Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with NEMO-3 and Super-NEMO Experiments

通过 NEMO-3 和 Super-NEMO 实验寻找无中微子双贝塔衰变

• 批准号: 0902235
• 负责人: Karol Lang
• 金额: $ 44.7万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2013-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0902235&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Search; Neutrinoless; Double; Beta; Decay

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). It will provide funding for this group to continue their contributions to searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay. The observation of neutrino oscillations has shown that neutrinos have mass. This is the first direct evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. This discovery has renewed and strengthened the interest in neutrinoless double beta decay experiments which provide the only practical way to determine whether neutrinos are Majorana (i.e., they are identical with their own antiparticles) or Dirac particles. Such experiments also have the potential to determine the absolute scale of the neutrino mass and help resolve the neutrino mass hierarchy question. The answers to these fundamental problems may also prove important for understanding the fundamental forces of Nature and the evolution of the Universe.For the next three years, the group will participate in the NEMO-3 experiment with data analysis and collaborate on the design of the new SuperNEMO experiment. NEMO-3 is located in the Modane Underground Laboratory in the Frejus Tunnel under the French-Italian Alps, and is currently one of the most sensitive searches for neutrinoless double beta decays. Their simulation package based on GEANT-4 has become the main photon transport software used by the Collaboration. It enables better understanding of the NEMO-3 data and is extensively used to optimize the SuperNEMO design. With about 100 kg of 82Se (or 150Nd), SuperNEMO will be competitive with, and complementary to, the other largest planned experiments in this area worldwide. The broader impact of the program includes collaboration with the Warsaw University group and by employing UT undergraduates achieving a broader impact of the project by educating and training students in state-of-the-art science.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。它将为这个小组提供资金，继续他们对寻找中微子双衰变的贡献。对中微子振荡的观测表明，中微子具有质量。这是超越标准模型的物理学的第一个直接证据。这一发现重新燃起并加强了人们对无中微子双β衰变实验的兴趣，它提供了确定中微子是马约拉纳粒子（即它们与自己的反粒子相同）还是狄拉克粒子的唯一实用方法。这样的实验也有可能确定中微子质量的绝对规模，并帮助解决中微子质量层次问题。这些基本问题的答案对于理解自然界的基本力量和宇宙的演化也很重要。在接下来的三年里，该小组将参与NEMO-3实验，进行数据分析，并合作设计新的SuperNEMO实验。NEMO-3位于法国-意大利阿尔卑斯山下Frejus隧道的Modane地下实验室，是目前对中微子双β衰变最敏感的搜索之一。他们基于GEANT-4的仿真包已经成为该合作使用的主要光子传输软件。它可以更好地理解NEMO-3数据，并广泛用于优化SuperNEMO设计。SuperNEMO拥有约100公斤的82Se（或150Nd），将与全球该地区其他最大的计划实验相竞争，并互为补充。该计划的广泛影响包括与华沙大学集团的合作，并通过雇用UT本科生通过教育和培训最先进的科学来实现该项目的广泛影响。