The NEW detector: construction, commissioning and first results

TL;DR

The paper presents the construction, commissioning, and initial results of the NEXT-White detector, a prototype for neutrinoless double-beta decay detection using a high-pressure xenon gas TPC at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory.

Contribution

It introduces the first NEXT-White detector prototype, demonstrating technical solutions and initial performance metrics relevant for future large-scale experiments.

Findings

Successful energy calibration with radioactive sources

Energy resolution achievements at low energies

Operational insights from the commissioning phase

Abstract

NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) is a neutrinoless double-beta (\beta\beta 0\nu) decay experiment at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). It seeks to detect the (\beta\beta 0\nu) decay of Xe-136 using a high pressure xenon gas TPC with electroluminescent (EL) amplification. The NEXT-White (NEW) detector, with an active xenon mass of about 10 kg at 15 bar, is the first NEXT prototype installed at LSC. It implements the NEXT detector concept tested in smaller prototypes using the same radiopure sensors and materials that will be used in the future NEXT-100, serving as a benchmark for technical solutions as well as for the signal selection and background rejection algorithms. NEW is currently under commissioning at the LSC. In this poster proceedings we describe the technical solutions adopted for NEW construction, the lessons learned from the commissioning phase, and the first results on energy calibration and energy resolution obtained with low-energy radioactive source data.