Current Status and Future Prospects of the SNO+ Experiment

/ Authors

S. Andringa, E. Arushanova, S. Asahi, M. Askins, D. Auty, A. R. Back, Z. Barnard, N. Barros, E. Beier, A. Bialek

and 226 more authors

S. Biller, E. Blucher, R. Bonventre, D. Braid, E. Caden, E. Callaghan, J. Caravaca, J. Carvalho, L. Cavalli, D. Chauhan, M. Chen, O. Chkvorets, K. Clark, B. Cleveland, I. Coulter, D. Cressy, X. Dai, C. Darrach, B. Davis-Purcell, R. Deen, M. M. Depatie, F. Descamps, F. Lodovico, N. Duhaime, F. Duncan, J. Dunger, E. Falk, N. Fatemighomi, R. Ford, P. Gorel, C. Grant, S. Grullon, E. Guillian, A. Hallin, D. Hallman, S. Hans, J. Hartnell, P. Harvey, M. Hedayatipour, W. Heintzelman, R. Helmer, B. Hreljac, J. Hu, T. Iida, C. Jackson, N. Jelley, C. Jillings, C. Jones, P. Jones, K. Kamdin, T. Kaptanoglu, J. Kaspar, P. Keener, P. Khaghani, L. Kippenbrock, J. Klein, R. Knapik, J. Kofron, L. Kormos, S. Korte, C. Kraus, C. Krauss, K. Labe, I. Lam, C. Lan, B. Land, S. Langrock, A. Latorre, I. Lawson, G. Lefeuvre, E. Leming, J. Lidgard, X. Liu, Y. Liu, V. Lozza, S. Maguire, A. Maio, K. Majumdar, S. Manecki, J. Maneira, E. Marzec, A. Mastbaum, N. McCauley, A. McDonald, J. Mcmillan, P. Mekarski, C. Miller, Y. Mohan, E. Mony, M. Mottram, V. Novikov, H. O’Keeffe, E. O’Sullivan, G. O. Gann, M. Parnell, S. Peeters, T. Pershing, Z. Petriw, G. Prior, J. Prouty, S. Quirk, A. Reichold, A. Robertson, J. Rose, R. Rosero, P. Rost, J. Rumleskie, M. Schumaker, M. Schwendener, D. Ścisłowski, J. Secrest, M. Seddighin, L. Segui, S. Seibert, T. Shantz, T. Shokair, L. Sibley, J. Sinclair, K. Singh, P. Skensved, A. Soerensen, T. Sonley, R. Stainforth, M. Strait, M. Stringer, R. Svoboda, J. Tatar, L. Tian, N. Tolich, J. Tseng, H. Tseung, R. Berg, E. V'azquez-J'auregui, C. Virtue, B. Krosigk, J. Walker, M. Walker, O. Wasalski, J. Waterfield, R. White, J. Wilson, T. Winchester, A. Wright, M. Yeh, T. Zhao, K. Z. L. D. I. E. F. E. Part'iculas, Lisboa, Portugal, Q. Mary, U. O. London, S. O. Physics, Astronomy, London, UK., Queen's University, D. Physics, E. Physics, Kingston, On, Canada., U. California, Davis, Ca, Usa, U. Alberta, Edmonton, Ab, U. Sussex, Physics, Falmer, Brighton, Laurentian University, Sudbury, U. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia., Pa, U. Oxford, The Denys Wilkinson Building, Oxford, The Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago., Il, Berkeley, L. B. N. Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, Universidade de Coimbra, Laborat'orio de Instrumentaccao e F'isica Experimental de Part'iculas, Departament de F'isica, Coimbra, Snolab, Triumf, Vancouver, bc, B. N. Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Upton, Ny, U. Washington, Center for Astroparticle Physics, Astrophysics, Seattle, Wa, N. University, Northfield, Vt, L. University, P. Department, Lancaster, T. U. Dresden, Institut fur Teilchenphysik, Dresden., H Germany, Universidade de Lisboa, F. Ciencias, U. Liverpool, Liverpool, U. Sheffield, Sheffield, A. A. S. University, Savannah, Ga, Universidad Nacional Aut'onoma de M'exico, I. D. F'isica, M'exico D.F., M'exico.

/ Abstract

SNO+is a large liquid scintillator-based experiment located 2 km underground at SNOLAB, Sudbury,Canada. It reuses the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory detector, consisting of a 12m diameter acrylic vessel which will be filled with about 780 tonnes of ultra-pure liquid scintillator. Designed as a multipurpose neutrino experiment, the primary goal of SNO+ is a search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0BB) of 130Te. In Phase I, the detector will be loaded with 0.3% natural tellurium, corresponding to nearly 800 kg of 130Te, with an expected effective Majorana neutrino mass sensitivity in the region of 55–133meV, just above the inverted mass hierarchy. Recently, the possibility of deploying up to ten times more natural tellurium has been investigated, which would enable SNO+ to achieve sensitivity deep into the parameter space for the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy in the future. Additionally, SNO+ aims to measure reactor antineutrino oscillations, low energy solar neutrinos, and geoneutrinos, to be sensitive to supernova neutrinos, and to search for exotic physics. A first phase with the detector filled with water will begin soon, with the scintillator phase expected to start after a few months of water data taking. The 01BB Phase I is foreseen for 2017.

Journal: Advances in High Energy Physics

DOI: 10.1155/2016/6194250