The SuperNEMO neutrinoless double beta decay experiment

Abstract

SuperNEMO is an experiment currently in the construction phase with the aim of searching for neutrinoless double beta decay, a beyond the standard model lepton number violating process. It employs the same strategy as its predecessor NEMO-3, with a tracker and calorimeter surrounding a thin foil of source isotope. Twenty modules are planned, yielding 100 kg of 82Se as source, with a sensitivity to a half-life of 1026 years. The first module is intended to demonstrate the very stringent radiopurity requirements, with no background counts being expected in the region of interest of the decay for 2.5 years of data taking. It will hold 7 kg of 82Se, giving it a sensitivity to a half-life of 6.5 × 1024 years. The tracking detector is essential for background discrimination and its construction and commissioning are being undertaken in the U.K., primarily at UCL, MSSL (UCL) and The University of Manchester.