INPAC-Seminar 148

Title:  Beta Decay Measurements for Beyond the Standard Model Physics

Speaker:  Dr. Yuan Mei, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Location: Lecture Hall/INPAC

Time: 13:00-14:00, Friday, May 9, 2014

Abstract:
Measurements of nuclear beta decay were instrumental in establishing the Standard Model.  In the modern era, experimental investigations of nuclear beta decay, in particular, the search for neutrino-less double beta decay and the precision measurements of beta decay parameters, continue to lead the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Neutrino-less double beta decay, if observed, would confirm that the neutrino is its own antiparticle.  Precision measurement of the beta-neutrino correlation parameters will test the Standard Model V-A structure of the weak interaction, and any deviation from prediction would indicate new physics.

I will cover two topics in my talk: 1) The CUORE experiment, instrumenting 988 TeO2 crystals at 10mK as bolometers to search for the neutrino-less double beta decay; 2) The development of an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap (EIBT) for measuring the beta-neutrino correlation in the decay of short-lived radio-isotopes such as 6He.=