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

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Neutrinos are fascinating elementary particles and understanding their characteristics may explain why there is more matter than anti-matter in the universe. Neutrinos have very small mass and zero electric charge so they could be their own anti-particle, and that is their key to unlocking the matter vs anti-matter content of the universe. This award focuses on determining if neutrinos are their own anti-particles using the NEMO-3 and SuperNEMO experiments developed by the Neutrino Ettore Majorana Observatory (NEMO) collaboration. A prototype of the SuperNEMO design will be commissioned soon, and this award will support the research of a graduate student who will earn his dissertation using the newly commissioned equipment. The research will include background analysis, energy resolution improvements, and a search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The student will develop highly technical skills that will allow him to contribute to STEM fields. The NEMO-3 experiment collected data by employing about 10 kg of thin isotopic foils surrounded by a wire drift chamber for 3D particle tracking in a 25 G magnetic field and scintillator blocks to measure the energy of electrons. This unique technique provides several observables for each registered event, offering a powerful means to identify double beta decays and to reject background processes. SuperNEMO will further exploit the NEMO-3 technique. The goal of SuperNEMO is to use 100 kg of Se-82 or some other isotope to probe the half-life for neutrinoless double beta decay at the level of 1x10^(26) years in a 500kg*year exposure, corresponding to the effective neutrino mass in the 50 meV range. The research supported by this award will include the commissioning of the first SuperNEMO module.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.