Searches for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with Bolometric Detectors

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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.