Speaker
Description
The search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is crucial for testing lepton-number violation, probing physics beyond the Standard Model, and determining whether neutrinos are Majorana particles. CUORE, a tonne-scale cryogenic experiment at LNGS, studies 0νββ in $^{130}$Te using 988 TeO$_2$ bolometers operated below 15 mK.
Since 2017, CUORE has collected over 2.5 tonne-years of exposure, setting strong limits on $^{130}$Te 0νββ and obtaining one of the most precise 2νββ half-life measurements, along with a reliable background model. These results provide essential benchmarks in nuclear physics for 0νββ searches.
CUPID, CUORE’s successor, aims to greatly enhance its 0νββ discovery sensitivity in $^{100}$Mo, covering the inverted mass hierarchy. It will deploy 1596 enriched Li$_2$MoO$_4$ crystals and 1710 light detectors to enable simultaneous heat and light readout, thus improving the background rejection. Reusing the CUORE cryostat and infrastructure, CUPID is finalising detector performance validation, sensitivity studies, and the experimental design.
