Aboveground test of an advanced Li$_2$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometer to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo

T. B. Bekker; N. Coron; F. A. Danevich; V. Ya. Degoda; A. Giuliani; V. D. Grigorieva; N. V. Ivannikova; M. Mancuso; P. de Marcillac; I. M. Moroz; C. Nones; E. Olivieri; G. Pessina; D. V. Poda; V. N. Shlegel; V. I. Tretyak; M. Velazquez

arXiv · 1410.6933

Aboveground test of an advanced Li$_2$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometer to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo

T. B. Bekker·N. Coron·F. A. Danevich·V. Ya. Degoda·A. Giuliani·V. D. Grigorieva·N. V. Ivannikova·M. Mancuso·P. de Marcillac·I. M. Moroz·C. Nones·E. Olivieri·G. Pessina·D. V. Poda·V. N. Shlegel·V. I. Tretyak·M. Velazquez

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Abstract

Large lithium molybdate (Li$_2$MoO$_4$) crystal boules were produced by using the low thermal gradient Czochralski growth technique from deeply purified molybdenum. A small sample from one of the boules was preliminary characterized in terms of X-ray-induced and thermally-excited luminescence. A large cylindrical crystalline element (with a size of $\oslash 40\times40$ mm) was used to fabricate a scintillating bolometer, which was operated aboveground at $\sim 15$ mK by using a pulse-tube cryostat housing a high-power dilution refrigerator. The excellent detector performance in terms of energy resolution and $\alpha$ background suppression along with preliminary positive indications on the radiopurity of this material show the potentiality of Li$_2$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometers for low-counting experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo.

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T. B. Bekker, N. Coron, F. A. Danevich, V. Ya. Degoda, A. Giuliani, V. D. Grigorieva, N. V. Ivannikova, M. Mancuso, P. de Marcillac, I. M. Moroz, C. Nones, E. Olivieri, G. Pessina, D. V. Poda, V. N. Shlegel, V. I. Tretyak, M. Velazquez. 2014-10-25. Aboveground test of an advanced Li$_2$MoO$_4$ scintillating bolometer to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo. https://arxiv.org/abs/1410.6933

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