${}^{100}$Mo-enriched Li${}_2$MoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers for $0\nu 2\beta$ decay search: from LUMINEU to CUPID-0/Mo projects

Abstract

A scintillating bolometer technology based on ${}^{100}$Mo-enriched lithium molybdate (Li${}_2$${}^{100}$MoO${}_4$) crystals has been developed by LUMINEU to search for neutrinoless double-beta ($0\nu 2\beta$) decay of ${}^{100}$Mo. The results of several low temperature tests at underground environments have proved the reproducibility of high detector performance and crystal radiopurity: in particular $\sim$5--6~keV FWHM energy resolution and at least 9$\sigma$ rejection of $\alpha$'s in the vicinity of the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay of ${}^{100}$Mo (3034 keV) and below 10~$\mu$Bq/kg bulk activity of ${}^{228}$Th and ${}^{226}$Ra. A modest acquired exposure (0.1~kg$\times$yr) is a limiting factor of the LUMINEU experiment sensitivity to the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay half-life of ${}^{100}$Mo ($T_{1/2}$ $\ge$ 0.7$\times$10${}^{23}$ yr at 90\% C.L.), however the two-neutrino $2\beta$ decay has been measured with the best up to-date accuracy, $T_{1/2}$ = $\left[6.92\pm 0.06(stat.)\pm 0.36(syst.)\right]\times 10^{18}$ yr. The applicability of the LUMINEU technology for a tonne-scale $0\nu 2\beta$ decay bolometric project CUPID is going to be demonstrated by the CUPID-0/Mo experiment with $\sim$5~kg of ${}^{100}$Mo embedded in forty 0.2~kg Li${}_2$${}^{100}$MoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers. A first phase of the experiment with twenty Li${}_2$${}^{100}$MoO${}_4$ detectors is in preparation at the Modane underground laboratory (France) to start by the end of 2017.

Proceedings of the MEDEX'17 meeting (Prague, May 29 - June 2, 2017)

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Cited by in corpus (8)

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• CUPID, the CUORE Upgrade with Particle IDentification
• Search for Majoron-like particles with CUPID-0
• A first test of CUPID prototypal light detectors with NTD-Ge sensors in a pulse-tube cryostat
• Test of ${}^{116}$CdWO${}_4$ and Li${}_2$MoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers in the CROSS underground facility with upgraded detector suspension
• Twelve-crystal prototype of Li${}_2$MoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers for CUPID and CROSS experiments
• Li${}_2$${}^{100\text{depl}}$MoO${}_4$ Scintillating Bolometers for Rare-Event Search Experiments