The IGEX 76 Ge Double Beta Decay Experiment and CUORE, The Next Generation 130 Te Experiment

国际锗实验（IGEX）是一项对奇异核衰变模式的探索，即无营养双β衰变，它的存在将明确证明中微子是自己的反粒子，并且具有非零质量。 目前，该实验正在西班牙萨拉戈萨大学的Canfranc地下实验室进行，其中包括用前苏联的同位素富集锗制造的三个大型锗探测器。 目前，第四个探测器正在美国能源部的资助下制造。 这个实验，以及它的竞争对手海德堡-莫斯科实验，产生了迄今为止对这种奇异过程最敏感的搜索。 IGEX最近开发了非常高质量的脉冲波形电子技术，可以消除大部分干扰背景，这将进一步提高其灵敏度。 这项拨款支持实验的技术负责人和发言人以及三名研究生。 发言人的研究所，南卡罗来纳州大学，也支持俄罗斯参与者的旅行和生活。 IGEX合作由来自美国、西班牙和前苏联的26名研究人员组成。 该补助金还为主要研究人员提供部分支持，以参与下一代的开发，使用新开发的低温技术显着扩大双β衰变实验。 由于这些技术还没有证明它们有能力将干扰背景减少到必要的水平，锗-76实验仍然是寻找这种重要的奇异核衰变模式及其对中微子质量存在的影响的最灵敏的技术。 这些实验代表了对基本粒子物理学标准模型的非常敏感的测试，并有可能对粒子物理学，天体物理学和宇宙学产生重大影响。

The International Germanium Experiment (IGEX) is an intense search for an exotic nuclear decay mode, nutrionless double-beta decay, the existence of which would definitely prove that neutrinos are their ownanti-particles, and have non-zero mass. Presently the experiment is being operated in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory operated by the University of Zaragoza in Spain, and includes three large germaniumdetectors fabricated with isotopically enriched germanium from the former Soviet Union. At present a forth detector is being fabricated with funding from the US Department of Energy. This experiment, and its competitor the Heidelburg-Moscow experiment, have produced the most sensitive search for this type of exotic process thus far. IGEX has recently developed very high quality pulse shape electronics techniques that allow the elimination of much of the interfering background which will further increase its sensitivity. This grant supports the technical leader and spokesman of the experiment and three graduate students. The spokesman's institute, the University of South Carolina, also supports travel and subsistence of Russian participants. The IGEX collaboration is composed of twenty-six researchers from the United States, Spain, and the former Soviet Union. The grant also provides partial support for the Principle Investigator to participate in the development of next generation, significantly enlarged double-beta decay experiments using newly development cryogenic techniques. Since these techniques have not yet demonstrated their ability to reduce interfering background to the necessary levels, the germanium-76 experiments still represent the most sensitive technique for searching for this important exotic nuclear decay mode and its implications for the existence of neutrino mass. These experiments represent very sensitive tests of the standard model of elementary particle physics, and have the potential for a significant impact in particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.