A. Pocar - First data from the EXO-200 double beta decay experiment

by Andrea Pocar (University of Massachusetts)

Thursday 22 Mar 2012, 14:15 → 15:45 Europe/Rome

Pontecorvo room (LNGS)

The Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) program is searching for the neutrino-less double beta decay of xenon-136. A first stage experiment called EXO-200 is running at the WIPP salt mine in New Mexico, and has made the first measurement of the standard electroweak 2-neutrino double beta decay of Xe-136. EXO-200 uses 200 kg of xenon enriched to 80% in the 136 isotope, a large fraction of which is liquefied and constitutes the source and active medium to detect ionizing interactions in its bulk. The detector is instrumented as a double time projection chamber (TPC) in which both the ionization and the scintillation signals are detected to maximize energy resolution. The entire detector is designed to achieve the lowest possible radioactive background in its xenon core, and implements numerous innovative detector technologies. Noteworthy is the use of ~500 silicon avalanche photodiodes to detect the 175 nm xenon scintillation, the thin copper shell used to contain the xenon and the electrical connections, spring-loaded with no use of solder joints or connectors. The talk will highlight these pioneering features of the EXO-200 detector, report on the physics results from the experiment and its implications for the continuing search for neutrino-less double beta decay. Andrea Pocar (University of Massachussets) If available you can check seminar slides here on INDICO. Complete LNGS seminar list (including slides) is available at: http://www.lngs.infn.it/lngs_infn/contents/lngs_en/research/experiments_scientific_info/conferences_seminars/seminars

Poster Poster.pdf

Slides Slides.pdf