CUORE
The Cryogenic Underground Laboratory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an experiment located at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Assergi, Italy. CUORE uses particle detectors called cryogenic bolometers to search for a process that has never been observed so far, the neutrinoless double beta decay. This nuclear decay, if detected, could answer some of the fundamental questions still open in Particle Physics. It would demonstrate that neutrinos are their own antiparticles, as predicted by the famous Italian physicist Ettore Majorana, and hint at a value for their yet unknown mass scale. At the same time, it would open the door to theoretical physics models seeking to explain why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe.
Although the primary physics goal of CUORE is to search for neutrinoless double beta decay, the ability to identify and measure low-energy events makes CUORE suitable for low-energy, rare event searches, including a search for particle dark matter in our galaxy.
The CUORE cryogenic bolometers are ultra-cold tellurium dioxide (TeO2) crystals containing the isotope Te-130, candidate to decay via the neutrinoless double beta process. Every time a tellurium nucleus decays or a particle interacts in the crystal, it releases a minute amount of energy, causing the temperature of the crystal to rise slightly.
CUORE is the largest bolometric experiment ever built. The detector consists of 988 crystals for a total mass of 741 kg (206 kg of Te-130). The CUORE detectors and the surrounding apparatus must be cooled to approximately 10 mK before they can take data. We cool them using one of the largest and most powerful helium dilution refrigerators ever constructed. Our cryostat produces the coldest cubic meter in the known universe.
The CUORE collaboration is an international group of physicists from many countries, primarily from Italy and the US.
Websites:
Thesis Opportunities:
CUORE started data taking in 2017. We welcome new members in our collaboration and offer several thesis opportunities (master and PhD) concerning the analysis of CUORE data in the search for rare physics processes. For information about thesis opportunities please contact: Claudia Tomei and Fabio Bellini.
Local Coordinator
Claudia Tomei| Name | Surname | Role | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fabio | Bellini | Associato | Prof. Associato |
| Laura | Cardani | Dipendente | Ricercatrice |
| Nicola | Casali | Dipendente | Ricercatore |
| Fernando | Ferroni | Associato | Prof. Ordinario |
| Silvio | Morganti | Dipendente | Primo Ricercatore |
| Valerio | Pettinacci | Dipendente | Primo Tecnologo |
| Alberto | Ressa | Associato | Assegnista |
| Claudia | Tomei | Dipendente | Prima Ricercatrice |
| Marco | Vignati | Associato | Prof. Associato |