H. O. Back

The MAJORANA demonstrator: A search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of germanium-76

The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would determine whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle and provide information on the absolute scale of neutrino mass. The MAJORANA Collaboration is constructing the DEMONSTRATOR, an array of germanium detectors, to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76-Ge. The DEMONSTRATOR will contain 40 kg of germanium; up to 30 kg will be enriched to 86% in 76-Ge. The DEMONSTRATOR will be deployed deep underground in an ultra-low-background shielded environment. Operation of the DEMONSTRATOR aims to determine whether a future tonne-scale germanium experiment can achieve a background goal of one count per tonne-year in a 4-keV region of interest around the 76-Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay Q-value of 2039 keV.

The Majorana Demonstrator radioassay program

Abstract The Majorana collaboration is constructing the Majorana Demonstrator at the Sanford Underground Research Facility at the Homestake gold mine, in Lead, SD. The apparatus will use Ge detectors, enriched in isotope 76 Ge, to demonstrate the feasibility of a large-scale Ge detector experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The long half-life of this postulated process requires that the apparatus be extremely low in radioactive isotopes whose decays may produce backgrounds to the search. The radioassay program conducted by the collaboration to ensure that the materials comprising the apparatus are sufficiently pure is described. The resulting measurements from gamma-ray counting, neutron activation and mass spectroscopy of the radioactive-isotope contamination for the materials studied for use in the detector are reported. We interpret these numbers in the context of the expected background for the experiment.

The Majorana Project

Building a Ovββ experiment with the ability to probe neutrino mass in the inverted hierarchy region requires the combination of a large detector mass sensitive to Ovββ, on the order of 1-tonne, and unprecedented background levels, on the order of or less than 1 count per year in the Ovβ β signal region. The MAJORANA Collaboration proposes a design based on using high-purity enriched 76Ge crystals deployed in ultralow background electroformed Cu cryostats and using modern analysis techniques that should be capable of reaching the required sensitivity while also being scalable to a 1-tonne size. To demonstrate feasibility, the collaboration plans to construct a prototype system, the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, consisting of 30 kg of 86% enriched 76Ge detectors and 30 kg of natural or isotope-76-depleted Ge detectors. We plan to deploy and evaluate two different Ge detector technologies, one based on a p-type configuration and the other on n-type.

The MAJORANA experiment: an ultra-low background search for neutrinoless double-beta decay

The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would resolve the Majorana nature of the neutrino and could provide information on the absolute scale of the neutrino mass. The initial phase of the MAJORANA experiment, known as the DEMONSTRATOR, will house 40 kg of Ge in an ultra-low background shielded environment at the 4850 level of the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The objective of the DEMONSTRATOR is to determine whether a future 1-tonne experiment can achieve a background goal of one count per tonne-year in a narrow region of interest around the 76Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay peak.

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR: An R&D project towards a tonne-scale germanium neutrinoless double-beta decay search

The MAJORANA collaboration is pursuing the development of the so‐called MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR. The DEMONSTRATOR is intended to perform research and development towards a tonne‐scale germanium‐based experiment to search for the neutrinoless double‐beta decay of 76Ge. The DEMONSTRATOR can also perform a competitive direct dark matter search for light WIMPs in the 1–10u2009GeV/c2 mass range. It will consist of approximately 60 kg of germanium detectors in an ultra‐low background shield located deep underground at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The DEMONSTRATOR will also perform background and technology studies, and half of the detector mass will be enriched germanium. This talk will review the motivation, design, technology and status of the Demonstrator.

Low-background gamma counting at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility

The next generation of low-background physics experiments will require the use of materials with unprecedented radio-purity. A gamma-counting facility at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF) has been commissioned to perform initial screening of materials for radioactivity primarily from nuclides in the 238U and 232Th decay chains, 40K and cosmic-ray induced isotopes. The facility consists of two commercial low-background high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. A continuum background reduction better than a factor of 10 was achieved by going underground. This paper describes the facility, detector systems, analysis techniques and selected assay results.

Dark matter sensitivities of the MAJORANA demonstrator

The Majorana Demonstrator is an array of natural and enriched high purity germanium detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of Germanium-76 and perform a search for weakly interacting massive particles with masses below 10 GeV. To reach the background rate goal in the neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest of 4 counts/keV/t/y, the DEMONSTRATOR will utilize a number of background reduction strategies, including a time-correlated event cut for 68Ge that requires a sub-keV energy threshold. This low energy threshold allows the DEMONSTRATOR to extend its physics reach to include a search for light WIMPs. We will discuss the detector systems and data analysis techniques required to achieve sub-keV thresholds as well as present the projected dark matter sensitivities of the Majorana Demonstrator.

The Majorana Experiment

The Majorana collaboration is actively pursuing research and development aimed at a tonne-scale {sup 76}Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay ({beta}{beta}(0{nu})-decay) experiment. The current, primary focus is the construction of the Majorana Demonstrator experiment, an R and D effort that will field approximately 40 kg of germanium detectors with mixed enrichment levels. This article provides a status update on the construction of the Demonstrator.