Development of Neon As a Scintillator For Solar Neutrino Detection

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Funds from this award will support exploratory research for the rapid development of novel cryogenic scintillators. This project has special urgency because of the potential broad application of these scintillators to a variety of established research topics, such as the observation of low energy solar neutrinos and the detection of cosmic dark matter. If these scintillators work as well as expected, the impact of this work on the field of non-accelerator particle physics would be profound and immediate. The proposed cryogenic scintillator would consist of liquid or solid neon, possibly doped with a small amount (1%) of xenon. Condensed neon holds special promise for low-background measurements, but its scintillation yield and optical properties have received scant attention in the past.