Recent results and future plans for the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR

Speaker: Prof. Reyco Henning, University of North Carolina

When: May 11, 2017 (Thu), 03:30PM to 04:30PM (add to my calendar)
Location: PRB 595
Hosted by: Ed Kearns

This event is part of the HEE Seminar Series.

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR (MJD) is a 44-kg array of low-background germanium detectors of which 30kg is made from detectors enriched to 88% in 76Ge. MJD is operating a mile underground in the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in Lead, SD. Its main purpose is to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge and to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a tonne-scale Ge-based neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment. It is also capable of direct searches of a variety of dark matter candidates and other physics beyond the Standard Model. In this talk I will review the motivation, design and construction of the MJD, as well as recent results for a the search for bosonic dark matter using commissioning data taken in 2015. I will also discuss the current status of MJD and conclude with a discussion of future plans for MJD.