Abstract
dc:description.abstractCUORE is one of the world-leading experiments to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The excellent energy resolution and the stability of the detectors at CUORE also allow for other rare event searches. This thesis describes an experimental analysis undertaken to search for baryon number violation in 130Te using the data acquired by the CUORE detector. The conservation of the baryon number in the Standard Model relies on an accidental symmetry rather than being deduced from fundamental principles. If there is evidence suggesting a breach of this symmetry, it would significantly impact our understanding of the universe, especially concerning the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry. One possible way for this conservation principle to be violated is through tri-nucleon decay, where three nucleons decay simultaneously within a nucleus. For 130Te, the resulting decay products would be emitted with energy in the GeV range, making them a promising signal for detection in the CUORE experiment. This thesis describes the search signatures, the relevant background, and the analysis techniques used in this investigation, and results for an exposure of 236.6 kg·yr are presented. The daughter nucleus of the decay (127In) is unstable, and its decay chain can offer an secondary signature coinciding with the emitted energy. The viability of adding this secondary signature is also presented.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Level thesis:degree_level
- doctoral
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Physics
- Department dc:contributor.department
- Physics
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Virginia Tech
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2024
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Sharma, Vivek
- Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
-
- O'Donnell, Thomas
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
-
- Mariani, Camillo
- Piilonen, Leo E.
- Horiuchi, Shunsaku
Subjects
dc:subject × 5Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
- Licence dc:rights.uri
- Language dc:language.iso
- en
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- vt_gsexam:40469
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118967