Abstract
Coherent elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering (hbox {CE}nu hbox {NS}) offers a unique way to study neutrino properties and to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Nuclear reactors are promising sources to explore this process at low energies since they deliver large fluxes of anti-neutrinos with typical energies of a few MeV. In this paper, a new-generation experiment to study hbox {CE}nu hbox {NS} is described. The NUCLEUS experiment will use cryogenic detectors which feature an unprecedentedly low-energy threshold and a time response fast enough to be operated under above-ground conditions. Both sensitivity to low-energy nuclear recoils and a high event rate tolerance are stringent requirements to measuring hbox {CE}nu hbox {NS} of reactor anti-neutrinos. A new experimental site, the Very-Near-Site (VNS), at the Chooz nuclear power plant in France is described. The VNS is located between the two 4.25 hbox {GW}_{mathrm {th}} reactor cores and matches the requirements of NUCLEUS. First results of on-site measurements of neutron and muon backgrounds, the expected dominant background contributions, are given. In this paper a preliminary experimental set-up with dedicated active and passive background reduction techniques and first background estimations are presented. Furthermore, the feasibility to operate the detectors in coincidence with an active muon veto at shallow overburden is studied. The paper concludes with a sensitivity study pointing out the physics potential of NUCLEUS at the Chooz nuclear power plant.
Highlights
The existence of neutral-current neutrino interactions implies the existence of elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering [1]
This paper describes the NUCLEUS experiment at the Chooz Very-Near-Site (VNS), designed to study CEνNS using reactor anti-neutrinos
The site is located in close distance to the two 4.25 GWth reactor cores of the Chooz nuclear power plant in France, providing an anti-neutrino flux of 3 × 1012 ν/(s · cm2)
Summary
The existence of neutral-current neutrino interactions implies the existence of elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering [1]. Contrary to the enhancement of the cross-section, the experimental signature, i.e. the nuclear recoil, is suppressed in energy by the nucleus mass, mN. The enhancement of the CEνNS cross-section allows for a miniaturization of neutrino detectors, from the typical tonne-size to kilogram- or even gramscale in the case of NUCLEUS, and a possible practical application in nuclear reactor monitoring [13]. CEνNS of solar and atmospheric neutrinos will become an irreducible background for future dark matter experiments searching for weakly interacting massive particles, which profit from an independent measurement of the cross-section. This paper describes the NUCLEUS experiment at the Chooz Very-Near-Site (VNS), designed to study CEνNS using reactor anti-neutrinos.
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