Garchinger Maier-Leibnitz-Kolloquium: New Physics with Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering

by Dr Raimund Strauss (Physik Department E15, TUM)

Thursday 6 Jun 2024, 16:15 → 17:15 Europe/Berlin

Lecture Hall, ground floor (west) (LMU building, Am Coulombwall 1, campus Garching)

Coherent-neutrino nucleus scattering (CEvNS) opens a new window to study the fundamental properties of neutrinos and probe physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. The cross section of CEvNS is typically 2-4 orders of magnitude larger than that of classical neutrino interactions, which leads to a dramatic miniaturisation of neutrino detectors: instead of using multi-ton detector apparatus, neutrino detection with compact devices of kg or even g total mass is within reach. The weak neutral current process  is difficult to detect due to the very low momentum transfer, resulting in recoil energies of only a few keV. Only recently has this process been observed by the COHERENT experiment at the SNS neutron spallation source in the USA - the starting point for a new international community. I will give an overview of this young and growing research field from experimental and phenomenological perspectives. In the second part of the talk I will focus on the NUCLEUS experiment that we have initiated at TUM. It aims at the first measurement of CEvNS in a nuclear reactor, which implies high-intensity neutrino fluxes at unprecedented low energies. Within NUCLEUS, we have developed dedicated cryogenic detectors and demonstrated nuclear recoil energy thresholds of around 20eV, the lowest in the field. We are currently building and commissioning the NUCLEUS setup in the shallow underground laboratory at TUM, after which the experiment will be moved to the nuclear power plant in Chooz, France, in 2025. The presentation will conclude with the roadmap, and the technological and scientific potential of the NUCLEUS experiment.

Hybrid access via ZOOM:
https://lmu-munich.zoom.us/j/98457332925?pwd=TWc3V1JkSHpyOTBPQVlMelhuNnZ1dz09
Meeting ID: 984 5733 2925
Passcode: 979953

 

kolloquium-06-06-24.pdf