Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPA) at LBNL
The INPA Seminar weekly talks are on Fridays, starting at 12:00 pm, unless informed otherwise. The seminar talk starts with a brief presentation of the weekly scientific news. Typically, the talks conclude by 1:00 pm. The seminars are held in the Sessler Conference Room, located in Bldg. 50A- 5132.
The committee members are:
The seminar schedule for the Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPA) is tentative and becomes final a few days before the Friday talk.
Please send all suggestions for future INPA talks and speakers to the INPA Committee.
To be added to the INPA News Mailing List, please contact Erica Hall.
[Virtual] INPA Seminar Speaker: Erin Engelhardt ( University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)- Title: Searching for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with LEGEND-200
January 17 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Date: January 17, 2025
Time: 12:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Sessler Conference Room – 50A-5132 [Hybrid and In-Person]
Speaker: Erin Engelhardt ( University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)
Title: Searching for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with LEGEND-200
Abstract: Neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) is a theorized process where two neutrons decay into two protons and two electrons without emitting any antineutrinos. The existence of 0νββ would indicate the neutrino has a Majorana nature and thus acts as its own antiparticle. This process would violate lepton number conservation and provide a mechanism for explaining the observed matter/antimatter asymmetry. The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless ββ decay (LEGEND) is a phased 0νββ search in 76Ge using isotopically enriched high-purity germanium (HPGe) point contact detectors. The first phase, LEGEND-200, began operating in March 2023 with 142 kg of HPGe detectors and announced an updated half-life limit of 1.9 x 1026 yrs at the Neutrino 2024 conference. To achieve its sensitivity goals, LEGEND-200 requires incredibly low background rates. Alpha and beta particles on the detector surfaces constitute a significant source of backgrounds in LEGEND. To mitigate these backgrounds, a new pulse-shape discrimination technique for identifying surface events has been developed and implemented into the first LEGEND-200 analysis. In this seminar, I will present an overview of the LEGEND-200 analysis and its first result. I will also discuss the performance and evaluation of the surface background rejection techniques used in LEGEND.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lbnl.zoom.us/j/95016696011?pwd=Tk1XOW1Xd3RYRnlsc2tEYmRWZlVVZz09
Meeting ID: 950 1669 6011
Passcode: 247722
INPA guests from campus can now come to the lab early on Fridays. The INPA Common Room (50-5026) is reserved for our guests from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Note that the seminars are now held in 50A-5132 to accommodate a more significant number of attendees.
CPTea Series (also known as INPA Tea Series)
The Physics Division CPTea Series invites you to an In-Person Tea Series 1st Friday of every month at 3:30 pm INPA Conference Room 50-5026.
Everyone is welcome to attend the open forum. Tea and light refreshments will be served.
INPA Common Room (50-5026)
Fridays
3:30 pm
Access to the Lab
For a shuttle pass, please email Erica Hall. The pass is only valid for the day of the seminar.