Speaker
Description
The mass and nature of neutrinos play an important role in theories beyond the standard model. It is now well established that neutrinos have a non-zero mass, but whether the neutrino and anti-neutrino are the same (Majorana particle) or distinct (Dirac particle) is still an open question. At present, neutrinoless double beta decay (NDBD or 0𝜈𝛽𝛽), is perhaps the only experiment which can provide an answer to this key question. The normal double beta decay (2𝜈𝛽𝛽) process has been experimentally observed in 13 nuclei so far with a half-life in the range - 𝑇1/2~1018 𝑡𝑜 1024𝑦. The 0𝜈𝛽𝛽 decay violates conservation of lepton number and has implication in understanding the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Further, the nuclear β decay and double beta decay can provide the information on absolute effective mass of the neutrinos. Given the significance of the NDBD, there is a widespread interest worldwide employing a variety of novel techniques. This talk will give a brief overview of ongoing as well as proposed NDBD experiments, with an emphasis on challenges involved in these experiments. This talk will highlight various R&D aspects of the TIN.TIN (The India-based Tin Detector) to search for 0𝜈𝛽𝛽 in 124𝑆𝑛.
