LUMINEU: a search for neutrinoless double beta decay based on ZnMoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers

Abstract

The LUMINEU is designed to investigate the possibility to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in ${}^{100}$Mo by means of a large array of scintillating bolometers based on ZnMoO${}_4$ crystals enriched in ${}^{100}$Mo. High energy resolution and relatively fast detectors, which are able to measure both the light and the heat generated upon the interaction of a particle in a crystal, are very promising for the recognition and rejection of background events. We present the LUMINEU concepts and the experimental results achieved aboveground and underground with large-mass natural and enriched crystals. The measured energy resolution, the $\alpha /\beta$ discrimination power and the radioactive internal contamination are all within the specifications for the projected final LUMINEU sensitivity. Simulations and preliminary results confirm that the LUMINEU technology can reach zero background in the region of interest (around 3 MeV) with exposures of the order of hundreds kg$\times$years, setting the bases for a next generation $0\nu 2\beta$ decay experiment capable to explore the inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass pattern.

arXiv comment5 pages, 3 figures, submitted as proceedings of the TAUP 2015 conference

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• Rejection of randomly coinciding events in ZnMoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers
• Development of cryogenic low background detector based on enriched zinc molybdate crystal scintillators to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of ${}^{100}$Mo

Cited by in corpus (3)

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• The BiPo-3 detector for the measurement of ultra low natural radioactivities of thin materials
• Potentialities of the future technical improvements in the search of rare nuclear decays by bolometers