Spectroscopy of Ba and Ba${}^{+}$ deposits in solid xenon for barium tagging in nEXO

Abstract

Progress on a method of barium tagging for the nEXO double beta decay experiment is reported. Absorption and emission spectra for deposits of barium atoms and ions in solid xenon matrices are presented. Excitation spectra for prominent emission lines, temperature dependence and bleaching of the fluorescence reveal the existence of different matrix sites. A regular series of sharp lines observed in Ba${}^{+}$ deposits is identified with some type of barium hydride molecule. Lower limits for the fluorescence quantum efficiency of the principal Ba emission transition are reported. Under current conditions, an image of $\le 10^4$ Ba atoms can be obtained. Prospects for imaging single Ba atoms in solid xenon are discussed.

References in corpus (3)

• Double Beta Decay, Majorana Neutrinos, and Neutrino Mass
• Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in ${}^{136}$Xe with EXO-200
• Limit on Neutrinoless ββ Decay of Xe-136 from the First Phase of KamLAND-Zen and Comparison with the Positive Claim in Ge-76

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• Snowmass Instrumentation Frontier IF08 Topical Group Report: Noble Element Detectors
• A Compact Dication Source for Ba${}^{2+}$ Tagging and Heavy Metal Ion Sensor Development
• High Pressure Gas Xenon TPCs for Double Beta Decay Searches