Development of \(^{100}\)Mo-containing scintillating bolometers for a high-sensitivity neutrinoless double-beta decay search

• Published in: arXiv.org 2017-10
• Main Authors: Armengaud, E, Augier, C, Barabash, A S, Beeman, J W, Bekker, T B, Bellini, F, Benoît, A, Bergé, L, Bergmann, T, Billard, J, Boiko, R S, Broniatowski, A, Brudanin, V, Camus, P, Capelli, S, Cardani, L, Casali, N, Chapellier, M, Charlieux, F, Chernyak, D M, de Combarieu, M, Coron, N, Danevich, F A, Dafinei, I, De Jesus, M, Devoyon, L, S Di Domizio, Dumoulin, L, Eitel, K, Enss, C, Ferroni, F, Fleischmann, A, Foerster, N, Gascon, J, Gastaldo, L, Gironi, L, Giuliani, A, Grigorieva, V D, Gros, M, Hehn, L, Hervé, S, Humbert, V, Ivannikova, N V, Ivanov, I M, Jin, Y, Juillard, A, Kleifges, M, Kobychev, V V, Konovalov, S I, Koskas, F, Kozlov, V, Kraus, H, Kudryavtsev, V A, Laubenstein, M, H Le Sueur, Loidl, M, Magnier, P, Makarov, E P, Mancuso, M, de Marcillac, P, Marnieros, S, Marrache-Kikuchi, C, Nagorny, S, X-F Navick, Nikolaichuk, M O, Nones, C, Novati, V, Olivieri, E, Pagnanini, L, Pari, P, Pattavina, L, Pavan, M, Paul, B, Penichot, Y, Pessina, G, Piperno, G, Pirro, S, Plantevin, O, Poda, D V, Queguiner, E, Redon, T, Rodrigues, M, Rozov, S, Rusconi, C, Sanglard, V, Schäffner, K, Scorza, S, Shlegel, V N, Siebenborn, B, Strazzer, O, Tcherniakhovski, D, Tomei, C, Umatov, V I, Vagneron, L, Vasiliev, Ya V, Velazquez, M, Vignati, M, Weber, M, Yakushev, E, Zolotarova, A S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beta decay; Bolometers; Crystallization; Energy resolution; Lithium; Neutrinos; Recrystallization; Sensitivity
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1704.01758

This paper reports on the development of a technology involving \(^{100}\)Mo-enriched scintillating bolometers, compatible with the goals of CUPID, a proposed next-generation bolometric experiment to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Large mass (\(\sim\)1~kg), high optical quality, radiopure \(^{100}\)Mo-containing zinc and lithium molybdate crystals have been produced and used to develop high performance single detector modules based on 0.2--0.4~kg scintillating bolometers. In particular, the energy resolution of the lithium molybdate detectors near the \(Q\)-value of the double-beta transition of \(^{100}\)Mo (3034~keV) is 4--6~keV FWHM. The rejection of the \(\alpha\)-induced dominant background above 2.6~MeV is better than 8\(\sigma\). Less than 10~\(\mu\)Bq/kg activity of \(^{232}\)Th (\(^{228}\)Th) and \(^{226}\)Ra in the crystals is ensured by boule recrystallization. The potential of \(^{100}\)Mo-enriched scintillating bolometers to perform high sensitivity double-beta decay searches has been demonstrated with only 10~kg\(\times\)d exposure: the two neutrino double-beta decay half-life of \(^{100}\)Mo has been measured with the up-to-date highest accuracy as \(T_{1/2}\) = [6.90 \(\pm\) 0.15(stat.) \(\pm\) 0.37(syst.)] \(\times\) 10\(^{18}\)~yr. Both crystallization and detector technologies favor lithium molybdate, which has been selected for the ongoing construction of the CUPID-0/Mo demonstrator, containing several kg of \(^{100}\)Mo.