Related papers: The nEXO Radioassay Program
Searches for new physics by experimental collaborations represent a significant investment in time and resources. Often these searches are sensitive to a broader class of models than they were originally designed to test. We aim to extend…
Microquasars are ideal natural laboratories for understanding accretion/ejection processes, studying the physics of relativistic jets, and testing gravitational phenomena. Nevertheless, these objects are difficult to find in our Galaxy. The…
We review recent developments in double-beta decay, focusing on what can be learned about the three light neutrinos in future experiments. We examine the effects of uncertainties in already measured neutrino parameters and in calculated…
We propose to investigate the time modulation of radioisotope decays deep underground as a method to explore axion dark matter. In this work, we focus on the $\alpha$-decay of heavy isotopes and develop a theoretical description for the…
Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are attractive candidates for light detectors for next generation liquid xenon double-beta decay experiments, like nEXO. In this paper we discuss the requirements that the SiPMs must satisfy in order to be…
Low energy nuclear physics experiments are transitioning towards fully digital data acquisition systems. Realizing the gains in flexibility afforded by these systems relies on equally flexible data reduction techniques. In this paper,…
NEXT-DEMO is a 1:4.5 scale prototype of the NEXT100 detector, a high-pressure xenon gas TPC that will search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe. X-ray energy depositions produced by the de-excitation of Xenon atoms after…
The theoretical and experimental issues relevant to neutrinoless double-beta decay are reviewed. The impact that a direct observation of this exotic process would have on elementary particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics and…
The particle x-ray coincidence technique (PXCT) was originally developed to measure average lifetimes in the $10^{-17}-10^{-15}$~s range for proton-unbound states populated by electron capture (EC). We have designed and built the Lifetimes…
Amongst the various technical challenges in the field of radiation detection is the need to carry out accurate low-level radioactivity measurements in the presence of large fluctuations in the natural radiation background, while lowering…
Germanium detectors have very good capabilities for the investigation of rare phenomena like the neutrinoless double beta decay. Rejection of the background entangling the expected signal is one primary goal in this kind of experiments.…
Additive-free electroformed copper has emerged as the material of choice in exceptionally radiopure detectors for rare-event searches, based on its radiopurity, physical properties, and affordability. However, copper is ductile and of…
The main physical results on the registration of solar neutrinos and the search for rare processes obtained by the Borexino collaboration to date are presented.
Graphene is, in principle, a promising material for consideration as component (support, active site) of electrocatalytic materials, particularly with respect to reduction of oxygen, an electrode reaction of importance to low-temperature…
SuperNEMO is a next generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiment with a design capability to reach a half-life sensitivity of $10^{26}$ years corresponding to an effective Majorana neutrino mass of $\langle m_{\beta\beta} \rangle$…
NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) aims to observe the neutrinoless double beta decay of \ensuremath{{}^{136}\rm Xe} in a high-pressure gas xenon Time Projection Chamber using electroluminescence to amplify the signal from…
The SuperNEMO project studies the feasibility of employing a technique of tracking plus calorimetry to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in 100 kg of enriched isotopes. It aims to reach an effective neutrino mass sensitivity of 50…
We hypothesize that avalanche-like releases of energy accumulated in materials due to radioactivity and other sources can produce parasitic background in dark matter particles searches and low-energy threshold detectors. We explore this…
Low-energy high-resolution neutrino-electron scattering experiments may play an important role in testing the gauge structure of the electroweak interaction. We discuss the use of strong radioactive neutrino sources (e.g. $^{51}$Cr) in…
The discovery and optimization of high-performance materials is the basis for advancing energy conversion technologies. To understand composition-property relationships, all available data sources should be leveraged: experimental results,…