RUI: A Search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay in Tellurium Using the Cuoricino Detector

California Polytechnic State University Foundation, San Luis Obispo CA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal requests an RUI grant to support a program of undergraduate student research with the Cuoricino experiment at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). Cuoricino is a prototype for CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) and is currently the largest operating cryogenic bolometer and neutrinoless double beta decay experiment in the world producing competitive results. The observation of neutrinoless beta decays would indicate that neutrinos are Majorana fermions and, therefore, are their own anti-particles. Many reports indicate that this determination would be a result of great importance. The main focus of undergraduate student activity at Cal Poly will be to perform physics analysis starting with raw Cuoricino data. The primary objective will be to write and utilize software to obtain nuclear spectra from the raw data recorded by the Cuoricino detector and extract physics information such as the double beta decay lifetime limit. If successful, this will benefit the students as well as the collaboration by providing an alternative analysis effort to examine the results and help refine existing and developing software packages being written for Cuoricino. It is planned that undergraduate students will also have the opportunity to participate in hands-on Cuoricino shift activity at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Assergi, Italy.