Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors for the background discrimination in neutrinoless double beta decay search with TeO$_{2}$ bolometers

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors can effectively discriminate between background and signal events in neutrinoless double beta decay searches using TeO₂ bolometers, enhancing detection sensitivity.

Contribution

The study introduces the application of Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors with TES read-out for background suppression in TeO₂ bolometers, enabling event-by-event discrimination based on Cherenkov light detection.

Findings

Effective separation of e−/γ events from α events at Qββ energy.

No significant loss in signal acceptance during discrimination.

Potential for improved background suppression in neutrinoless double beta decay experiments.

Abstract

We demonstrate that Neganov-Luke amplified cryogenic light detectors with Transition Edge Sensor read-out can be applied for the background suppression in cryogenic experiments searching for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{130}\text{Te}$ with TeO$_{2}$ based bolometers. Electron and gamma induced events can be discriminated from $\alpha$ events by detecting the Cherenkov light produced by the $\beta$ particles emitted in the decay. We use the Cherenkov light produced by events in the full energy peak of $^{208}\text{Tl}$ and by events from a $^{147}\text{Sm}$ source to show that at the Q-value of the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{130}\text{Te}$ ($Q_{\beta \beta} = 2.53 \,\text{MeV}$), a separation of $e^{-}/\gamma$ events from $\alpha$ events can be achieved on an event-by-event basis with practically no reduction in signal acceptance.