Speaker
Description
Neutrinoless double beta decay experiments are pushing their sensitivities to reach half-lives on the order of $10^{28}$ years. A promising approach involves detecting the daughter ion generated in the decay. The NEXT collaboration is testing chemical sensors to identify the Ba$^{2+}$ ion produced in the double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe, coinciding with the emission of two electrons. This entails a challenge, since only a few ions per year would be produced in the NEXT chamber. Further the chemosensors must be compatible with the ultra-dry conditions of xenon. The R&D effort in NEXT towards Barium tagging is two fold: First, to build a Single-Molecule Fluorescence Imaging (SMFI) system with enough sensitivity to detect the signal from the chemosensors and capable of operating under a dry environment. Second, to develop a barium source reproducing the conditions of the NEXT detector. This two systems will be integrated to compose a reliable Barium-tagging sensor.
| Alternate track | 13. Detectors for Future Facilities, R&D, Novel Techniques |
|---|---|
| I read the instructions above | Yes |
