Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay and the BACoN Experiment

  • Nuclear, Particle, Astroparticle and Cosmology (NUPAC) Seminars

November 11, 2025 2:00 PM
PAIS 3205

Host:
Douglas Fields
Presenter:
Georgia McDowell (UNM)
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a yet unobserved process that differs from the average beta decay in the fact that it does not conserve lepton number and would necessitate new physics beyond the standard model. Many experiments are searching for this extremely rare theoretical process, most notably the LEGEND experiment in Italy. The BACoN experiment here at the University of New Mexico is conducting R&D on the liquid argon (LAr) veto present in LEGEND that enables it to discriminate against backgrounds so efficiently. By doping the LAr with trace amounts of xenon, approximately twice as much total light is collected, and at a wavelength more optimal for detection. By experimentally determining the characteristics of this xenon doped LAr and implementing them in simulations, we can determine whether doping the LEGEND LAr veto with xenon would improve background discrimination even further.

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