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arXiv · 1210.4020

The NEXT experiment: A high pressure xenon gas TPC for neutrinoless double beta decay searches

D. Lorca·J. Martín-Albo·F. Monrabal
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Abstract

Neutrinoless double beta decay is a hypothetical, very slow nuclear transition in which two neutrons undergo beta decay simultaneously and without the emission of neutrinos. The importance of this process goes beyond its intrinsic interest: an unambiguous observation would establish a Majorana nature for the neutrino and prove the violation of lepton number. NEXT is a new experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay using a radiopure high-pressure xenon gas TPC, filled with 100 kg of Xe enriched in Xe-136. NEXT will be the first large high-pressure gas TPC to use electroluminescence readout with SOFT (Separated, Optimized FuncTions) technology. The design consists in asymmetric TPC, with photomultipliers behind a transparent cathode and position-sensitive light pixels behind the anode. The experiment is approved to start data taking at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC), Spain, in 2014.

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D. Lorca, J. Martín-Albo, F. Monrabal. 2012-10-15. The NEXT experiment: A high pressure xenon gas TPC for neutrinoless double beta decay searches. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2012.10.048

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