The Majorana Zero-Neutrino Double-Beta Decay Experiment White Paper [report]

R Gaitskell, A Barabash, S Konovalov, V Stekhanov, V Umatov, V Brudanin, S Egorov, J Webb, Harry S Miley, Craig E Aalseth, Dale N Anderson, Ted W Bowyer (+16 others)
2002 unpublished
The goal of the Majorana Experiment is to determine the effective Majorana mass of the electron neutrino. Detection of the neutrino mass implied by oscillation results is within our grasp. This exciting physics goal is best pursued using double-beta decay of germanium because of the historical and emerging advances in eliminating competing signals from radioactive backgrounds. The Majorana Experiment will consist of a large mass of 76 Ge in the form of high-resolution detectors deep
more » ... searching for a sharp peak at the ββ endpoint. If found, this peak would quantify the T 1/2 (0νββ) and hence the electron neutrino mass. We present here an overview of the entire project in order to help put in perspective the scope, the level of technical risk, and the readiness of the Collaboration to begin the undertaking.
doi:10.2172/15005739 fatcat:udqp22gvgnbitgtz2gjtd4msre