The MAJORANA Neutrinoless Double-beta Decay Experiment



 A cross-section of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, showing installation of a cryostat module .

Neutrinos and Neutrinoless Double-beta Decay

MAJORANA is an experiment to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ). Neutrinos are fundamental particles that play key roles in the early universe, cosmology and astrophysics, and nuclear and particle physics.

Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a decay mode of an atomic nucleus in which two neutrons convert to two protons and two electrons. This process has not been observed, and it is not known whether it exists. If this decay occurs, the neutrino is its own antiparticle, or a Majorana particle. The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay would determine whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle and provide information on the absolute scale of neutrino mass. The search for 0νββ provides the physics community with the opportunity to build on our successes in understanding the neutrino and further our understanding of the universe.

Experimental Technology

The MAJORANA Collaboration proposes to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay using an array of germanium crystals enriched in 76Ge. Of the candidate isotopes for 0νββ, 76Ge has some of the most favorable characteristics. Germanium-diode detectors are a well established technology, and in searches for 0νββ of 76Ge, the detectors can work as both source and detecor.

If 0νββ occurs, it is an extremely rare process. Current experimental results indicate that, in 76Ge, the lifetime of this decay is greater than 2 x 1025 years. To achieve sensitivity to such a rare decay, MAJORANA must have a very low background rate.

