A New 76Ge Double Beta Decay Experiment at LNGS

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new experiment at LNGS to investigate neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge with improved sensitivity and background suppression, aiming to confirm or refute previous evidence.

Contribution

It introduces a novel cryogenic fluid shield setup for 76Ge double beta decay detection, enhancing the ability to test prior claims with higher significance.

Findings

Potential to significantly improve lifetime limits for neutrinoless double beta decay

Ability to scrutinize previous evidence with high significance

Background suppression up to a few 100 kg-years of exposure

Abstract

This Letter of Intent has been submitted to the Scientific Committee of the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in March 2004. It describes a novel facility at the LNGS to study the double beta decay of 76Ge using an (optionally active) cryogenic fluid shield. The setup will allow to scrutinize with high significance on a short time scale the current evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge using the existing 76Ge diodes from the previous Heidelberg-Moscow and IGEX experiments. An increase in the lifetime limit can be achieved by adding more enriched detectors, remaining thereby background-free up to a few 100 kg-years of exposure.