0000000000286802
AUTHOR
D. Chiesa
Feasibility and physics potential of detecting $^8$B solar neutrinos at JUNO
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) features a 20 kt multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator sphere as its main detector. Some of JUNO's features make it an excellent location for 8B solar neutrino measurements, such as its low-energy threshold, high energy resolution compared with water Cherenkov detectors, and much larger target mass compared with previous liquid scintillator detectors. In this paper, we present a comprehensive assessment of JUNO's potential for detecting 8B solar neutrinos via the neutrino-electron elastic scattering process. A reduced 2 MeV threshold for the recoil electron energy is found to be achievable, assuming that the intrinsic radioactive …
Optimization of the JUNO liquid scintillator composition using a Daya Bay antineutrino detector
To maximize the light yield of the liquid scintillator (LS) for the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 t LS sample was produced in a pilot plant at Daya Bay. The optical properties of the new LS in various compositions were studied by replacing the gadolinium-loaded LS in one antineutrino detector. The concentrations of the fluor, PPO, and the wavelength shifter, bis-MSB, were increased in 12 steps from 0.5 g/L and <0.01 mg/L to 4 g/L and 13 mg/L, respectively. The numbers of total detected photoelectrons suggest that, with the optically purified solvent, the bis-MSB concentration does not need to be more than 4 mg/L. To bridge the one order of magnitude in the detect…
Evidence of Single State Dominance in the Two-Neutrino Double-β Decay of ^{82}Se with CUPID-0.
We report on the measurement of the two-neutrino double-β decay of ^{82}Se performed for the first time with cryogenic calorimeters, in the framework of the CUPID-0 experiment. With an exposure of 9.95 kg yr of Zn^{82}Se, we determine the two-neutrino double-β decay half-life of ^{82}Se with an unprecedented precision level, T_{1/2}^{2ν}=[8.60±0.03(stat) _{-0.13}^{+0.19}(syst)]×10^{19} yr. The very high signal-to-background ratio, along with the detailed reconstruction of the background sources allowed us to identify the single state dominance as the underlying mechanism of such a process, demonstrating that the higher state dominance hypothesis is disfavored at the level of 5.5σ.
Array of cryogenic calorimeters to evaluate the spectral shape of forbidden β-decays : the ACCESS project
The ACCESS (Array of Cryogenic Calorimeters to Evaluate Spectral Shapes) project aims to establish a novel technique to perform precision measurements of forbidden β-decays, which can serve as an important benchmark for nuclear physics calculations and represent a significant background in astroparticle physics experiments. ACCESS will operate a pilot array of cryogenic calorimeters based on natural and doped crystals containing β-emitting radionuclides. In this way, natural (e.g. 113Cd and 115In) and synthetic isotopes (e.g. 99Tc) will be simultaneously measured with a common experimental technique. The array will also include further crystals optimised to disentangle the different backgro…
Latest results from CUPID-0
International audience; CUPID-0 is a pilot experiment in scintillating cryogenic calorimetry for the search of neutrino-less double beta decay. 26 ZnSe crystals were operated continuously in the first project phase (March 2017 - December 2018), demonstrating unprecedented low levels of background in the region of interest at the Q-value of $^{82}\rm{Se}$. From this successful experience comes a demonstration of full alpha to beta/gamma background separation, the most stringent limits on the $^{82}\rm{Se}$ neutrino-less double beta decay, as well as the most precise measurement of the $^{82}$Se half-life. After a detector upgrade, CUPID-0 began its second and last phase (June 2019 - February…