Lead perovskites as CE$\nu$NS detectors

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of lead perovskite materials as novel detectors for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering, leveraging their heavy element composition and optoelectronic properties.

Contribution

It introduces for the first time the concept of using semiconductor lead perovskites for CEνNS detection, highlighting their advantages and feasibility.

Findings

Lead perovskites have suitable properties for neutrino detection.

No inherent obstacles identified for developing lead perovskite CEνNS detectors.

Potential for cost-effective, high-resolution neutrino detection.

Abstract

The recent discovery of Coherent Elastic neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE$\nu$NS) has created new opportunities to detect and study neutrinos. The interaction cross-section in CE$\nu$NS scales quadratically with the number of neutrons, making heavy-nuclei targets such as active lead-based detectors ideal. In this Letter, we discuss for the first time the potential of semiconductor lead perovskites for building neutrino detectors. Lead perovskites have emerged in the last decade as revolutionary materials for radiation detection due to their heavy and flexible element composition and their unique optoelectronic properties that result in an excellent energy resolution at an economic cost. While dedicated research and development will be necessary, we find great benefits and no inherent obstacles for the development of lead perovskites as CE$\nu$NS detectors.