6 research outputs found
NURE: An ERC project to study nuclear reactions for neutrinoless double beta decay
Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is considered the best potential resource to
access the absolute neutrino mass scale. Moreover, if observed, it will signal that neutrinos are
their own anti-particles (Majorana particles). Presently, this physics case is one of the most
important research “beyond Standard Model” and might guide the way towards a Grand
Unified Theory of fundamental interactions.
Since the 0νββ decay process involves nuclei, its analysis necessarily implies nuclear structure
issues. In the NURE project, supported by a Starting Grant of the European Research Council
(ERC), nuclear reactions of double charge-exchange (DCE) are used as a tool to extract
information on the 0νββ Nuclear Matrix Elements. In DCE reactions and ββ decay indeed the
initial and final nuclear states are the same and the transition operators have similar structure.
Thus the measurement of the DCE absolute cross-sections can give crucial information on ββ
matrix elements. In a wider view, the NUMEN international collaboration plans a major
upgrade of the INFN-LNS facilities in the next years in order to increase the experimental
production of nuclei of at least two orders of magnitude, thus making feasible a systematic
study of all the cases of interest as candidates for 0νββ
Sicilia—silicon carbide detectors for intense luminosity investigations and applications
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a compound semiconductor, which is considered as a possible alternative to silicon for particles and photons detection. Its characteristics make it very promising for the next generation of nuclear and particle physics experiments at high beam luminosity. Silicon Carbide detectors for Intense Luminosity Investigations and Applications (SiCILIA) is a project starting as a collaboration between the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) and IMM-CNR, aiming at the realization of innovative detection systems based on SiC. In this paper, we discuss the main features of silicon carbide as a material and its potential application in the field of particles and photons detectors, the project structure and the strategies used for the prototype realization, and the first results concerning prototype production and their performance
Stacking Faults Defects on 3C-SiC Homo-Epitaxial Films
Stacking Faults (SFs) are the main defect of 3C-SiC material and in this work a detailed study of this typology of defect is presented. We studied the behavior of SFs with High Resolution XRD and STEM analysis. The homo-epitaxial growth was proposed as a solution for the reduction of SFs density in 3C-SiC material and the influence of the growth condition on the SFs density was studied. The knowledge of the mechanism of SFs reduction is crucial for the development of a high quality material for devices fabrication