Identification of single barium atoms with resonance ionization mass spectroscopy for the nEXO neutrinoless double beta decay experiment
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The mechanism for neutrino mass generation is an open question in particle physics, with implications for new physics at higher mass scales. If neutrinos are their own antiparticle, meaning they have Majorana masses, this property can be measured through a rare process called neutrinoless double beta decay. EXO-200 is an experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of xenon-136 using a liquid xenon time projection chamber. The first part of this work describes a search for the two-neutrino double beta decay of xenon-136 to an excited state of barium-136 with EXO-200 data using machine learning techniques. A measurement of the half-life of this decay can provide valuable input to nuclear models and reduce systematic uncertainties of the neutrinoless double beta decay process. The second part of this work describes efforts to greatly improve the sensitivity of a future experiment similar to EXO-200 through the identification of the barium-136 daughter produced in the double beta decay of xenon-136. In the technique explored here, barium ions are adsorbed onto a substrate, where they neutralize, and are then transported to a separate identification chamber. They are subsequently desorbed using laser-induced thermal desorption (LITD) and selectively ionized using resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS), followed by identification using a time of flight mass spectrometer. Improvements in understanding of the LITD and RIS processes, backgrounds to the technique, and substrate cleaning methods are presented, bringing the technique closer to single barium atom sensitivity.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Kravitz, Scott |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Physics. |
| Primary advisor | Gratta, Giorgio |
| Thesis advisor | Gratta, Giorgio |
| Thesis advisor | Hollberg, Leo (Leo William) |
| Thesis advisor | Manoharan, Harindran C. (Harindran Chelvasekaran), 1969- |
| Advisor | Hollberg, Leo (Leo William) |
| Advisor | Manoharan, Harindran C. (Harindran Chelvasekaran), 1969- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Scott Kravitz. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Physics. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Scott Wellington Kravitz
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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