The NEXT-100 experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay searches (Conceptual Design Report)

Abstract

We propose an EASY (Electroluminescent ApparatuS of high Yield) and SOFT (Separated Optimized FuncTion) time-projection chamber for the NEXT experiment, that will search for neutrinoless double beta decay (bb0nu) in Xe-136. Our experiment must be competitive with the new generation of bb0nu searches already in operation or in construction. This requires a detector with very good energy resolution (<1%), very low background con- tamination (1E-4 counts/(keV \bullet kg \bullet y)) and large target mass. In addition, it needs to be operational as soon as possible. The design described here optimizes energy resolution thanks to the use of proportional electroluminescent amplification (EL); it is compact, as the Xe gas is under high pressure; and it allows the measurement of the topological signature of the event to further reduce the background contamination. The SOFT design uses different sensors for tracking and calorimetry. We propose the use of SiPMs (MPPCs) coated with a suitable wavelength shifter for the tracking, and the use of radiopure photomultipliers for the measurement of the energy and the primary scintillation needed to estimate the t0. This design provides the best possible energy resolution compared with other NEXT designs based on avalanche gain devices. The baseline design is an Asymmetric Neutrino Gas EL apparatus (ANGEL), which was already outlined in the NEXT LOI. ANGEL is conceived to be easy to fabricate. It requires very little R&D and most of the proposed solutions have already been tested in the NEXT-1 prototypes. Therefore, the detector can be ready by 2013. In this Conceptual Design Report (CDR) we discuss first the physics case, present a full design of the detector, describe the NEXT-1 EL prototypes and their initial results, and outline a project to build a detector with 100 kg of enriched xenon to be installed in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in 2013.

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Cited by in corpus (21)

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• Solar neutrino-electron scattering as background limitation for double beta decay
• SiPMs coated with TPB : coating protocol and characterization for NEXT
• AXEL: High-pressure Xe gas TPC for BG-free $0\nu 2\beta$ decay search
• The $\lambda$ mechanism of the $0\nu \beta \beta$-decay
• Present status and future perspectives of the NEXT experiment
• Searches for neutrinoless double beta decay
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• Simulation of VUV electroluminescence in micropattern gaseous detectors: the case of GEM and MHSP
• Design, characterization and installation of the NEXT-100 cathode and electroluminescence regions
• The electronics of the energy plane of the NEXT-White detector
• Design and characterization of the SiPM tracking system of NEXT-DEMO, a demonstrator prototype of the NEXT-100 experiment
• Phenomenological Aspects of the $E_6$SSM
• Discovering the New Standard Model: Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos
• High Pressure Gas Xenon TPCs for Double Beta Decay Searches