Imaging individual barium atoms in solid xenon for barium tagging in nEXO

C. Chambers; T. Walton; D. Fairbank; A. Craycraft; D. R. Yahne; J. Todd; A. Iverson; W. Fairbank; A. Alamre; J. B. Albert; G. Anton; I. J. Arnquist; I. Badhrees; P. S. Barbeau; D. Beck; V. Belov; T. Bhatta; F. Bourque; J. P. Brodsky; E. Brown; T. Brunner; A. Burenkov; G. F. Cao; L. Cao; W. R. Cen; S. A. Charlebois; M. Chiu; B. Cleveland; M. Coon; M. Cote; W. Cree; J. Dalmasson; T. Daniels; L. Darroch; S. J. Daugherty; J. Daughhetee; S. Delaquis; A. Der Mesrobian-Kabakian; R. DeVoe; J. Dilling; Y. Y. Ding; M. J. Dolinski; A. Dragone; J. Echevers; L. Fabris; J. Farine; S. Feyzbakhsh; R. Fontaine; D. Fudenberg; G. Gallina; G. Giacomini; R. Gornea; G. Gratta; E. V. Hansen; M. Heffner; E. W. Hoppe; J. Hossl; A. House; P. Hufschmidt; M. Hughes; Y. Ito; A. Jamil; C. Jessiman; M. J. Jewell; X. S. Jiang; A. Karelin; L. J. Kaufman; D. Kodroff; T. Koffas; S. Kravitz; R. Krucken; A. Kuchenkov; K. S. Kumar; Y. Lan; A. Larson; D. S. Leonard; G. Li; S. Li; Z. Li; C. Licciardi; Y. H. Lin; P. Lv; R. MacLellan; T. Michel; B. Mong; D. C. Moore; K. Murray; R. J. Newby; Z. Ning; O. Njoya; F. Nolet; O. Nusair; K. Odgers; A. Odian; M. Oriunno; J. L. Orrell; G. S. Ortega; I. Ostrovskiy; C. T. Overman; S. Parent; A. Piepke; A. Pocar; J. -F. Pratte; D. Qiu; V. Radeka; E. Raguzin; T. Rao; S. Rescia; F. Retiere; A. Robinson; T. Rossignol; P. C. Rowson; N. Roy; R. Saldanha; S. Sangiorgio; S. Schmidt; J. Schneider; A. Schubert; K. Skarpaas; A. K. Soma; G. St-Hilaire; V. Stekhanov; T. Stiegler; X. L. Sun; M. Tarka; T. Tolba; T. I. Totev; R. Tsang; T. Tsang; F. Vachon; B. Veenstra; V. Veeraraghavan; G. Visser; J. -L. Vuilleumier; M. Wagenpfeil; Q. Wang; J. Watkins; M. Weber; W. Wei; L. J. Wen; U. Wichoski; G. Wrede; S. X. Wu; W. H. Wu; Q. Xia; L. Yang; Y. -R. Yen; O. Zeldovich; X. Zhang; J. Zhao; Y. Zhou; T. Ziegler; nEXO Collaboration

doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1169-4

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Imaging individual barium atoms in solid xenon for barium tagging in nEXO

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Imaging individual barium atoms in solid xenon for barium tagging in nEXO

C. Chambers, T. Walton, D. Fairbank, A. Craycraft, D. R. Yahne, J. Todd, A. Iverson, W. Fairbank, A. Alamre, J. B. Albert, …

Nature (London), Vol.569(7755), pp.203-207

05/2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1169-4

PMID: 31036948

Abstract

Multidisciplinary Sciences

Science & Technology

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Double-beta-decay involves the simultaneous conversion of two neutrons into two protons, and the emission of two electrons and two neutrinos; the neutrinoless process, although not yet observed, is thought to involve the emission of the two electrons but no neutrinos. The search for neutrinoless-double-beta-decay probes fundamental properties of neutrinos, including whether or not the neutrino and antineutrino are distinct particles. Double-beta-decay detectors are large and expensive, so it is essential to achieve the highest possible sensitivity with each study, and removing spurious contributions ('background') from detected signals is crucial. In the nEXO neutrinoless-double-beta-decay experiment, the identification, or 'tagging', of the Ba-136 daughter atom resulting from the double-beta decay of Xe-136 provides a technique for discriminating background. The tagging scheme studied here uses a cryogenic probe to trap the barium atom in a solid xenon matrix, where the barium atom is tagged through fluorescence imaging. Here we demonstrate the imaging and counting of individual barium atoms in solid xenon by scanning a focused laser across a solid xenon matrix deposited on a sapphire window. When the laser irradiates an individual atom, the fluorescence persists for about 30 seconds before dropping abruptly to the background level-a clear confirmation of one -atom imaging. Following evaporation of a barium deposit, the residual barium fluorescence is 0.16 per cent or less. Our technique achieves the imaging of single atoms in a solid noble element, establishing the basic principle of barium tagging for nEXO.

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Title: Imaging individual barium atoms in solid xenon for barium tagging in nEXO
Creators - without role: C. Chambers - Colorado State University
T. Walton - Colorado State University
D. Fairbank - Colorado State University
A. Craycraft - Colorado State University
D. R. Yahne - Colorado State University
J. Todd - Colorado State University
A. Iverson - Colorado State University
W. Fairbank - Colorado State University
A. Alamre - Carleton University
J. B. Albert - Indiana University
G. Anton - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
I. J. Arnquist - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
I. Badhrees - Carleton University
P. S. Barbeau - Duke University
D. Beck - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
V. Belov - Kurchatov Institute
T. Bhatta - University of South Dakota
F. Bourque - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
J. P. Brodsky - Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Livermore, CA USA
E. Brown - Rensselaer Polytech Inst, Dept Phys Appl Phys & Astron, Troy, NY USA
T. Brunner - McGill University
A. Burenkov - Kurchatov Institute
G. F. Cao - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
L. Cao - Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Microelect, Beijing, Peoples R China
W. R. Cen - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
S. A. Charlebois - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
M. Chiu - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
B. Cleveland - Laurentian University
M. Coon - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
M. Cote - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
W. Cree - Carleton University
J. Dalmasson - Stanford University
T. Daniels - Univ N Carolina, Dept Phys & Phys Oceanog, Wilmington, NC USA
L. Darroch - McGill University
S. J. Daugherty - Indiana University
J. Daughhetee - University of South Dakota
S. Delaquis - Menlo School
A. Der Mesrobian-Kabakian - Laurentian University
R. DeVoe - Stanford University
J. Dilling - TRIUMF
Y. Y. Ding - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
M. J. Dolinski - Drexel University
A. Dragone - Menlo School
J. Echevers - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
L. Fabris - Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Oak Ridge, TN USA
J. Farine - Laurentian University
S. Feyzbakhsh - University of Massachusetts Amherst
R. Fontaine - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
D. Fudenberg - Stanford University
G. Gallina - TRIUMF
G. Giacomini - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
R. Gornea - Carleton University
G. Gratta - Stanford University
E. V. Hansen - Drexel University
M. Heffner - Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Livermore, CA USA
E. W. Hoppe - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
J. Hossl - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
A. House - Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Livermore, CA USA
P. Hufschmidt - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
M. Hughes - University of Alabama
Y. Ito - McGill University
A. Jamil - Yale University
C. Jessiman - Carleton University
M. J. Jewell - Stanford University
X. S. Jiang - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
A. Karelin - Kurchatov Institute
L. J. Kaufman - Indiana University
D. Kodroff - University of Massachusetts Amherst
T. Koffas - Carleton University
S. Kravitz - Stanford University
R. Krucken - TRIUMF
A. Kuchenkov - Kurchatov Institute
K. S. Kumar - Stony Brook University
Y. Lan - TRIUMF
A. Larson - University of South Dakota
D. S. Leonard - Ctr Underground Phys, Inst Basic Sci, Daejeon, South Korea
G. Li - Stanford University
S. Li - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Z. Li - Yale University
C. Licciardi - Laurentian University
Y. H. Lin - Drexel University
P. Lv - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
R. MacLellan - University of South Dakota
T. Michel - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
B. Mong - Menlo School
D. C. Moore - Yale University
K. Murray - McGill University
R. J. Newby - Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Oak Ridge, TN USA
Z. Ning - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
O. Njoya - Stony Brook University
F. Nolet - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
O. Nusair - University of Alabama
K. Odgers - Rensselaer Polytech Inst, Dept Phys Appl Phys & Astron, Troy, NY USA
A. Odian - Menlo School
M. Oriunno - Menlo School
J. L. Orrell - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
G. S. Ortega - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
I. Ostrovskiy - University of Alabama
C. T. Overman - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
S. Parent - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
A. Piepke - University of Alabama
A. Pocar - University of Massachusetts Amherst
J. -F. Pratte - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
D. Qiu - Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Microelect, Beijing, Peoples R China
V. Radeka - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
E. Raguzin - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
T. Rao - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
S. Rescia - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
F. Retiere - TRIUMF
A. Robinson - Laurentian University
T. Rossignol - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
P. C. Rowson - Menlo School
N. Roy - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
R. Saldanha - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
S. Sangiorgio - Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Livermore, CA USA
S. Schmidt - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
J. Schneider - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
A. Schubert - Stanford University
K. Skarpaas - Menlo School
A. K. Soma - University of Alabama
G. St-Hilaire - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
V. Stekhanov - Kurchatov Institute
T. Stiegler - Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Livermore, CA USA
X. L. Sun - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
M. Tarka - University of Massachusetts Amherst
T. Tolba - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
T. I. Totev - McGill University
R. Tsang - Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 USA
T. Tsang - Brookhaven Natl Lab, Upton, NY 11973 USA
F. Vachon - Univ Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada
B. Veenstra - Carleton University
V. Veeraraghavan - University of Alabama
G. Visser - Indiana University
J. -L. Vuilleumier - University of Bern
M. Wagenpfeil - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Q. Wang - Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Microelect, Beijing, Peoples R China
J. Watkins - Carleton University
M. Weber - Stanford University
W. Wei - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
L. J. Wen - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
U. Wichoski - Laurentian University
G. Wrede - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
S. X. Wu - Stanford University
W. H. Wu - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
Q. Xia - Yale University
L. Yang - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Y. -R. Yen - Drexel University
O. Zeldovich - Kurchatov Institute
X. Zhang - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
J. Zhao - Inst High Energy Phys, Beijing, Peoples R China
Y. Zhou - Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Microelect, Beijing, Peoples R China
T. Ziegler - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
nEXO Collaboration
Publication Details: Nature (London), Vol.569(7755), pp.203-207
Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO
Number of pages: 10
Grant note: DE-FG02-03ER41255 / US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics; United States Department of Energy (DOE) PHY-1649324 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Identifiers: 9918654608331
Academic Unit: King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology; King Abdullah University of Science & Technology
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article