ZnO-based scintillating bolometers: New prospects to study double beta decay of ${}^{64}$Zn

Abstract

The first detailed study on the performance of a ZnO-based cryogenic scintillating bolometer as a detector to search for rare processes in zinc isotopes was performed. A 7.2 g ZnO low-temperature detector, containing more than 80\% of zinc in its mass, exhibits good energy resolution of baseline noise 1.0--2.7 keV FWHM at various working temperatures resulting in a low-energy threshold for the experiment, 2.0--6.0 keV. The light yield for $\beta$/$\gamma$ events was measured as 1.5(3) keV/MeV, while it varies for $\alpha$ particles in the range of 0.2--3.0 keV/MeV. The detector demonstrate an effective identification of the $\beta$/$\gamma$ events from $\alpha$ events using time-properties of only heat signals. %(namely, Rise time parameter). The radiopurity of the ZnO crystal was evaluated using the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, an ultra-low-background High Purity Ge $\gamma$-spectrometer, and bolometric measurements. Only limits were set at the level of $\mathcal{O}$(1--100) mBq/kg on activities of \Nuc{K}{40}, \Nuc{Cs}{137} and daughter nuclides from the U/Th natural decay chains. The total internal $\alpha$-activity was calculated to be 22(2) mBq/kg, with a major contribution caused by 6(1) mBq/kg of \Nuc{Th}{232} and 12(2) mBq/kg of \Nuc{U}{234}. Limits on double beta decay (DBD) processes in \Nuc{Zn}{64} and \Nuc{Zn}{70} isotopes were set on the level of $\mathcal{O}(10^{17}$--$10^{18})$ yr for various decay modes profiting from 271 h of acquired background data in the above-ground lab. This study shows a good potential for ZnO-based scintillating bolometers to search for DBD processes of Zn isotopes, especially in \Nuc{Zn}{64}, with the most prominent spectral features at $\sim$10--20 keV, like the two neutrino double electron capture. A 10 kg-scale experiment can reach the experimental sensitivity at the level of $\mathcal{O}(10^{24})$ yr.

arXiv commentPrepared for submission to JINST; 27 pages, 9 figures, and 7 tables

References in corpus (45)

• A Unified Approach to the Classical Statistical Analysis of Small Signals
• Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay: Status and Prospects
• Final Results of GERDA on the Search for Neutrinoless Double-$\beta$ Decay
• Optical and Luminescence Properties of Zinc Oxide
• Toward the discovery of matter creation with neutrinoless double-beta decay
• Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with the Complete EXO-200 Dataset
• Search for the Majorana Nature of Neutrinos in the Inverted Mass Ordering Region with KamLAND-Zen
• The event generator DECAY4 for simulation of double beta processes and decay of radioactive nuclei
• Improved Limit on Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in ${}^{130}$Te with CUORE
• \textsc{MaGe} - a {\sc Geant4}-based Monte Carlo Application Framework for Low-background Germanium Experiments
• First observation of two-neutrino double electron capture in ${}^{124}$Xe with XENON1T
• First Results from the AMoRE-Pilot neutrinoless double beta decay experiment
• ZnWO_4 crystals as detectors for double beta decay and dark matter experiments
• Neutrino accompanied beta^-beta^-, beta^+beta^+, beta^+/EC and EC/EC processes within single state dominance hypothesis
• Performances of a large mass ZnSe bolometer to search for rare events
• CdWO4 scintillating bolometer for Double Beta Decay: Light and Heat anticorrelation, light yield and quenching factors
• Final Result of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR's Search for Neutrinoless Double-$\beta$ Decay in ${}^{76}$Ge
• Performances of a large mass ZnMoO4 scintillating bolometer for a next generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment
• Radioactive contamination of ZnWO4 crystal scintillators
• Phase space factors for ${\beta }^{+}{\beta }^{+}$ decay and competing modes of double-$\beta$ decay
• Final results of an experiment to search for 2beta processes in zinc and tungsten with the help of radiopure ZnWO4 crystal scintillators
• Final results of the Aurora experiment to study 2$\beta$ decay of ${}^{116}$Cd with enriched ${}^{116}$CdWO${}_4$ crystal scintillators
• Characterization of bolometric Light Detectors for rare event searches
• Neutrinoless Double-Electron Capture
• Background Model of the CUPID-0 Experiment
• A Search for various Double Beta Decay Modes of Cd, Te and Zn Isotopes
• Enriched Zn${}^{100}$MoO${}_4$ scintillating bolometers to search for $0\nu 2\beta$ decay of ${}^{100}$Mo with the LUMINEU experiment
• Final Result on the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of ${}^{82}$Se with CUPID-0
• Improvement of radiopurity level of enriched ${}^{116}$CdWO${}_4$ and ZnWO${}_4$ crystal scintillators by recrystallization
• Low background techniques in bolometers for double-beta decay search
• First bolometric measurement of the two neutrino double beta decay of ${}^{100}$Mo with a ZnMoO${}_4$ crystals array
• Results of a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay using the COBRA demonstrator
• The $0\nu 2\beta$-decay CROSS experiment: preliminary results and prospects
• Complete event-by-event $\alpha$/$\gamma (\beta )$ separation in a full-size TeO${}_2$ CUORE bolometer by Neganov-Luke-magnified light detection
• Measurement of the ${}^{136}$Xe two-neutrino double beta decay half-life via direct background subtraction in NEXT
• Charge-to-heat transducers exploiting the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect for light detection in rare-event searches
• Radioactive contamination of scintillators
• The saga of neutrinoless double beta decay search with TeO2 thermal detectors
• Measurement of Double Beta Decay Half-life of ${}^{136}$Xe with the PandaX-4T Detector
• Radiopure tungstate and molybdate crystal scintillators for double beta decay experiments
• Systematic Analysis of Double-Beta Decay Half Lives
• Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay with Germanium Detectors: 10${}^{26}$ yr and Beyond
• Search for Neutrino-less Double Beta Decay of ${}^{64}$Zn and ${}^{70}$Zn with CUPID-0
• Transition Edge Sensor Chip Design of Modular CEνNS Detector for the Ricochet Experiment
• Search for double $\beta$-decay modes of ${}^{64}$Zn using purified zinc

Cited by in corpus (2)

• CUTE: A Cryogenic Underground TEst Facility at SNOLAB
• Development of large-volume ${}^{130}$TeO${}_2$ bolometers for the CROSS $2\beta$ decay search experiment