Commissioning and Sensitivity Studies for the SuperNEMO Demonstrator Module
The SuperNEMO experiment will search for neutrinoless double- beta decay. It is a tracker-calorimeter detector, designed to reach a 0νββ half life sensitivity of T1/2 > 1026 years, corresponding to an effective Majorana neutrino mass of 50 – 100 meV.
Successful operation of the SuperNEMO tracker requires a pre- cise mixture of gases to be supplied continuously to the detector volume. The purpose of the gas system is to control the fractions of gases, at a given flow rate. Improvements have been made to meet the basic requirements of a safe, radio-pure, remotely moni- tored and controlled gas-delivery system.
The SuperNEMO demonstrator module is the first phase of the experiment, with 7 kg of 82Se. Construction and commissioning of the module is well underway, with first data expected in 2022. In preparation for data taking, sensitivity studies have been per- formed on simulated data.
Results of the sensitivity and relative errors of two key back- grounds, 208Tl and 214Bi, for the demonstrator module will be presented here. The enhancement of the gas system and integra- tion with slow control will also be presented.
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10171141/2/LaurenDawson_120523.pdf