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Bucci, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Bucci, C..

69 records · Page 4

The CUORE and CUORE-0 experiments at Gran Sasso

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) in 130 Te and other rare processes. CUORE is a cryogenic detector composed of 988 TeO 2 bolometers for a total mass of about 741 kg. The detector is being constructed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, where it will start taking data in 2015. If the target background of 0.01 counts/(keV·kg·y) will be reached, in five years of data taking CUORE will have an half life sensitivity around 1 × 10 26 y at 90% C.L. As a first step towards CUORE a smaller experiment CUORE-0, constructed to test and demonstrate the performances expected for CUORE, has been assembled and is running. The detector is a single tower of 52 CUORE-like bolometers that started taking data in spring 2013. The status and perspectives of CUORE will be discussed, and the first CUORE-0 data will be presented.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

CUORE and beyond: Bolometric techniques to explore inverted neutrino mass hierarchy

The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130 Te. With 741 kg of TeO 2 crystals and an excellent energy resolution of 5 keV (0.2%) at the region of interest, CUORE will be one of the most competitive neutrinoless double beta decay experiments on the horizon. With five years of live time, CUORE projected neutrinoless double beta decay half-life sensitivity is 1.6 × 10 26 y at 1σ (9.5 × 10 25 y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in the range 40–100 meV (50–130 meV). Further background rejection with auxiliary light detector can significantly improve the search sensitivity and competitiveness of bolometric detectors to fully explore the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy with 130 Te and possibly other double beta decay candidate nuclei.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

First data from CUORE-0

CUORE-0 is an experiment built to test and demonstrate the performance of the upcoming CUORE experiment. Composed of 52 TeO 2 bolometers of 750 g each, it is expected to reach a sensitivity to the 0νββ half-life of 130 Te around 3 · 10 24 y in one year of live time. We present the first data, corresponding to an exposure of 7.1 kg y. An analysis of the background indicates that the CUORE sensitivity goal is within reach, validating our techniques to reduce the α radioactivity of the detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Neutrinoless double-beta decay search with CUORE and CUORE-0 experiments

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an upcoming experiment designed to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decays. Observation of the process would unambiguously establish that neutrinos are Majorana particles and provide information on their absolute mass scale hierarchy. CUORE is now under construction and will consist of an array of 988 TeO 2 crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK, but the first tower (CUORE-0) is already taking data. The experimental techniques used will be presented as well as the preliminary CUORE-0 results. The current status of the full-mass experiment and its expected sensitivity will then be discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Dark matter search with CUORE-0 and CUORE

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a ton-scale experiment made of TeO₂ bolometers that will probe the neutrinoless double beta decay of ¹³⁰Te. Excellent energy resolution, low threshold and low background make CUORE sensitive to nuclear recoils, allowing a search for dark matter interactions. With a total mass of 741 kg of TeO₂, CUORE can search for an annual modulation of the counting rate at low energies. We present data obtained with CUORE-like detectors and the prospects for a dark matter search in CUORE-0, a 40-kg prototype, and CUORE.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Searching for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay of 130 Te with CUORE

Neutrinoless double-beta (0 ν β β ) decay is a hypothesized lepton-number-violating process that offers the only known means of asserting the possible Majorana nature of neutrino mass. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an upcoming experiment designed to search for 0 ν β β decay of 130 Te using an array of 988 TeO 2 crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK. The detector will contain 206 kg of 130 Te and have an average energy resolution of 5 keV; the projected 0 ν β β decay half-life sensitivity after five years of livetime is 1.6 × 10 26 y at 1 σ (9.5 × 10 25 y at the 90% confidence level), which corresponds to an upper limit on the effective Majorana mass in the range 40–100 meV (50–130 meV). In this paper, we review the experimental techniques used in CUORE as well as its current status and anticipated physics reach.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Exploring the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay in the Inverted Neutrino Hierarchy with Bolometric Detectors

Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is one of the most sensitive probes for physics beyond the Standard Model, providing unique information on the nature of neutrinos. In this paper we review the status and outlook for bolometric 0νββ decay searches. We summarize recent advances in background suppression demonstrated using bolometers with simultaneous readout of heat and light signals. We simulate several configurations of a future CUORE-like bolometer array which would utilize these improvements and present the sensitivity reach of a hypothetical next-generation bolometric0νββ experiment. We demonstrate that a bolometric experiment with the isotope mass of about 1 ton is capable of reaching the sensitivity to the effective Majorana neutrino mass (|m ee |) of order 10-20 meV, thus completely exploring the so-called inverted neutrino mass hierarchy region. In conclusion, we highlight the main challenges and identify priorities for an R&D program addressing them.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Initial performance of the CUORE-0 experiment

CUORE-0 is a cryogenic detector that uses an array of tellurium dioxide bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 130 Te. We present the first data analysis with 7.1kg • y of total TeO 2 exposure focusing on background measurements and energy resolution. The background rates in the neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest (2.47 to 2.57MeV) and in the α background-dominated region (2.70 to 3.90MeV) have been measured to be 0.071±0.011 and 0.019±0.002counts/(keV • kg • y), respectively. The latter result represents a factor of 6 improvement from a predecessor experiment, Cuoricino. The results verify our understanding of the background sources in CUORE-0, which is the basis of extrapolations to the full CUORE detector. The obtained energy resolution (full width at half maximum) in the region of interest is 5.7keV. Based on the measured background rate and energy resolution in the region of interest, CUORE-0 half-life sensitivity is expected to surpass the observed lower bound of Cuoricino with one year of live time.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Radiopurity of CaWO{sub 4} crystals for direct dark matter search with CRESST and EURECA

The direct dark matter search experiment CRESST uses scintillating CaWO{sub 4} single crystals as targets for possible WIMP scatterings. An intrinsic radioactive contamination of the crystals as low as possible is crucial for the sensitivity of the detectors. In the past CaWO{sub 4} crystals operated in CRESST were produced by institutes in Russia and the Ukraine. Since 2011 CaWO{sub 4} crystals have also been grown at the crystal laboratory of the Technische Universität München (TUM) to better meet the requirements of CRESST and of the future tonne-scale multi-material experiment EURECA. The radiopurity of the raw materials and of first TUM-grown crystals was measured by ultra-low background γ-spectrometry. Two TUM-grown crystals were also operated as low-temperature detectors at a test setup in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. These measurements were used to determine the crystals' intrinsic α-activities which were compared to those of crystals produced at other institutes. The total α-activities of TUM-grown crystals as low as 1.23±0.06 mBq/kg were found to be significantly smaller than the activities of crystals grown at other institutes typically ranging between ∼ 15 mBq/kg and ∼ 35 mBq/kg.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Meson Spectroscopy in the Light Quark Sector

Understanding the hadron spectrum is one of the fundamental issues in modern particle physics. We know that existing hadron configurations include baryons, made of three quarks, and mesons, made of quark-antiquark pairs. However most of the mass of the hadrons is not due to the mass of these elementary constituents but to their binding force. Studying the hadron spectrum is therefore a tool to understand one of the fundamental forces in nature, the strong force, and Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD), the theory that describes it. This investigation can provide an answer to fundamental questions as what is the origin of the mass of hadrons, what is the origin of quark confinement, what are the relevant degrees of freedom to describe these complex systems and how the transition between the elementary constituents, quarks and gluons, and baryons and mesons occurs. In this field a key tool is given by meson spectroscopy. Mesons, being made by a quark and an anti-quark, are the simplest quark bound system and therefore the ideal benchmark to study the interaction between quarks and understand what the role of gluons is. In this investigation, it is fundamental to precisely determine the spectrum and properties of mesons but also to search for possible unconventional states beyond the configuration q{anti q} as tetraquarks (qq{anti qq}), hybrids (q{anti q}g) and glueballs. These states can be distinguished unambiguously from regular mesons when they have exotic quantum numbers, i.e. combinations of total angular momentum, spin and parity that are not allowed for q{anti q} states. These are called exotic quantum numbers and the corresponding states are referred to as exotics. The study of the meson spectrum and the search for exotics is among the goals of several experiments in the world that exploit different reaction processes, as e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation, p{anti p} annihilation, pion scattering, proton-proton scattering and photo-production, to produce meson states. This intense effort is leading to a very rich phenomenology in this sector and, together with recent theoretical progress achieved with lattice QCD calculations, is providing crucial information to reach a deeper understanding of strong interaction. In these proceedings I will review the present status of meson spectroscopy in the light quark sector and the plans and perspectives for future experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The low energy spectrum of TeO{sub 2} bolometers: results and dark matter perspectives for the CUORE-0 and CUORE experiments

We collected 19.4 days of data from four 750 g TeO{sub 2} bolometers, and in three of them we were able to set the energy threshold around 3 keV using a new analysis technique. We found a background rate ranging from 25 cpd/keV/kg at 3 keV to 2 cpd/keV/kg at 25 keV, and a peak at 4.7 keV. The origin of this peak is presently unknown, but its presence is confirmed by a reanalysis of 62.7 kg·days of data from the finished CUORICINO experiment. Finally, we report the expected sensitivities of the CUORE-0 (52 bolometers) and CUORE (988 bolometers) experiments to a WIMP annual modulation signal.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗