Samuel Henry

Abstract:

We present the MIGA experiment, an underground long baseline atom interferometer to study gravity at large scale. The hybrid atom-laser antenna will use several atom interferometers simultaneously interrogated by the resonant mode of an optical cavity. The instrument will be a demonstrator for gravitational wave Exploring gravity with the MIGA large scale atom interferometer detection in a frequency band (100 mHz – 1 Hz) not explored by classical ground and space-based observatories, and interesting for potential astrophysical sources. In the initial instrument configuration, standard atom interferometry techniques will be adopted, which will bring to a peak strain sensitivity of 2·10−13/Hz at 2 Hz. This demonstrator will enable to study the techniques to push further the sensitivity for the future development of gravitational wave detectors based on large scale atom interferometers. The experiment will be realized at the underground facility of the Laboratoire Souterrain à Bas Bruit (LSBB) in Rustrel–France, an exceptional site located away from major anthropogenic disturbances and showing very low background noise. In the following, we present the measurement principle of an in-cavity atom interferometer, derive the method for Gravitational Wave signal extraction from the antenna and determine the expected strain sensitivity . We then detail the functioning of the different systems of the antenna and describe the properties of the installation site.

Abstract:

The LUMINEU is designed to investigate the possibility to search for neutrinoless double beta decay in 100Mo by means of a large array of scintillating bolometers based on ZnMoO4 crystals enriched in 100Mo. High energy resolution and relatively fast detectors, which are able to measure both the light and the heat generated upon the interaction of a particle in a crystal, are very promising for the recognition and rejection of background events. We present the LUMINEU concepts and the experimental results achieved aboveground and underground with large-mass natural and enriched crystals. The measured energy resolution, the α/β discrimination power and the radioactive internal contamination are all within the specifications for the projected final LUMINEU sensitivity. Simulations and preliminary results confirm that the LUMINEU technology can reach zero background in the region of interest (around 3 MeV) with exposures of the order of hundreds kgXyears, setting the bases for a next generation 0v2β decay experiment capable to explore the inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass pattern.

Abstract:

This document was prepared for the CD2/3 Review on June 25 – 26, 2015.