Related papers: Measurements of the Cerenkov light emitted by a Te…
Bolometers have proven to be good instruments to search for rare processes because of their excellent energy resolution and their extremely low intrinsic background. In this kind of detectors, the capability of discriminating alpha…
TeO$_2$ crystals have proven to be superb bolometers for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay in many respects. However, if used alone, they do not exhibit any feature that allows to discriminate an alpha energy deposit from a…
The most sensitive process able to probe the Majorana nature of neutrinos and discover Lepton Number Violation is the neutrino-less double beta decay. Thanks to the excellent energy resolution, efficiency and intrinsic radio-purity,…
Bolometers have proven to be good detectors for the search of neutrinoless double beta decay. By operating at cryogenic temperatures, they feature excellent energy resolution and low background. The detection of the possible light emitted…
A new generation of cryogenic light detectors exploiting Neganov-Luke effect to enhance the thermal signal has been used to detect the Cherenkov light emitted by the electrons interacting in TeO$_{2}$ crystals. With this mechanism a high…
Simultaneous measurement of phonon and light signatures is an effective way to reduce the backgrounds and increase the sensitivity of CUPID, a next-generation bolometric neutrinoless double-beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) experiment. Light…
Cherenkov radiation enables high-energy particle identification through its velocity-dependent emission angle, yet conventional detectors fail to detect momenta beyond tens of GeV/c owing to the absence of natural materials with near-unity…
The Vavilov-Cerenkov phenomenon - light emission during the motion of a fast electron in a dense medium is observable in homogeneous media as well as in inhomogeneous media like photonic crystals. So long as a space (homogeneous or…
Results are presented of detailed measurements of the signals generated by high-energy electrons and muons in lead tungstate crystals. A significant fraction of the light produced in these crystals and detected by photomultiplier tubes is…
Thermal detectors are a powerful instrument for the search of rare particle physics events. Inorganic crystals are classically used as thermal detectors held in supporting frames made of copper. In this work a novel approach to the…
Future lepton colliders such as the FCC-ee, CEPC, ILC, or a muon collider will collect large data samples that allow precision physics studies with unprecedented accuracy, especially when the data is collected by innovative state-of-the-art…
Cosmic ray detectors use air as a radiator for luminescence. In water and ice, Cherenkov light is the dominant light producing mechanism when the particle's velocity exceeds the Cherenkov threshold, approximately three quarters of the speed…
The accurate determination of the elemental composition of cosmic rays at high energies is expected to provide crucial clues on the origin of these particles. Previous direct measurements of composition have been limited by experiment…
An experiment investigating the angle of Cerenkov light emitted by 3-MeV electrons traversing an acrylic detector has been developed for use in the advanced physics laboratory course at the University of Rochester. In addition to exploring…
We have developed and tested a new way of coupling bolometric light detectors to scintillating crystal bolometers based upon simply resting the light detector on the crystal surface, held in position only by gravity. This straightforward…
We report the performance of two prototype TeO2 macrobolometers, operated at ~25 mK, able to identify events due to energy deposited at the detector surface. This capability is obtained by thermally coupling thin Ge active layers to the…
The detection of Cerenkov light from EAS in a delayed coincidence with fluorescence light gives a strong signature to discriminate protons and neutrinos in cosmic rays. For this purpose, the ULTRA experiment has been designed with 2…
$TeO_2$ crystals are used as bolometers in experiments searching for Double Beta Decay without emission of neutrinos. One of the most important issues in this extremely delicate kind of experiments is the characterization of the background.…
As charged particles surpass the speed of light in an optical medium they produce radiation - analogously to the way jet planes surpass the speed of sound and produce a sonic boom. This radiation emission, known as the Cherenkov effect, is…
Cherenkov light induced by fast charged particles in transparent dielectric media such as air or water is exploited by a variety of experimental techniques to detect and measure extraterrestrial particles impinging on Earth. A selection of…