CUORE Detector Research Articles

Status and prospects of discovery of 0νββ decay with the CUORE detector

Status and prospects of discovery of 0νββ decay with the CUORE detector

Measurement of the 2νββ Decay Half-Life of ^{130}Te with CUORE.

We measured two-neutrino double beta decay of ^{130}Te using an exposure of 300.7kg yr accumulated with the CUORE detector. Using a Bayesian analysis to fit simulated spectra to experimental data, it was possible to disentangle all the major background sources and precisely measure the two-neutrino contribution. The half-life is in agreement with past measurements with a strongly reduced uncertainty: T_{1/2}^{2ν}=7.71_{-0.06}^{+0.08}(stat)_{-0.15}^{+0.12}(syst)×10^{20} yr. This measurement is the most precise determination of the ^{130}Te 2νββ decay half-life to date.

Perspectives of lowering CUORE thresholds with Optimum Trigger

CUORE is a cryogenic experiment that focuses on the search of neutrinoless double beta decay in 130Te and it is located at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories. Its detector consists of 988 TeO2 crystals operating at a base temperature of ∼10 mK. It is the first ton-scale bolometric experiment ever realized for this purpose. Thanks to its large target mass and ultra-low background, the CUORE detector is also suitable for the search of other rare phenomena. In particular the low energy part of the spectra is interesting for the detection of WIMP-nuclei scattering reactions. One of the most important requirements to perform these studies is represented by the achievement of a stable energy threshold lower than 10 keV. Here, the CUORE capability to accomplish this purpose using a low energy software trigger will be presented and described.

Improved Limit on Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay in ^{130} Te with CUORE.

We report new results from the search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in ^{130} Te with the CUORE detector. This search benefits from a fourfold increase in exposure, lower trigger thresholds, and analysis improvements relative to our previous results. We observe a background of (1.38±0.07)×10^{-2} counts/(keV kg yr)) in the 0νββ decay region of interest and, with a total exposure of 372.5kg yr, we attain a median exclusion sensitivity of 1.7×10^{25} yr. We find no evidence for 0νββ decay and set a 90% credibility interval Bayesian lower limit of 3.2×10^{25} yr on the ^{130} Te half-life for this process. In the hypothesis that 0νββ decay is mediated by light Majorana neutrinos, this results in an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass of 75-350meV, depending on the nuclear matrix elements used.

The CUORE Pulse Tube Noise Cancellation Technique

The 1-ton-scale CUORE detector is made of 988 $${{{\hbox {TeO}}}}_2$$ crystals operated as cryogenic bolometers at a working temperature of $$\sim 10{{{\hbox { mK}}}}$$ . In order to provide the necessary cooling power at 4 K stage, a total of five pulse tube (PT) refrigerators are used. The PTs make the cryogenic system reliable and stable, but have the downside that mechanical vibrations at low frequencies (1.4 Hz and related harmonics) are injected into the experimental apparatus. An active noise cancellation technique has been developed in order to reduce such effect by taking advantage from the coherent interference of the pressure oscillations originated by the different PTs. The technique that will be presented consists in controlling the relative phases of the pressure waves running inside the CUORE PT lines, in order to achieve the lowest detector noise. By reducing the power of PT harmonics by a factor up to $$10^4$$ , it drastically suppresses the overall noise RMS on the CUORE detector. In the following, we demonstrate the reliability and effectiveness of the technique, showing that the optimization of the detector noise level is possible in different experimental conditions.

Physics of rare events: insights on Napoleon death

This unusual report tries to show that the high level of sophistication reached in the instrumentation in experiments on rare events can allow to investigate with unprecedented accuracy problems far from those of fundamental physics, but quite important in other fields of physics. The technique and the know-how on neutron activation developed to reduce the background due to spurious events in the CUORE detector to search for neutrinoless double beta decay has been applied to determine the arsenic contents in the hairs of Napoleon Bonaparte and of historical subjects of his time and to compare it with those of subjects living presently. This contents has been found to be about two orders of magnitude larger than the present ones. The As concentration in the hairs of the Emperor is large, but similar to those of the his contemporaries. In additions a comparison among fraction of one of his hairs allows to exclude a criminal act.

The cryostat of the CUORE Project, a 1-ton scale cryogenic experiment for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Research

CUORE is a new generation of 1-ton scale cryogenic detector for rare-events physics. CUORE, a detector to search Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of 130Te, is an array of 988 TeO2 crystals of a mass of 750 g each. To build the cryogenic system, where the CUORE detector will be installed in the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory, is really a challenge. It is a large cryogen-free cryostat cooled by pulse tubes and by a high power dilution refrigerator. To avoid radioactive background, about 10000 kg of lead will be cooled to below 1 K and only few construction materials are acceptable. the detector will have a total mass of about 1500 kg and must be cooled to less than 10 mK in a vibration-free environment.

Design of the Cryogen-Free Cryogenic System for the CUORE Experiment

The CUORE detector will be made of 988 TeO2 crystals and will need a base temperature lower than 10 mK in order to meet the performance specifications. To cool the CUORE detector a large cryogen-free cryostat with five pulse tubes and one specially designed high-power dilution refrigerator has been designed. The detector assembly has a total mass of about 1.5 ton and uses a vibration decoupling suspension system. Because of the stringent requirements regarding radioactivity, about 12 tons of lead shielding need to be cooled to 4 K and below, and only a limited number of construction materials are acceptable. The eight retractable radioactive sources for detector calibration and about 2600 signal wires add further complexity to the system. The many stringent and contrasting requirements together with the overall large size made the design of the CUORE cryogenic system a real mechanical and cryogenic engineering challenge. The cryogenic system is expected to be fully operational in the Gran Sasso Laboratory in July 2013. We report here about the current status of the cryogenic system construction, which has started about one year.

Low Temperature Thermal Conductivity of Ti6Al4V Alloy

The CUORE detector, to be installed in 2010 at LNGS, is made of 988 TeO2 crystals to be cooled to 10 mK. It consists of a large cryogen-free cryostat cooled by five pulse tubes and one high-power specially designed dilution refrigerator (R. Ardito et al. in http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ex/0501010, [2005]). The cryostat is ∼ 3 m high and has a diameter of ∼ 1.6 m. About 5 tons of lead shielding are to be cooled to below 1 K and a mass of 1.5 ton must be cooled to 10 mK.