WELCOME to AIS

Abstract:

Germanium detectors are used to search for neutrino-less double beta decay and dark matter. So far, all experiments were limited by background and a relatively small mass of the detectors. As the nature of the neutrino is fundamental to our understanding of the universe, a new generation of ton-scale experiments is envisioned that would push the sensitivity down to a Majorana mass of 10 meV. At the same time, such an experiment should also enhance the senisitivity to dark matter by an order of magnitude by lowering the energy threshold of the germanium detectors. An introduction to germanium detectors and there usage is given. Ideas for novel germanium detectors are presented together with some data demonstrating their capabilities. In addition, an outlook on how a ton-scale experiment could look like is given.

Speaker's Biography:

Studied mathematics and physics at the University of Hamburg. Got my Ph.D. on neutrino nucleaon scattering[CHARM] at CERN. Was working at SLAC from 1986 to 1992 on the SLD experiment. I am senior staff member at the MPI for Physics in Munich since I returned to Germany. I have worked on silicon detectors for ALEPH at CERN and HERA-B at DESY. I have worked on H1 and ZEUS, i.e. on ep scattering at DESY. I am still the physics chair of ZEUS. I have been working with Germanium for 10 years, spent some years on GERDA, and I am now planning for ton-scale experiments based on Germanium.