WORKSHOP: Multi-Aspect Young-ORiented Advanced Neutrino Academy (MAYORANA) - International Workshop II edition

16 Jun 2025, 08:30 → 18 Jun 2025, 18:40 Europe/Rome

Palazzo Grimaldi (Modica )

Clementina Agodi (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), Manuela Cavallaro (INFN -LNS)

The main objective of the MAYORANA (Multi-Aspect Young ORiented Advanced Neutrino Academy) School&Workshop is to promote a collaborative framework of  young and senior researchers from the fields of nuclear, particle and astroparticle neutrino physics to discuss theories and experiments in which interdisciplinary aspects are particularly relevant.

The event will be hosted in the wonderful town of Modica (Sicily-Italy) at the historical Palazzo Grimaldi. The Workshop will take place from June 16 to 18, 2025, and the School from June 19 to 25.

The School is addressed to doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and young researchers from worldwide limited to 50 participants. The School activities will consist of about 40 hours organized in lectures, dedicated sessions through posters and mini-talks presented by the students and face-to-face discussions with the professors. Prizes will be awarded to the best mini-talks and posters. The students are also invited to attend the Workshop gaining the opportunity to know about most advanced studies in the field.

The Workshop will take place just before the School. The aim is to connect researchers from different communities in order to discuss recent results and challenges of modern neutrino physics.

Scientific Topics

• Double beta decay
• Nuclear structure in connection with neutrino physics
• Neutrino nucleus interactions at low and high energy
• Nuclear reactions for weak interactions
• Supernova models and detection of supernovae neutrinos
• Solar models
• Direct and undirect dark matter searches
• Rare beta decay of nuclei for neutrino mass measurement
• Neutrino oscillation and matter effect
• Anomalies in reactor neutrinos
• Ultra high energy astroparticle neutrinos and the multi-messenger scenario
• New related detection technologies
• Artificial intelligence for DAQ and data analysis

 

The MAYORANA School&Workshop is jointly organized by University of Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, and Fondazione Grimaldi.

The MAYORANA School&Workshop is supported by University of Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Fondazione Grimaldi, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare sezione di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia "E. Majorana" dell'Università di Catania, Società Italiana di Fisica, European Physical Society, Centro Siciliano di Fisica Nucleare e Struttura della Materia, CAEN, and Cioccolato di Modica IGP.

More information about the School&Workshop are at the following links:

 

 

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First Circular_final.pdf

locandina_MAYORANA_25.pdf

Second_Circular.pdf

Monday, 16 June

08:30 → 09:20 Registration

09:20 → 09:30 Welcome

09:30 → 11:10 Oral contribution

09:30 Charting the Path to Discovery: The Status and Future of Neutrinoless

Speaker: Stefan Schönert (TUM)

10:10 The solution of the quenching puzzle within the microscopic approach to nuclear structure

Speaker: Luigi Coraggio (INFN-NA)

10:40 Recent progress on modeling neutrino-nucleus cross sections for oscillation experiments

Speaker: Maria Benedetta Barbaro (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

11:10 → 11:40 Coffee Break

11:40 → 13:00 Oral contribution

11:40 Light Dark Matter search at accelerators: the BDX experiment at Jefferson Lab

Speaker: Marco Battaglieri (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

12:10 Neutrino mass ordering determination and the JUNO experiment

Neutrino mass ordering (NMO) is a fundamental problem that remains unresolved, with significant implications for interpreting the origin of neutrino mass, calculating the half-life of neutrinoless double-beta decay and understanding the cosmic structure formation. Current experimental approaches to determine NMO include: (1) Studying vacuum oscillations of reactor neutrinos; (2) Studying matter-induced oscillations of atmospheric or accelerator neutrinos; (3) Measuring mßß, mß, ∑ of neutrinos; (4) Investigating the collective oscillation effects in core-collapse supernovae neutrinos. The current experimental hints of NMO come from T2K, NOvA, Super-Kamiokande and IceCube experiments.
The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), designed to determine the NMO and investigate a broad range of physics topics, is scheduled for completion this year. JUNO features a 20 kton liquid scintillator (LS) detector surrounded by 35 kton of pure water, equipped with 17,612 20-inch and 25,600 3-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). This configuration enables an unprecedented energy resolution of 3% at 1 MeV and a daily detection rate of 57.4 reactor neutrinos at a baseline of 52.5 km. With an expected exposure of 6.5 years, JUNO will achieve a median sensitivity of 3σ to reject the incorrect NMO hypothesis. Beyond reactor neutrinos, JUNO possesses significant capabilities for studying atmospheric, solar, geo- and supernova neutrinos.
This talk presents the global landscape of NMO sensitivity, the JUNO's design principles, current construction and commissioning status and physics prospects.

Speaker: Guihong Huang (Wuyi University)

12:40 Insights into Lithium-Germanium Interface Dynamics in HPGe Detectors: A GEANT4 Study

Geometry-dependent performance evaluation of an HPGe detector is crucial for low-level $\gamma$-ray spectrometry, rare decay studies [Su, J., et al. 2014. NIM A, 763, 364–371], and environmental radioactivity assessments [Tarabini, E., et al. 2023. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 196, 110768]. In this study, the thickness of the top dead layer ($\textrm{t}_{\textrm{d}}$) of an HPGe detector was estimated using low-energy $\gamma$-rays, as the manufacturer did not specify this parameter. The investigations have been conducted on a newly installed coaxial p-type HPGe detector, GEM40P4-83-RB/ORTEC, encapsulated in a radiopure carbon fiber housing. To estimate $\textrm{t}_{\textrm{d}}$, Monte Carlo simulations have been performed using the GEANT4 framework of [Agostinelli, S., et al. 2003. NIM A, 506, 250–303]. It has been found to be 0.72 mm and 0.71 mm for the sharp corner geometry of the crystal using two different techniques and 0.67 mm for the round corner geometry, thereby accurately replicating the experimental results. Simulated and experimental efficiencies are in good agreement within the uncertainty of 2.5\% for close distances ($<$ 5 cm) and 3.8\% for far distances ($\ge$ 5 cm) across the energy range of 59.54–2614.50 keV. The methodology employed in this work has been validated by overlapping the simulated spectra with the experimental ones using different $\gamma$-sources (i.e., $^{109}$Cd, $^{137}$Cs, $^{60}$Co etc). The observed dead layer growth was consistent with initial expectations during the n+ lithium contact growth phase [Gilmore, G. 2008. Practical Gamma-Ray Spectrometry. John Wiley & Sons, New York, U.S.A.]. Thus, this model serves as a reliable tool for predicting dead layer evolution over time, enabling effective monitoring of detector performance degradation with aging.

Speaker: Ms Soni Devi (Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar - 140 001, Punjab, India)

13:00 → 15:00 Lunch Break

15:00 → 16:40 Oral contribution

15:00 Overview of neutrino experiments

Speaker: Prof. Marco Pallavicini (GE)

15:40 Probing two-body charge-exchange transition densities in heavy ion reactions

Speaker: Maria Colonna (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

16:10 Solar and neutrino physics with Borexino

Speaker: Sandra Zavatarelli (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

Tuesday, 17 June

09:30 → 10:50 Oral contribution

09:30 Reaction Approach to Nuclear Matrix Elements of Lepton Number Violating Processes

The search for lepton number violating (LNV) processes are of central interest as signatures for physics beyond the standard model. Nuclear neutrinoless double beta decay (DBD) is a prominent case of active current research as the expected low-energy limit of more general, yet to be identified and explored phenomena. Heavy ion Majorana double charge exchange (MDCE) reactions, proceeding by virtual (pi+,pi-)/(pi-,pi+) processes are well suited to study independently DBD-type nuclear matrix elements. The NUMEN project at LNS Catania is dedicated to systematic measurements of MDCE transitions, thus narrowing a persistent source of uncertainties on the determination of the desired Majorana mass of neutrinos, once confirmed DBD data will be available.

Direct access to LNV beyond the static limit of nuclear DBD could be obtained by lepton-induced double charge exchange (LDCC) reactions on nuclei. LDCC reactions are second order charged current processes. An in principle feasible case is A(Z)(e-,e+)B(Z-2) reactions. The reaction relies on the transformation of the intermediate electron-neutrino into an anti-neutrino, either by the Majorana mechanism or due to higher dimensional LNV operators. Theoretical aspects of these hitherto never considered reactions and first estimates of cross sections are discussed.

Speaker: Horst Lenske

10:00 Beta and double beta decays: a joint effort in Milano to understand neutrinos

Speaker: Chiara Brofferio (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

10:30 Nuclear beta decay studies for neutrino physics and dark matter search

We investigate the atomic exchange effect between the bound electrons of the final atom and those emitted in the allowed $\beta$ decay of the parent nucleus. Electron wave functions are computed using the self-consistent Dirac–Hartree–Fock–Slater method, with orthogonality between continuum and bound states of the final atom enforced by modifying the last iteration of the self-consistent procedure. Our results suggest that these exchange effects can resolve discrepancies between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements in the low-energy region of the $\beta$ spectrum. The significance of various atomic corrections is further examined in the context of one of the most promising candidates for determining the neutrino mass scale: the unique first forbidden $\beta$ transition of $^{187}$Re. Additionally, the developed $\beta$ decay model is used to compute electron spectra for nuclei that represent unavoidable background sources in dark matter search experiments.

Speaker: Dr Ovidiu Nitescu (“Horia Hulubei” National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering; International Centre for Advanced Training and Research in Physics (CIFRA);)

10:50 → 11:20 Coffee Break

11:20 → 12:30 Oral contribution

11:20 The KM3NeT neutrino detectors: status and recent results

Speaker: Emanuele Leonora (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

11:50 Constraints on Neutrino Secret Interactionsfrom Multi-messenger neutrinos scattering on CνB

We present new constraints on neutrino secret interactions ($\nu$SI) by studying high-energy neutrinos from well-known astrophysical sources, such as SN1987A, the blazars TXS $0506+056$ and PKS $0735+178$, NGC 1068 and KM3-230213A neutrino event. Our analysis focuses on Dirac neutrinos interacting with a massive spin-one boson as they propagate through the Cosmic Neutrino Background (C$\nu$B). We consider both ultra-relativistic and non-relativistic regimes, deriving bounds on the $\nu$SI coupling constant across the full mass range. Our results obtained using analytical methods, demonstrate significant constraints on the $\nu$SI coupling in the low-mass mediator mass region for a given cut-off parameter. With recently discovered KM3-230213A neutrino event we probe a new scale of the mediator mass.

Speaker: Maria Petropavlova (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics (IEAP) at the Czech Technical University in Prague)

12:10 Status of RELICS experiment for reactor CEvNS detection

The coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) process is a promising approach for investigating neutrino properties and exploring physics beyond the Standard Model. The REactor neutrino LIquid xenon Coherent elastic Scattering experiment (RELICS) plans to deploy a 50-kilogram-scale two-phase liquid xenon time projection chamber (LXeTPC) near the reactor at China's Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant. The project aims to detect CEvNS with xenon nuclei using ultra-low background, low threshold, and large exposure techniques. This report will focus on the detector design, background control, and anticipated sensitivity of the RELICS experiment.

Speaker: jiangyu Chen (Sun Yat-sen University)

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 16:00 Oral contribution

14:30 Present status of three-family global fits to neutrino oscillation data

Speaker: Dr Michele Maltoni (Instituto de Fisica Teorica UAM/CSIC)

15:00 Calibration of the KM3NeT detector

Speaker: Giovanna Ferrara (Università degli Studi di Catania)

15:30 Latest Results from the ICARUS Experiment at the Short-Baseline

Speaker: Christian Farnese (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

16:00 → 16:30 Coffee Break

16:30 → 17:20 Oral contribution

16:30 Experimental Challenges and Construction Status of the NUMEN Project

Speaker: Dimitra Pierroutsakou (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

17:00 Type-II Seesaw Triplet Scalar Effects on Neutrino Trident Scattering

In Type-II seesaw model, an electroweak triplet scalar field $\Delta$ with a non-zero vacuum expectation value (vev) $v_\Delta$ is introduced to facilitate the generation of small neutrino masses. A non-zero $v_\Delta$ also affects the W mass through the electroweak $\rho$ parameter, making it to be less than 1 as predicted by standard model (SM). The component fields in $\Delta$ come along introduce additional contributions to reduce the SM rare neutrino trident scattering cross section. These fields also induce new processes not existed in SM, such as $l_i \to \overline{ l_j} l_k l_l$ and $l_i \to l_j \gamma$. There are severe constraints on these processes which limit the effects on neutrino trident scattering and the $\rho$ parameter and therefore the W mass. The newly measured W mass by CDF makes the central value of $\rho$ parameter to be larger than 1, even larger than previously expected. Combining neutrinoless double beta decay, direct neutrino mass and oscillation data, we find a lower limit for $v_\Delta$ as a function of the triplet scalar mass $m_\Delta$, $v_\Delta > (6.3 \sim 8.4) \mathrm{eV} (100 \mathrm{GeV}/m_\Delta)$. To have significant effect on $\rho$ in this model, $v_\Delta$ needs to be in the range of a GeV or so. However this implies a very small $m_\Delta$ which is ruled out by data. We conclude that the effect of triplet vev $v_\Delta$ on the W mass can be neglected. We also find that at 3$\sigma$ level, the deviation of the ratio for Type-II Seesaw to SM neutrino trident scattering cross section predictions is reduced to be below 1, but is restricted to be larger than 0.98.

Speaker: Ming-Wei Li (Tsung-Dao Lee Institute)

19:00 → 23:00 Social Dinner

Wednesday, 18 June

09:30 → 10:50 Oral contribution

09:30 Two-neutrino double beta decay - a key for the 0νββ NMEs problem

Speaker: Fedor Simkovic

10:00 Characterization of argon recoils at the keV scale with ReD and ReD+

Speaker: Luciano Pandola (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

10:30 Neutrino physics from gamma-ray spectroscopy

Nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) are crucial for understanding weak interaction processes such as inverse beta decay (IBD) and neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ), which provide insights into neutrino properties and physics beyond the Standard Model. A novel experimental approach aims to extract NMEs using electromagnetic (EM) transitions from isobaric analog states (IAS). In this talk, I will present the feasibility of a dedicated campaign, envisioned to take place at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro in the near future.

Speaker: Damiano Stramaccioni (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

10:50 → 11:20 Coffee Break

11:20 → 12:30 Oral contribution

11:20 Multimessenger search for neutrino emission from binary mergers with neutrino telescopes in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea

Speaker: Iara Tosta E Melo (UniCT - INFN)

11:50 The multichannel approach within the NUMEN project

Nowadays, the search for neutrino-less double beta (0νββ) decay continues with undiminished interest since it is a prominent tool for probing neutrino nature and its absolute mass scale. However, the latter task is hampered by the puzzling inconsistencies in the calculations of the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) of 0νββ decay [1], despite the existing experimental constraints. In this respect, a challenging experimental campaign has been initiated at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS) in Catania under the NUMEN and NURE projects [2,3], aiming to provide data-driven information on the NMEs for various 0νββ decay target candidates, through the study of heavy ion induced double charge exchange (DCE) reactions [4]. A key element for this campaign is the use of MAGNEX acceptance large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer which facilitates the measurement of various reaction channels under the same experimental conditions as the more suppressed DCE reactions. Such a multichannel approach allows for a global description of a plethora of reaction observables within a unique and coherent theoretical framework. This contribution will provide an overview of the pivotal experimental campaign which was performed within NUMEN over the past few years, emphasizing the main results and future perspectives.
[1] M. Agostini et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 95, 025002 (2023).
[2] F. Cappuzzello et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 54, 72 (2018).
[3] M. Cavallaro et al., Proceedings of Science, BORMIO2017:015 (2017).
[4] F. Cappuzzello et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 128, 103999 (2023).

Speaker: Onoufrios Sgouros (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

12:10 Muon lifetime analysis of the MONUMENT experiment

The MONUMENT experiment aims to support nuclear matrix element calculations of neutrinoless double beta decay by investigating ordinary muon capture on double-beta daughter isotopes. These measurements were performed at the muon beamline of the Paul Scherrer Institute using a setup of high-purity germanium detectors and scintillator counters. The measured muon lifetimes can be compared to theoretical calculations of the total capture rates. A new analysis of the muon lifetime in $^{76}$Se, including a detailed treatment of systematic uncertainties, will be presented in this contribution.

Speaker: Dr Elizabeth Mondragon (Technical University of Munich)

12:30 → 14:30 Lunch Break

14:30 → 15:50 Oral contribution

14:30 Neutrinos as messengers from the Sun and the Earth

Speaker: Livia Ludhova (Forschungzentrum Juelich IKP-2)

15:10 The flux of electron antineutrinos from supernova SN1987A data

The neutrinos from the core collapse SN1987A are the first extrasolar neutrinos to be ever detected and have been widely studied to infer the thermodynamical and temporal features of a supernova; however their interpretation in terms of the astrophysical properties of the explosion has been giving rise to heated debates since ever. At date, models are still under construction and simulations do not always depict same things, thus the significance of the data at our disposal must be assessed as accurately as possible.
By adopting a state-of-the-art parameterized model of electron antineutrino emission, we have made some steps forward in the analysis of the available data from core collapse SN1987A taking into account the times, energies and angles of arrival of all detected events in a reliable framework which includes a finite ramp in the initial stage of the neutrino emission.
We determine the parameters of the accretion and cooling emissions and discuss their durations. The results compare well with theoretical expectations and overcome some tensions found in previous similar analyses. We estimate the delay times between the first antineutrino and the first event in the detectors. We test the agreement of the best-fit flux with the empirical temporal, energy and angular distributions, eventually finding a good compatibility with the observed data.

Speaker: Veronica Oliviero (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare)

15:30 Optimization of the light detection system of the ICARUS detector

The ICARUS detector, a key component of the Short Baseline Neutrino
(SBN) Program at Fermilab, is a 600-ton Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) equipped with a Light Detection System (LDS) that uses 360 Hamamatsu R5912-MOD 8-inch photomultiplier tubes (PMTs), specifically designed to operate under cryogenic conditions (∼87 K). These PMTs feed the trigger signal to the readout, improve the spatial and timing resolution of the events and contribute to cosmic rays mitigation.
During operation at Fermilab, a progressive degradation in PMT gain was
observed. We developed an experimental setup to investigate the temperature dependence of PMT performance. Gain measurements were carried out from room temperature to -70 ° C using an environmental chamber. The results show that, while the PMTs exhibit stable performance under ambient conditions, a significant and irreversible reduction in gain emerges at lower temperatures. Although -70◦C remains above liquid argon temperatures, the trend clearly reveals a gain-sensitive degradation mechanism.
A simplified physical model was developed to reproduce and interpret the
observed behavior. Based on these findings, a series of mitigation strategies were implemented in the ICARUS detector to preserve PMT performance and ensure reliable operation under cryogenic conditions.

Speaker: Clara Saia

15:50 → 16:20 Coffee Break

16:20 → 16:30 Final remarks