Speaker
Description
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) offers a broad range of physical and technological applications. First predicted in 1974 and remained undetected until 2017, the process is currently entering the era of precision measurements. For this purpose, low energy neutrinos from nuclear reactors represent an ideal source, enabling the investigation of CE$\nu$NS in the fully coherent regime of low momentum transfer. Additionally, extremely sensitive experiments with low energy threshold and low environmental background are needed to probe the small nuclear recoil signature.
In this context, the NUCLEUS experiment is designed to detect CE$\nu$NS with antineutrinos from the Chooz nuclear power plant in France, using CaWO$_4$ cryogenic calorimeters read out by transition-edge sensors. With a demonstrated energy threshold below 20 eV and several layers of active and passive shielding, NUCLEUS aims to measure the CE$\nu$NS cross section with $\sim$20% precision during its upcoming first phase. After a successful commissioning at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the experiment is currently being relocated to the Chooz experimental site, where a first technical run is scheduled to test a minimal version of the system. We present the milestones achieved so far and the future plans of the experiment.