This award will support a program of research in neutrinoless double beta decay (NDBD). It has two complementary parts. First is the development of the next-generation CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) detector, including the operations of the first production tower CUORE-0 and the subsequent data analysis. The second goal is the R&D towards a large generic bolometer-based double-beta decay detector. The observation of exotic NDBDs would indicate that neutrinos are Majorana particles, i.e. they are their own anti-particles. The rate of the process is sensitive to the effective neutrino mass. CUORE promises to be one of the most sensitive NDBD experiments this decade. This group is responsible for providing 1250 Neutron Transmutation Doped (NTD) thermistors that will measure the small temperature rise induced by single decays in the tellurium dioxide crystals. They are performing the quality control measurements of the NTD properties in the newly commissioned cryostat on the Berkeley campus and are also sharing responsibilities for detector assembly and integration.
For Broader Impacts, the group provides a unique educational and research environment for the junior scientists, including graduate and undergraduate students. The bolometric detectors bring together many experimental techniques from low temperature physics, solid-state physics, and particle and nuclear physics. The interactions with the local experts in these areas benefit both this project and the local scientific community as a whole.
