Neutrino-less double beta decay with EXO-200 and EXO

该奖项是根据2009年《美国回收和再投资法案》(公法111-5)资助的，它将为参与寻找136-Xe中的无中微子双β衰变提供资金，EXO-200实验目前正安装在新墨西哥州卡尔斯巴德的废物分离试点工厂(WIPP)。对无中微子双β衰变过程的观察将意味着中微子是Majorana粒子；这将对我们理解基本粒子的性质及其质量模式以及我们对早期宇宙的结构和演化的理解产生深远的影响。Exo-200将是第一个超过100公斤浓缩同位素的操作实验，将探测低至0.3 eV的中微子质量的绝对尺度。该小组将参与EXO-200的安装、调试、运行和数据分析，重点是雪崩光电二极管的性能、与中子有关的背景和宇宙线否决权计数器。该项目的更广泛影响包括为本科生和研究生提供充足的机会。他们将与当地一家合作机构合作，向初中和高中理科学生的教师介绍地下科学的兴奋和科学价值。他们还将在新墨西哥州东南部带来广泛的科学理解。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).It will provide funding to participate in the search for neutrino-less double beta decay in 136-Xe with the EXO-200 experiment, currently being installed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM. Observation of the neutrino-less double beta decay process would imply that neutrinos are Majorana particles; this would have a profound impact on our understanding of the nature of fundamental particles and their pattern of masses as well as on our understanding of the structure and evolution of the early universe. EXO-200 will be the first operational experiment with greater than 100 kg of enriched isotope and will probe the absolute scale of neutrino masses down to 0.3 eV. The group will participate in installation, commissioning, operation and data analysis of EXO-200, with emphasis on the avalanche photodiode's performance, neutron-related backgrounds and the cosmic ray veto counters. The broader impact of the program includes ample opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. They will partner with a local collaborative to introduce the excitement and scientific merit of underground science to teachers of middle and high school science students. They will also bring about broad science understanding in south-eastern New Mexico.