Speaker
Description
Testing the foundations of quantum mechanics requires experiments with
extremely high sensitivity to the detection of events, which, if they
occur, would have an extremely low rate. The VIP collaboration at the Gran
Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) is performing tests on the spontaneous
collapse of the wave function, where recent results indicate that
different collapse models predict distinct photon emission features at low
energies (<10 keV). Here, I introduce tests carried out at LNGS by VIP
with a Broad-Energy Germanium Detector (BEGe) for probing spontaneous
emission in collapse theories. In this talk, I will present recent results
and describe the new methodologies and approaches being implemented to
reach progressively lower energy ranges. Special emphasis will be placed
on the development of a BEGe-based experimental setup, in which machine
learning techniques are employed to classify event waveforms and enhance
performance at low energies, where interference from microphonic noise
makes classification challenging with conventional pulse-shape analysis
techniques. These strategies represent a promising direction for extending
sensitivity to rare events and improving the ability to test foundational
models of quantum mechanics.
