Speaker
Mr
Michael Miloradovic
(Universität Zürich)
Description
The Germanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment, located at
the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), is searching for the
neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76. The observation of this Beyond
the Standard Model process would prove the existence of a neutrino
Majorana mass component and provide information on the neutrino
mass hierarchy and absolute mass scale. The Majorana nature of the
neutrinos could be responsible for the matter anti-matter asymmetry
in the early universe.
The GERDA experiment operates enriched germanium diodes, acting simultaneously as the source and detector material, directly submerged in liquid argon. As a result, Phase I of GERDA achieved the world’s best lower limit of T_1/2(0νββ)
> 2.1 · 1025 yr (90% C.L.) on the half-life of the neutrinoless double beta decay of 76 Ge. With the recent completion of the upgrade to Phase II, an additional 20 kg of germanium detectors – for a total of 35 kg – and a liquid argon veto system have been implemented. The goal is an order of magnitude
lower background with a projected sensitivity of 1.4 · 1026 yr for T_1/2(0νββ).
Primary author
Mr
Michael Miloradovic
(Universität Zürich)
