Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics and Applied Physics
Department
Physics
First Advisor
Dr. Ben J.P. Jones
Second Advisor
Dr. Jonathan A. Asaadi
Third Advisor
Dr. Frank W. Foss Jr
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Haleh K. Hadavand
Fifth Advisor
Dr. David R. Nygren
Abstract
One of the highest priority endeavors in nuclear and particle physics is the search for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (0νββ). The observation of 0νββ would prove that the neutrino is a Majorana particle i.e. its own antiparticle, offering a mechanism by which the matter-antimatter asymmetry observed in our universe could be explained. This theoretical decay mechanism is only energetically favored in certain neutron-rich isotopes and, if found, would be the rarest decay process ever observed. To compete with the exceedingly long half-life of 0νββ, all contemporary searches are focused on the following detector performance metrics: Increasing the instrumented isotopic mass of detectors, minimizing the reducible radiogenic and cosmogenic backgrounds, and maximizing detector energy resolution. This dissertation details my contributions to several techniques that have the potential to improve the listed performance metrics in gaseous Time Projection Chamber (TPC) searches for 0νββ. Chapter 1 consists of the physics of the neutrino, the motivation for 0νββ experiments, and a brief overview of the field. Chapter 2 discusses coincident daughter-isotope tagging via super-resolution microscopy as a mechanism for near-absolute background rejection. Chapter 3 explores the use of a camera-based topological readout and the improvements it offers over the sparsely pixelated light readouts currently employed by these detectors. Chapter 4 introduces a novel TPC search concept for 0νββ, exploiting the properties of electron interactions in low-pressure xenon gas mixtures to improve signal sensitivity and exploring potential experimental configurations in such a detector.
Keywords
Nuclear decays, neutrino, xenon, particle detector, microscopy, rare event, antimatter, gas physics, radiation, background reduction
Disciplines
Elementary Particles and Fields and String Theory | Nuclear
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Byrnes, Nicholas K., "Novel Time Projection Chamber Techniques with Applications Towards Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay Searches" (2024). Physics Dissertations. 114.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/physics_dissertations/114