Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

HK: Fachverband Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 52: Nuclear Astrophysics 3

HK 52.1: Group Report

Thursday, March 26, 2015, 14:30–15:00, M/HS4

The SNO+ Experiment for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay — •Valentina Lozza, Belina von Krosigk, Arnd Soerensen, and Kai Zuber — Institut für Kern- und Teilchenphysik, Zellescher Weg 19, 01069 Dresden, Germany

SNO+ is a large liquid scintillator based experiment that re-uses the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory detector. The detector, located 2 km underground in a mine near Sudbury, Canada, consists of a 12 m diameter acrylic vessel which will be filled with 780 tonnes of liquid scintillator. The main physics goal of SNO+ is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta (0n2b) decay of 130Te. During the double-beta phase, the liquid scintillator will be initially loaded with 0.3% natural tellurium (nearly 800 kg of 130Te). During this demonstration phase we anticipate that we will achieve a sensitivity in the region just above the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy. Recently the possibility to deploy up to 10 times more natural tellurium is being developed, by which SNO+ could explore, in the near future, deep into the parameter space for the inverted hierarchy. Designed as a general purpose neutrino experiment, SNO+ can additionally measure the reactor neutrino oscillations, geo-neutrinos in a geologically-interesting location, watch supernova neutrinos and measure low energy solar neutrinos. A first commissioning phase with the detector filled with water has started in autumn 2014, while full running with water will take place in 2015. Transition to the scintillator phase will start towards the end of 2015. The 0n2b decay phase is foreseen for the 2016. This work is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG).