The large enriched germanium experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay (LEGEND)
We report the observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) would show that lepton number is violated, reveal that neu-trinos are Majorana particles, and provide information on neutrino mass. A discovery-capable experiment covering the inverted ordering region, with effective Majorana neutrino masses of 15 - 50 meV, will require a tonne-scale experiment with excellent energy resolution and extremely low backgrounds, at the level of ~0.1 count /(FWHM·t·yr) in the region of the signal. The current generation 76Ge experiments GERDA and the Majorana Demonstrator, utilizing high purity Germanium detectors with an intrinsic energy resolution of 0.12%, have achieved the lowest backgrounds by over an order of magnitude in the 0νββ signal region of all 0νββ experiments. Building on this success, the LEGEND collaboration has been formed to pursue a tonne-scale 76Ge experiment. Lastly, the collaboration aims to develop a phased 0νββ experimental program with discovery potential at a half-life approaching or at 1028 years, using existing resources as appropriate to expedite physics results.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
- Contributing Organization:
- LEGEND Collaboration
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 1489568
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 2202430
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1892, Issue 1; ISSN 0094-243X
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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