Title: The EXO Double-beta Decay Program

Speaker: Prof. Giorgio Gratta ( Stanford University, USA)

Host: Prof. WANG Yifang

Time: 10:30 AM, August 23, 2012

Place: Room C305, IHEP Main Building

Abstract:

Prof. Giorgio Gratta will present new results from the EXO-200 experiment that has been taking low background data for a first year and plans to run for up to 5 years. EXO-200 discovered the 2 neutrino double-beta decay in 136Xe in the first 2 months of operation and is now attacking the more interesting neutrinoless double beta decay mode.

Prof. Giorgio Gratta will also discuss the R&D for a future, larger detector and the plans towards the construction of such a detector.

About the speaker:

Prof. Giorgio Gratta got his PH.D from university of Rome (Italy) in 1986, then was elected as a fellow in Italian Institute for Nuclear Research during 1987-1989, as a research fellow in Caltech during 1989-1992 and as a senior research fellow in Caltech during 1992-1995.Then he was an associate professor in Stanford during 1995-2004 and as a professor in Stanford since 2005.

His research interests are research relevant to the understanding of fundamental particles and interactions. His group is operating the largest double-beta decay experiment in the world (EXO-200) that is producing high sensitivity results on the mass of neutrinos and on the question of whether or not neutrinos are described by a 4-component wave function like all other fermions (neutrinos may be “Majorana” particles, described by 2-component wave functions, instead of Dirac particles.)

Also within the EXO program they are developing a new method to extend the sensitivity of a future experiment. This work involves the identification of the Ba atom produced in the double-beta decay of Xe using AMO techniques.

They also have a program to develop imaging detectors for gamma-ray astronomy as well as novel radiation detectors for application in homeland security and medical physics.