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arXiv · 2303.04698

'Searching for a needle in a haystack;' A Ba-tagging approach for an upgraded nEXO experiment

H. Rasiwala·K. Murray·Y. Lan·C. Chambers·M. Cvitan·T. Brunner·R. Collister·T. Daniels·R. Elmansali·W. Fairbank·R. Gornea·G. Gratta·T. Koffas·A. A. Kwiatkowski·K. G. Leach·A. Lennarz·C. Malbrunot·D. Ray·R. Shaikh·L. Yang
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Abstract

nEXO is a proposed experiment that will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) in 5-tonnes of liquid xenon (LXe), isotopically enriched in $^{136}$Xe. A technique called Ba-tagging is being developed as a potential future upgrade for nEXO to detect the $^{136}$Xe double-beta decay daughter isotope, $^{136}$Ba. An efficient Ba-tagging technique has the potential to boost nEXO's 0$\nu\beta\beta$ sensitivity by essentially suppressing non-double-beta decay background events. A conceptual approach for the extraction from the detector volume, trapping, and identification of a single Ba ion from 5 tonnes of LXe is presented, along with initial results from the commissioning of one of its subsystems, a quadrupole mass filter.

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H. Rasiwala, K. Murray, Y. Lan, C. Chambers, M. Cvitan, T. Brunner, R. Collister, T. Daniels, R. Elmansali, W. Fairbank, R. Gornea, G. Gratta, T. Koffas, A. A. Kwiatkowski, K. G. Leach, A. Lennarz, C. Malbrunot, D. Ray, R. Shaikh, L. Yang. 2023-03-08. 'Searching for a needle in a haystack;' A Ba-tagging approach for an upgraded nEXO experiment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2023.05.047

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