Development Of Cryogenic Scintillation Detectors For The Search Of New Physics

Abstract: 

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) was first proposed in 1974. Despite having the largest cross-section among all low-energy neutrino couplings predicted in the Standard Model (SM), CEvNS detection remains challenging due to its only experimental signature being a low-energy nuclear recoil. In 2017, the COHERENT collaboration successfully observed CEvNS for the first time. A 14.6 kg low-background doped CsI at room temperature was placed 20 meters away from the 1.4 MW Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The SNS's pulsed proton beam provides exceptional background rejection and high-intensity neutrinos, making it ideal for CEvNS detections. CryoCsI, the proposed prototype, is a cryogenic undoped CsI scintillating detector, which has a much lower energy threshold potentially down to 0.5 keV_nr compared to the doped CsI.  This enhanced sensitivity of CryoCsI allows for the observation of more CEvNS events. Precise measurements of CEvNS can not only validate the predictions of the SM but also utilize CEvNS as a background for exploring new physics. By collaborating with other COHERENT detectors, CryoCsI has the potential to achieve world-leading sensitivities in a broad range of physics topics within and beyond the SM. Development and sensitivities of CryoCsI to hidden-sector dark matter and non-standard neutrino interactions are explored.

Speaker : 

Keyu (Coco) Ding

Location: 

CENPA Conference Room NPL-178