Searches for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with Bolometric Detectors

该奖项将支持一项研究无中微子双β衰变(NDBD)的计划。对这种衰变的观察表明，中微子是马约拉纳粒子，也就是说，它们是自己的反粒子。这个过程的速度对中微子的有效质量很敏感。正如APS多维中微子研究指出的那样，确定中微子是Majorana还是Dirac粒子并测量它们的质量是中微子物理学的首要任务之一。这个问题的答案还将对天体物理学和宇宙学产生重要影响。这个项目有两个互补的部分。首先是开发下一代CUORE(稀有事件低温地下观测站)探测器，包括第一个生产塔(CUORE-0)的运行和随后的数据分析。Cuore有望成为未来十年最敏感的NDBD实验之一。它将对最近的大气中微子振荡实验在所谓的倒置质量等级中提出的中微子质量值很敏感。第二个目标是研发一种基于大型通用测辐射热计的NDBD探测器。他们将在加州大学伯克利分校附近建立一个低本底低温设施，并启动一项全面的测辐射热探测器开发计划。这个远程计划将面向1吨级的模块化探测器。该计划的更广泛影响包括为初级科学家提供教育和研究环境，包括研究生和本科生。测辐射热计探测器汇集了来自低温物理、固态物理以及粒子和核物理的许多实验技术。中微子实验中的观测结果对宇宙的起源产生了广泛的影响，这是一个激发公众想象力的话题。

This award will support a program of research in neutrinoless double beta decay (NDBD). The observation of such decays would indicate that neutrinos are Majorana particles, i.e. they are their own anti-particles. The rate of the process is sensitive to the effective neutrino mass. Determining whether neutrinos are Majorana or Dirac particles and measuring their masses are among the highest priorities in neutrino physics, as was pointed out in the APS Multi-Divisional Neutrino Study. The answer will also have important implications for astrophysics and cosmology.This project has two complementary parts. First is the development of the next-generation CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) detector, including the operations of the first production tower (CUORE-0) and the subsequent data analysis. CUORE promises to be one of the most sensitive NDBD experiments in the next decade. It will be sensitive to the neutrino mass values suggested by recent atmospheric neutrino oscillation experiments in the so-called inverted mass hierarchy. The second goal is the R&D towards a large generic bolometer-based NDBD detector. They will establish a low-background cryogenic facility near the UC Berkeley campus and start a comprehensive program of bolometric detector development. This long-range program will be geared toward a 1 ton-scale, modular detector.The broader impact of the program includes providing an educational and research environment for the junior scientists, including graduate and undergraduate students. The bolometric detectors bring together many experimental techniques from low temperature physics, solid-state physics, and particle and nuclear physics. The implications from observations in neutrino experiments have broad impact on the origins of the Universe and it is a subject that sparks the imagination in the general public.