1. SuperNEMO 1st Report to Oversight Committee
SuperNEMO UK
29 June 2006

2. Outline SuperNEMO overview Report on activity Feb – Jun ’06
Management and Work Packages
Tracker work
Scintillator work
Work on other work packages
Milestones and plans for the next period, Jul’06 – Feb’07
Milestones and future plans until Jan’09

3. SuperNEMO collaboration
NEMO collaboration + new labs ~ 70 people, 11 countries, 27 laboratories
Marocco
Fes U.
Japan
U. Saga
U. Osaka
USA
MHC
INL
(U. Texas) UK
UC London
U Manchester
IC London
Finland
U. Jyvaskula
Russia
JINR Dubna
INR Moscow
ITEP Moscow
Kurchatov Institute
Ukraine
INR Kiev
ISMA Kharkov
France
CEN Bordeaux
IReS Strasbourg
LAL ORSAY
LPC Caen
LSCE Gif/Yvette
Slovakia
U. Bratislava
Spain
U. Valencia
U. Zarogoza
U. Autonoma Barcelona
Czech Republic
Charles U. Prague
CTU Prague

4. SuperNEMO detector: possible design
Number of Modules = 20
For each module
Calorimeter : 300 to 1000 PMT’s
(depending on the final design)
Resolution (FWHM) at 3MeV = 4%
Tracking : drift chamber (3000 cells
in Geiger mode)
Magnetic field : 25 gauss
14 m
Source foil:
5 kg of enriched 150Nd or 82Se
Water shield:
2kT of water for 20 modules
(0) ~ 30 %

5. SuperNEMO  source: 82Se, 150Nd
Goal : T1/2  1026 y
< m>  50 meV
= G M ‹ m›2 2 T 
82Se
Q = MeV
Phase space factor G0 = 1.08 x y-1eV-2
214Bi < 10 Bq/kg
208Tl < 2 Bq/kg
Radon < 2 Bq/m3
Radiopurity requirements for the  source
T2 = 9 x 1019 y
Expected background from 22 = 1.4 evt/500kg.y in 200 keV
(200 keV energy window at Q)
Enrichment by ultracentrifugation
150Nd
Q= MeV
Phase space factor G0 = 8.00 x y-1eV-2
Radiopurity requirements for the  source
208Tl < 2 Bq/kg
The
best choice
for phase space
and background
T2 = 9 x1018 y
Expected background from 22 = 2.2 evt/500kg.y in 200 keV
(200 keV energy window at Q)
Enrichment by laser

6. SuperNEMO Design Study Feb’06 – Jan’09
Approved in UK and France. Similar proposals under consideration in Spain, Russia, Czech Republic, Japan
Main tasks and deliverables
R&D on critical components
Optimisation of tracking detector
Wiring automation
Calorimeter energy resolution to 4% at 3 MeV
Ultrapure source production and purity control
Radon suppression /removal techniques
Technical Design report
Experimental site selection (New Frejus, Canfranc, Gran Sasso, Boulby)
UK responsibility
UK major
involvement

7. SuperNEMO collaboration. Organizational chart
Institutional Board (IB)
Executive Committee
IB Chair
Project
Manager
Spokesperson and
Deputy Spokesperson
Technical Coordinator
WP1
Manager
WP2
Manager
WP9
Manager     
Preliminary agreement at collaboration meeting at MSSL in April.
Details being discussed

8. UK
resonsibility
WP2, WP9
Major involvement in
WP1, WP7
UK institutions
UCL (+MSSL)
Manchester
Imperial proposal
under study
by PPRP/SC
UK positions:
Ruben Saakyan – Deputy Spokesperson
Stefan Soldner-Rembold – WP2 manager (UK main hardware responsibility)
Jenny Thomas – WP9 manager
Mary Carter(MSSL) – SuperNEMO UK project manager

9. For Work Packages please see Appendix B attached to the Report
SuperNEMO UK personnel
New postdoc – Irina Nasteva (Manchester), start full-time Aug’06
New postdoc – Zornitza Daraktchieva (UCL) started 26 Jun’06
2 new PhD students from October (1 Manchester + 1 UCL) + 1 MsC in Manchester + possibly in Imperial
Staff at MSSL identified
Mary Carter (50% project management), mechanical and electronic engineers
and lab space preparation
new lab in Manchester with clean room (moved in May)
New Lab at MSSL being constructed (complete Apr’07)
250 m2 total
160 m2 Physics Lab including clean room + 32m2 Electronics Lab
Built for joint HEP and SS projects, SuperNEMO is the main user
Lab space at UCL being refurbished (ready July’06)

11. WP1. Calorimeter R&D Continuation of seed corn work
Main goal: demonstrate
with large scale production

12. WP1. Calorimeter.
Work in Feb-Jun concentrated on PMT characterization (resolution vs saturation)
CAMAC/NIM based DAQ refurbished
8” and 10” Hamamatsu studied and compared with 8” and 10” ETL
picture from Sinead

13. Calorimeter work
Hamamatsu similar resolution with ETL (FWHM = 7.5% at 1 MeV) at low HV but
suspiciously good at higher HV (~5.2%).
The problem identified – saturation.
Solution after the meeting with Hamamatsu engineers – “smarter” divider chain

14. WP1-Calorimeter. Future plans and milestones
High QE PMTs (~34%). Order for new Hamamatsu 3” PMT to be placed in July. Talks to be held with Hamamatsu and ETL
VME based DAQ for calorimeter and calibration test stands – Dec’06
Scintillator blocks studies. Baseline choice of material and geometry – Feb’07
PMT characterization. SuperNEMO PMT specs draft – Feb’07
Scintillator bar resolution studies – Apr’07
Decision of calorimeter layout (bars vs blocks) – Jun’07
Calorimeter for 100+ prototype construction (TBC) – Oct’07

15. WP2. Tracker. Stefan Soldner-Rembold

16. WP9. Calibration
Absolute (source), gain and linearity (Light Injection)
Main tasks
Conceptual design:
Strength and type of sources
LED vs laser, light distribution
gain control with 1pe peak
Milestones
LI tests with UV, blue,… LEDs and 1pe calibration studies – Dec’06
Choice of calibration sources – Mar’06
Conceptual calibration design – Jul’07
Construction of calibration system for 100+ prototype – Oct’07
Commissioning of calibration system for 100+ prototype at MSSL – Feb’08
Testing full calibration chain with 100+ prototype at Canfranc – end’08

17. WP7. MC Simulations, Physics Analysis and Software
Existing NEMO3 software is advanced but F77/Geant3 based
“First order” SuperNEMO simulations carried out in Manchester, UCL and Strasbourg (F77/Geant 3 based)
SuperNEMO software will be OO: C++/ROOT/Geant 4
OO framework is being set up (first bits written in UCL and Caen, regular meetings organized)
Final decision on work breakdown in September
Imperial proposal is considered by PPRP/SC. Main focus on augmenting the simulation effort.
Alternative calorimeter design (scintillator bar readout)
Site specific muon and neutron background simulations

18. Scintillator bar design
Double sided readout

19. Conceptual design. Scintillator bars.
Full detector layout.
Top view
Much more compact:
10×10 m2 floor area will
accommodate a ~200 m2 foil (~100 kg)
External walls as active shielding
Save on scintillator and
number of PMTs:
only 2200 cheap 5” PMTs
Bigger mass or mg/cm2
foil may be affordable?
Energy resolution
can be relaxed in this configuration
(10-11%? simulations needed)
Promising but full simulations needed
(IC input crucial!)