Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with ${}^{82}$SeF${}_6$ and Direct Ion Imaging

Abstract

We present a new neutrinoless double beta decay concept: the high pressure selenium hexafluoride gas time projection chamber. Combining techniques pioneered in high pressure xenon gas such as topological discrimination, with the high Q-value afforded by double beta decay isotope ${}^{82}$Se, a promising new detection technique is outlined. Lack of free electrons in SeF${}_6$ mandates the use of an ion TPC. The microphysics of ion production and drift, which have many nuances, are explored. Background estimates are produced suggesting such a detector may achieve background indices of better than 1 count per ton per year in the region of interest at the 100~kg scale, and still better at the ton-scale.

19 pages, 13 figures, prepared for submission to JINST v2: update to version submitted to journal; v3: bring front matter into EC compliance

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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Toward the discovery of matter creation with neutrinoless double-beta decay
• Machine Learning in Nuclear Physics
• Kiloton-scale xenon detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay and other new physics searches
• NvDEx-100 Conceptual Design Report
• Design and performance of a high-pressure xenon gas TPC as a prototype for a large-scale neutrinoless double-beta decay search
• Measurement of gas properties for the ion-TPC of N$\nu$DEx experiment
• Development of a simulation and analysis framework for NνDEx experiment