Construction and commissioning of the SuperNEMO demonstrator in the Underground Laboratory Modane (LSM)

AbstraktAbstract

The SuperNEMO experiment is designed to study nuclear double beta decay processes, in particular it is looking for the evidence of the neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay. The 0νββ decay is an extremely rare type of radioactive decay which has been predicted but has never been observed. Discovery of such process would prove that neutrinos are their own antiparticles, which could be a hint to the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Moreover, measurement of the 0νββ half-life of a nucleus is directly connected with the neutrino mass. The next generation 0νββ decay SuperNEMO experiment is based on technology of tracking and calorimetry used by its predecessor, NEMO-3 experiment. The main aim of the international collaboration is to extend and improve the sensitivity to 0νββ decay by two orders of magnitude (0νββ half-life > 1026 years, corresponding to the effective Majorana neutrino mass of <mββ> ∼ 0.04 − 0.11 eV). In this contribution, a progress in the construction and commissioning of the first SuperNEMO module – demonstrator located in the LSM, in Fréjus tunnel near Modane (France), will be reported. The six-month research stay at the LSM was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic within International mobilities of researchers on CTU – VTA under the Contract Number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_053/0016980.

The SuperNEMO experiment is designed to study nuclear double beta decay processes, in particular it is looking for the evidence of the neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay. The 0νββ decay is an extremely rare type of radioactive decay which has been predicted but has never been observed. Discovery of such process would prove that neutrinos are their own antiparticles, which could be a hint to the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Moreover, measurement of the 0νββ half-life of a nucleus is directly connected with the neutrino mass. The next generation 0νββ decay SuperNEMO experiment is based on technology of tracking and calorimetry used by its predecessor, NEMO-3 experiment. The main aim of the international collaboration is to extend and improve the sensitivity to 0νββ decay by two orders of magnitude (0νββ half-life > 1026 years, corresponding to the effective Majorana neutrino mass of <mββ> ∼ 0.04 − 0.11 eV). In this contribution, a progress in the construction and commissioning of the first SuperNEMO module – demonstrator located in the LSM, in Fréjus tunnel near Modane (France), will be reported. The six-month research stay at the LSM was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic within International mobilities of researchers on CTU – VTA under the Contract Number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_053/0016980.