R2D2: A new high pressure Xenon TPC for Neutrinoless double beta decay search

by Dr Fabrice Piquemal (Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Bordeaux)

Wednesday 26 Nov 2025, 13:30 → 14:30 Europe/London

Small Lecture Theatre (Poynting)

To search for neutrinoless double-beta decay with unprecedented sensitivity, the R2D2 collaboration is developing a radial Time Projection Chamber (TPC). This detector will contain a fiducial mass of half a ton of 136Xe at high pressure and will be capable of identifying the two emitted electrons.
This presentation will cover the R&D results obtained from prototypes, focusing on energy resolution, signal processing, and electron identification capabilities. Simulations of the full-scale experiment—including detector design, topological recognition of interactions, and event energy reconstruction—will be shown, with careful consideration of the radioactive background.

The developed analytical tools enable effective discrimination between the sought-after signal and background noise. After ten years of data collection, the projected sensitivity is expected to yield a half-life limit exceeding10^27 years, along with constraints on the effective neutrino mass . With a larger mass of 136Xe, the detector could potentially exclude the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy region, depending on the final experimental background.