PNNL

Abstract

The Majorana Collaboration is using an array of high-purity Ge detectors to search for neutrinoless double-beta decays in 76Ge. Searches for neutrinoless double-beta decay are understood to be the only viable experimental method for testing the Majorana nature of the neutrino. Observation of this decay would imply violation of lepton number, that neutrinos are Majorana in nature, and could provide information on the neutrino mass. The Majorana Demonstrator comprises 44.1 kg of p-type point-contact Ge detectors (29.7 kg enriched in 76Ge) surrounded by a low-background shield system. The experiment achieved a high efficiency of converting raw Ge material to detectors, and an unprecedented detector energy resolution of 2.5 keV FWHM at Qßß. The Majorana collaboration began taking physics data in 2016. This paper summarizes key construction aspects of the Demonstrator and shows preliminary results from initial data.