The Majorana Experiment

Aalseth, Craig E.; Aguayo, E.; Amman, M.; Avignone, F. T.; Back, H. O.; Bai, X.; Barabash, A. S.; Barbeau, P. S.; Bergevin, M.; Bertrand, F.; Boswell, M.; Brudanin, V.; Bugg, W.; Burritt, T. H.; Busch, M.; Capps, G.; Chan, Y-D.; Collar, J. I.; Cooper, R. J.; Creswick, R.; Detwiler, J. A.; Díaz, Jorge S.; Doe, P. J.; Efremenko, Yu.; Egorov, V.; Ejiri, H.; Elliott, S. R.; Ely, James H.; Esterline, J.; Farach, Horácio A.; Fast, J. E.; Fields, N.; Finnerty, P.; Fraenkle, F. M.; Gehman, V. M.; Giovanetti, G. K.; Green, M. P.; Guiseppe, V. E.; Gusey, K.; Hallin, A. L.; Harper, G.; Hazama, R.; Henning, R.; Hime, A.; Hong, Haiping; Hoppe, E. W.; Hossbach, Todd W.; Howard, S.; Howe, M. A.; Johnson, Rob; Keeter, K. J.; Keillor, Martin E.; Keller, Christina; Kephart, Jeremy D.; Kidd, M. F.; Knecht, A.; Kochetov, O.; Коновалов, С. И.; Kouzes, Richard T.; LaRoque, B. H.; Leviner, L. E.; Loach, J. C.; Luke, P.N.; MacMullin, S.; Marino, M. G.; Martin, R. D.; Medlin, Dana; Mei, Dongming; Miley, Harry S.; Miller, Michael L.; Mizouni, L.; Myers, A.W.; Nomachi, M.; Orrell, J. L.; Peterson, Daniel A.; Phillips, D. G.; Poon, A. W. P.; Perevozchikov, O.; Perumpilly, G.; Prior, G.; Radford, D. C.; Reid, Douglas J.; Rielage, K.; Robertson, R. G. H.; Rodriguez, L. Pacheco; Ronquest, M.; Salazar, H.R.; Schubert, A.; Shima, T.; Shirchenko, M.; Sobolev, V. L.; Steele, D.; Strain, J.; Swift, G.; Thomas, Keenan; Timkin, V.; Tornow, W.; Wechel, T. D. Van; Vanyushin, I.A.; Varner, R. L.; Vetter, K.; Vorren, K.; Wilkerson, J. F.; Wolfe, B. A.; Wang, Xiang; Yakushev, E.; Yaver, H.; Young, A. R.; Yu, C.‐H.; Yumatov, V.; Zhang, C.

doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2011.04.063

Cited by 36 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…The cryostats associated with these detectors must address the low noise/low background requirements in combination with a large heat load. One of the most challenging ultra-low-background experiments being built using HPGe detectors is the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR (MJD) [1]. This instrument will consist of a module of two cryostats each containing about 20 kg of HPGe detectors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Design of a thermosiphon for cooling low-background HPGe arrays

Aguayo¹,

Fast²,

Reid³

2012

AIP Conference Proceedings

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A two-phase nitrogen thermosiphon was developed for the new generation of lowbackground high-purity germanium (HPGe) arrays. The cooling system for these arrays has to be able to handle the heat load (>20 W) presented by a large detector mass while meeting stringent requirements necessary for low-background systems. The HPGe detector modules should operate as close to liquid nitrogen temperature (<80K) as possible to provide adequate operating conditions for a full range of HPGe impurity concentrations. In addition, exceptional temperature stability (<1 K) is needed to reduce electronic gain shifts due to changes in the front-end electronics operating temperature. In order to meet the background requirements of state-of-the-art systems these arrays are enclosed in passive lead and copper shielding up to 1 m thick. In this paper we present a cooling system for low-background experiments that complies with these stringent geometrical restrictions. Active cooling was integrated via a horizontal thermosiphon that can be fabricated using ultra-pure electroformed copper. It was charged with nitrogen to 434 kPa (63 PSIA) at 292 K, which provided a fill ratio of 10%. The results showed that the thermosiphon can effectively remove in excess of 25 W of heat load.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ultra-low background experiments require the use of materials known to be low in radioactive contaminants. Underground electroformed copper is the most popular material for such applications [2,3,4]. The plating time required to manufacture parts of such material is usually around 0.002-0.003'' per day [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a thermosiphon for cooling low-background HPGe arrays

Aguayo¹,

Fast²,

Reid³

2012

AIP Conference Proceedings

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“…The purpose of this experiment is to look for an extraordinarily rare nuclear decay process, 0νββ [Aalseth 2010]. If observed, the Majorana nature of the neutrino could be determined and thus demonstrate violation of lepton number conservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monte Carlo Simulations of Cosmic Rays Hadronic Interactions

Navarrete¹,

Orrell²,

Kouzes³

2011

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SummaryThis document describes the construction of and results from the Majorana Cosmic Ray (MaCoR) software tool, developed to model the hadronic interactions of cosmic rays with different geometries and materials. The ubiquity of cosmic radiation in the environment results in the activation of stable isotopes, referred to as cosmogenic activation. The objective is to use this application in conjunction with a model of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR components, from extraction to deployment, to evaluate cosmogenic activation of such components before deployment. The cosmic ray showers include several types of particles with a wide range of energy (MeV to GeV). It is infeasible to compute an exact result with a deterministic algorithm for this problem; Monte Carlo simulations are a more suitable approach to model cosmic ray hadronic interactions. The tool is based on the Geant4 toolkit. This toolkit was chosen for its end to end nature and ability to simulate energies up to GeV. Another aspect of Geant4 that was used in this work is its flexibility and ability to accommodate external source particles libraries. Other tools such as MCNP or FLUKA lack part of these features. In order to validate the results generated by the application, a test comparing experimental muon flux measurements and those predicted by the application is presented. The experimental and simulated results have a deviation of 3%.

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“…The challenges faced by a low-background, large-mass experiment design must be thoroughly addressed and the failure risks minimized to secure a successful implementation. The onetonne 76 Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment (1TGe or S4) will be a scaled-up version of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR (MJD) [1]. The final detector array is projected to hold up to 500 kg of germanium detectors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Considerations for Large Mass Ultra-Low Background Experiments

Navarrete¹,

Reid²,

Fast³

et al. 2011

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SummaryThe objective of this document is to present the designers of the next generation of large-mass, ultra-low background experiments with lessons learned and design strategies from previous experimental work. Design issues divided by topic into mechanical, thermal and electrical requirements are addressed. Large mass low-background experiments have been recognized by the scientific community as appropriate tools to aid in the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. The design of these experiments is very costly and a rigorous engineering review is required for their success. The extreme conditions that the components of the experiment must withstand (heavy shielding, vacuum/pressure and temperature gradients), in combination with unprecedented noise levels, necessitate engineering guidance to support quality construction and safe operating conditions. Physical properties and analytical results of typical construction materials are presented. Design considerations for achieving ultra-low-noise data acquisition systems are addressed. Five large-mass, low-background conceptual designs for the onetonne scale germanium experiment (S4) are proposed and analyzed. The result is a series of recommendations for future experiments engineering and for the Majorana simulation task group to evaluate the different design approaches.v

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The Majorana Experiment

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

Design of a thermosiphon for cooling low-background HPGe arrays

Design of a thermosiphon for cooling low-background HPGe arrays

Monte Carlo Simulations of Cosmic Rays Hadronic Interactions

Design Considerations for Large Mass Ultra-Low Background Experiments

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