthroughs in the detection technique; the difficulty to foresee background in $0\nu2β$ decay searches; the limited amount of isotopically enriched materials. We propose therefore approaches to estimate the Majorana neutrino mass by combining experimental data collected with different $0\nu2β$ decay c…
