The scientific goal of this award is to address one of the fundamental questions in neutrino physics: Are neutrinos their own anti-particles, and therefore Majorana neutrinos? The answer to this question will fundamentally shape the future direction of neutrino physics regarding the neutrino mass scale and possible CP violations in the lepton sector. Neutrino-less double beta decay experiments can have broad scientific impact: they are sensitive to the absolute scale of the electron neutrino mass and shed light on the nature of the extension to the Standard Model; furthermore, neutrinos, if they are Majorana and with CP violation, may provide a viable physical process contributing to the matter and anti-matter asymmetry of the Universe. The UCLA group is a member of the CUORE neutrino-less double beta decay experiment at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Assergi, Italy.
The research effort will focus on understanding background sources and detector energy resolutions. They will participate in setting up a tower of CUORE TeO2 crystals and will be involved in the Monte Carlo simulations of the CUORE background and data analysis. In addition, the UCLA group is responsible for testing, installation and commissioning of the CUORE electronics system in collaboration with the University of South Carolina and Milan groups as a part of the CUORE construction project. The electronics performance will be a key aspect contributing to the overall detector capability to advance our experimental determination of the neutrino properties. The corresponding sensitivity to the effective neutrino mass ranges from 50-70 meV, if latest nuclear structure calculations are used.
Among the Broader Impacts: it is an international collaboration between Italy and US scientists; the bolometer and electronics technology will have applications such as nuclear radiation measurements for physics or homeland security or applied sciences; and neutrino physics and the new technology are particularly exciting for undergraduate students.
