Research article22 Dec 2023
NνDEx-100 conceptual design report
Observing nuclear neutrinoless double beta (0vββ) decay would be a revolutionary result in particle physics. Observing such a decay would prove that the neutrinos are their own antiparticles, help to study the absolute mass of neutrinos, explore the origin of their mass, and may explain the matter-antimatter asymmetry in our universe by lepton number violation. We propose developing a time projection chamber (TPC) using high-pressure 82SeF6 gas and Topmetal silicon sensors for readout in the China Jinping Underground Laboratory (CJPL) to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 82Se, called the Nv DEx experiment. Besides being located at CJPL with the world’s thickest rock shielding, Nv DEx combines the advantages of the high Qββ (2.996 MeV) of 82 Se and the TPC’s ability to distinguish signal and background events using their different topological characteristics. This makes N DEx unique, with great potential for low-background and high-sensitivity 0vββ searches. NvDEx-100, a NvDEx experiment phase with 100 kg of SeF6 gas, is being built, with plans to complete installation at CJPL by 2025. This report introduces 0vββ physics, the NvDEx concept and its advantages, and the schematic design of NvDEx-100, its subsystems, and background and sensitivity estimation.
Xi‑Guang Cao, Yan‑Long Chang, Kai Chen, Emilio Ciuffoli, Li‑Min Duan, Dong‑Liang Fang, Chao‑Song Gao, Surja K. Ghorui, Peng‑Chong Hu, Qiang Hu, Si‑Yuan Huang, Ze‑Yu Huang, Lei Lang, Yu‑Lan Li, Zhi‑Jie Li, Tian‑Yu Liang, Jun Liu, Chen‑Gui Lu, Fa‑Tai Mai, Yuan Mei, Hao Qiu, Xiang‑Ming Sun, Xiao‑Xing Tang, Hu‑Lin Wang, Qian‑Ming Wang, Le Xiao, Mu‑Yun Xiao, Jian‑Yu Xin, Nu Xu, Peng Yang, Yi‑Chen Yang, Zhen Yang, Zong‑Yang Yu, Dong‑Liang Zhang, Jun‑Wei Zhang, Cheng‑Xin Zhao, Dou Zhu