Abstract
Neutrinos are the ghosts of modern physics. They are the only particles currently observed that might be their own antiparticles: “Majorana” particles. The nuclear process of double beta decay holds the key to this question. Double beta decay with two neutrinos is the longest-lived decay process ever observed, with a lifetime much longer than the universe; neutrinoless double beta decay has not yet been observed. Observing it would confirm that neutrinos are Majorana particles. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) experiment is designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in tellurium. It began taking data this year, using 742 kg of tellurium in a new helium dilution cryostat in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in central Italy. The CUORE cryostat, when cold, is the coldest cubic meter in the known universe. We are also preparing for a next-generation CUORE-style experiment, using different crystals in the same cryostat. We are currently investigating the properties of several crystals that are known to double beta decay and could potentially add scintillation light to the bolometric signal currently used in CUORE.
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