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Author NEXT Collaboration (Simon, A. et al); Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Lopez-March, N.; Martin-Albo, J.; Martinez, A.; Martinez-Vara, M.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Sorel, M.; Uson, A.; Yahlali, N.
Title Boosting background suppression in the NEXT experiment through Richardson-Lucy deconvolution Type Journal Article
Year 2021 Publication Journal of High Energy Physics Abbreviated Journal J. High Energy Phys.
Volume (down) 07 Issue 7 Pages 146 - 38pp
Keywords Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments)
Abstract Next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiments aim for half-life sensitivities of similar to 10(27) yr, requiring suppressing backgrounds to < 1 count/tonne/yr. For this, any extra background rejection handle, beyond excellent energy resolution and the use of extremely radiopure materials, is of utmost importance. The NEXT experiment exploits differences in the spatial ionization patterns of double beta decay and single-electron events to discriminate signal from background. While the former display two Bragg peak dense ionization regions at the opposite ends of the track, the latter typically have only one such feature. Thus, comparing the energies at the track extremes provides an additional rejection tool. The unique combination of the topology-based background discrimination and excellent energy resolution (1% FWHM at the Q-value of the decay) is the distinguishing feature of NEXT. Previous studies demonstrated a topological background rejection factor of <similar to> 5 when reconstructing electron-positron pairs in the Tl-208 1.6 MeV double escape peak (with Compton events as background), recorded in the NEXT-White demonstrator at the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc, with 72% signal efficiency. This was recently improved through the use of a deep convolutional neural network to yield a background rejection factor of similar to 10 with 65% signal efficiency. Here, we present a new reconstruction method, based on the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algorithm, which allows reversing the blurring induced by electron diffusion and electroluminescence light production in the NEXT TPC. The new method yields highly refined 3D images of reconstructed events, and, as a result, significantly improves the topological background discrimination. When applied to real-data 1.6 MeV e(-)e(+) pairs, it leads to a background rejection factor of 27 at 57% signal efficiency.
Address [Hauptman, J.] Iowa State Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Ames, IA USA, Email: ander@post.bgu.ac.il;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1029-8479 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000677621700001 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4906
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author NEXT Collaboration (Martin-Albo, J. et al); Muñoz Vidal, J.; Ferrario, P.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Gomez-Cadenas, J.J.; Alvarez, V.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Cervera-Villanueva, A.; Diaz, J.; Laing, A.; Liubarsky, I.; Lopez-March, N.; Lorca, D.; Martinez, A.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, P.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Rodriguez, J.; Serra, L.; Simon, A.; Sorel, M.; Yahlali, N.
Title Sensitivity of NEXT-100 to neutrinoless double beta decay Type Journal Article
Year 2016 Publication Journal of High Energy Physics Abbreviated Journal J. High Energy Phys.
Volume (down) 05 Issue 5 Pages 159 - 30pp
Keywords Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments); Rare decay
Abstract NEXT-100 is an electroluminescent high-pressure xenon gas time projection chamber that will search for the neutrinoless double beta (0v beta beta) decay of Xe-136. The detector possesses two features of great value for 0v beta beta searches: energy resolution better than 1% FWHM at the Q value of Xe-136 and track reconstruction for the discrimination of signal and background events. This combination results in excellent sensitivity, as discussed in this paper. Material-screening measurements and a detailed Monte Carlo detector simulation predict a background rate for NEXT-100 of at most 4 x 10(-4) counts keV(-1) kg(-1) yr(-1). Accordingly, the detector will reach a sensitivity to the 0v beta beta-decay half-life of 2.8 x 10(25) years (90% CL) for an exposure of 100 kg.year, or 6.0 x 10(25) years after a run of 3 effective years.
Address [Martin-Albo, J.; Munoz Vidal, J.; Ferrario, P.; Nebot-Guinot, M.; Gomez-Cadenas, J. J.; Alvarez, V.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J. V.; Cervera, A.; Diaz, J.; Laing, A.; Liubarsky, I.; Lopez-March, N.; Lorca, D.; Martinez, A.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Rodriguez, J.; Serra, L.; Simon, A.; Sorel, M.; Yahlali, N.] CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular IFIC, Calle Catedrat Jose Beltran 2, Valencia 46980, Spain, Email: justo.martin-albo@ific.uv.es
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1029-8479 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000391745200003 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 2928
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Author NEXT Collaboration (Fernandes, A.F.M. et al); Alvarez, V.; Benlloch-Rodriguez, J.M.; Carcel, S.; Carrion, J.V.; Diaz, J.; Felkai, R.; Herrero, P.; Kekic, M.; Lopez-March, N.; Martinez-Lema, G.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Novella, P.; Palmeiro, B.; Querol, M.; Renner, J.; Romo-Luque, C.; Sorel, M.; Uson, A.; Yahlali, N.
Title Low-diffusion Xe-He gas mixtures for rare-event detection: electroluminescence yield Type Journal Article
Year 2020 Publication Journal of High Energy Physics Abbreviated Journal J. High Energy Phys.
Volume (down) 04 Issue 4 Pages 034 - 18pp
Keywords Particle correlations and fluctuations; Photon production; Dark Matter and Double Beta Decay (experiments); Rare decay
Abstract High pressure xenon Time Projection Chambers (TPC) based on secondary scintillation (electroluminescence) signal amplification are being proposed for rare event detection such as directional dark matter, double electron capture and double beta decay detection. The discrimination of the rare event through the topological signature of primary ionisation trails is a major asset for this type of TPC when compared to single liquid or double-phase TPCs, limited mainly by the high electron diffusion in pure xenon. Helium admixtures with xenon can be an attractive solution to reduce the electron diffu- sion significantly, improving the discrimination efficiency of these optical TPCs. We have measured the electroluminescence (EL) yield of Xe-He mixtures, in the range of 0 to 30% He and demonstrated the small impact on the EL yield of the addition of helium to pure xenon. For a typical reduced electric field of 2.5 kV/cm/bar in the EL region, the EL yield is lowered by similar to 2%, 3%, 6% and 10% for 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% of helium concentration, respectively. This decrease is less than what has been obtained from the most recent simulation framework in the literature. The impact of the addition of helium on EL statistical fluctuations is negligible, within the experimental uncertainties. The present results are an important benchmark for the simulation tools to be applied to future optical TPCs based on Xe-He mixtures.
Address [Hauptman, J.] Iowa State Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, 12 Phys Hall, Ames, IA 50011 USA, Email: cristinam@uc.pt
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Springer Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1029-8479 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000525257400001 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 4366
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gomez-Cadenas, J.J.; Martin-Albo, J.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Pena-Garay, C.
Title Discovery potential of xenon-based neutrinoless double beta decay experiments in light of small angular scale CMB observations Type Journal Article
Year 2013 Publication Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Abbreviated Journal J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.
Volume (down) 03 Issue 3 Pages 043 - 17pp
Keywords neutrino masses from cosmology; double beta decay
Abstract The South Pole Telescope (SPT) has probed an expanded angular range of the CMB temperature power spectrum. Their recent analysis of the latest cosmological data prefers nonzero neutrino masses, with Sigma m(nu) = (0.32 +/- 0.11) eV. This result, if con firmed by the upcoming Planck data, has deep implications on the discovery of the nature of neutrinos. In particular, the values of the effective neutrino mass m(beta beta) involved in neutrinoless double beta decay (beta beta 0 nu) are severely constrained for both the direct and inverse hierarchy, making a discovery much more likely. In this paper, we focus in xenon-based beta beta 0 nu experiments, on the double grounds of their good performance and the suitability of the technology to large-mass scaling. We show that the current generation, with effective masses in the range of 100 kg and conceivable exposures in the range of 500 kg.year, could already have a sizeable opportunity to observe beta beta 0 nu events, and their combined discovery potential is quite large. The next generation, with an exposure in the range of 10 ton.year, would have a much more enhanced sensitivity, in particular due to the very low specific background that all the xenon technologies (liquid xenon, high-pressure xenon and xenon dissolved in liquid scintillator) can achieve. In addition, a high-pressure xenon gas TPC also features superb energy resolution. We show that such detector can fully explore the range of allowed effective Majorana masses, thus making a discovery very likely.
Address CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, IFIC, Valencia 46090, Spain, Email: gomez@mail.cern.ch;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1475-7516 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000316989200044 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration no
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 1434
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gomez-Cadenas, J.J.; Guinea, F.; Fogler, M.M.; Katsnelson, M.I.; Martin-Albo, J.; Monrabal, F.; Muñoz Vidal, J.
Title GraXe, graphene and xenon for neutrinoless double beta decay searches Type Journal Article
Year 2012 Publication Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics Abbreviated Journal J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys.
Volume (down) 02 Issue 2 Pages 037 - 17pp
Keywords neutrino experiments; double beta decay
Abstract We propose a new detector concept, GraXe (to be pronounced as grace), to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in Xe-136. GraXe combines a popular detection medium in rare-event searches, liquid xenon, with a new, background-free material, grapheme. In our baseline design of GraXe, a sphere made of graphene-coated titanium mesh and filled with liquid xenon (LXe) enriched in the Xe-136 isotope is immersed in a large volume of natural LXe instrumented with photodetectors. Liquid xenon is an excellent scintillator, reasonably transparent to its own light. Graphene is transparent over a large frequency range, and impermeable to the xenon. Event position could be deduced from the light pattern detected in the photosensors. External backgrounds would be shielded by the buffer of natural LXe, leaving the ultra-radiopure internal volume virtually free of background. Industrial graphene can be manufactured at a competitive cost to produce the sphere. Enriching xenon in the isotope Xe-136 is easy and relatively cheap, and there is already near one ton of enriched xenon available in the world (currently being used by the EXO, KamLAND-Zen and NEXT experiments). All the cryogenic know-how is readily available from the numerous experiments using liquid xenon. An experiment using the GraXe concept appears realistic and affordable in a short time scale, and its physics potential is enormous.
Address [Gomez-Cadenas, J. J.; Martin-Albo, J.; Monrabal, F.; Munoz Vidal, J.] CSIC, Inst Fis Corpuscular, IFIC, Valencia 46980, Spain, Email: gomez@mail.cern.ch;
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Iop Publishing Ltd Place of Publication Editor
Language English Summary Language Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1475-7516 ISBN Medium
Area Expedition Conference
Notes WOS:000301176000038 Approved no
Is ISI yes International Collaboration yes
Call Number IFIC @ pastor @ Serial 987
Permanent link to this record