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2025-05-13, 9:00 a.m.
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Annika Lennarz (TRIUMF)2025-05-13, 9:05 a.m.
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Kyle Leach (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-13, 9:10 a.m.
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Kyle Leach (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-13, 9:15 a.m.Oral invited talk
I will discuss a brief history of the experiment, the progress we have made, and our achievements over the past 2 years.
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Stephan Friedrich (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)2025-05-13, 9:35 a.m.Oral contributed talk
The BeEST Experiment is an international collaboration between experts in many different fields of science. Few of them are low-temperature solid-state physicists. But we all work on some aspect of nuclear decays in superconducting tunnel junctions at temperatures around ~0.1 K. This talk will give a very basic overview of superconductivity and tunnel junctions that I think every collaborator...
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Annika Lennarz (TRIUMF)2025-05-13, 9:55 a.m.Oral invited talk
I'll present the experimental concept and status for 7Be and 37Ar beam implantations and prospects at TRIUMF.
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Douglas Tuckler (TRIUMF and Simon Fraser University)2025-05-13, 10:45 a.m.Oral invited talk
Neutrinos masses are clear evidence of physics beyond-the-SM. In this talk, we will review mechanisms of neutrino mass generation, focusing on the seesaw mechanism. This mechanism predicts the existence of heavy neutral leptons (or right-handed neutrinos) with rich phenomenology that can be probed with current and future experiments.
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Inwook Kim (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)2025-05-13, 11:05 a.m.Oral invited talk
We discuss the analysis procedure of the BeEST Phase III and its current status. The discussion will include the application of likelihood profiling for the multiple spectra and various systematic uncertainties that may affect the final limits for the heavy neutrino search.
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Paul-Antoine Hervieux (University of Strasbourg)2025-05-14, 8:45 a.m.Oral invited talk
We will present our latest results on (i) the calculation of electron capture decay probabilities, focusing on the effect of atomic electronic structure modelling and shaking processes [1] (ii) the influence of the tantalum matrix on the P_L/P_K ratio [2].
[1] A. Andoche, L. Mouawad, P.-A. Hervieux, X. Mougeot, J. Machado, and J. P. Santos, Physical Review A 109, 032826 (2024).
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[2] In preparation. -
Vincenzo Lordi (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)2025-05-14, 9:05 a.m.Oral invited talk
I will summarize various atomistic computational efforts to understand materials science effects on the sensitivity of BeEST experiments. Quantum mechanical simulations based on density functional theory (DFT) were applied to understand possible uncertainties (broadening) of capture peak energies due to defects (impurities, clustering, intersitial vs substitutional doping, crystal damage,...
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David Diercks (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-14, 9:25 a.m.Oral contributed talk
Recent BeEST experimental results displayed that the breadth of the measured peaks associated with electron capture (EC) decay were wider than the inherent resolution of the superconducting tunnel junction detector (STJ). One possible source of the measured peak resolution being appreciably worse than the resolution inherent in the STJ detector is from local imperfections in the materials...
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Iain McKenzie (TRIUMF)2025-05-14, 9:45 a.m.Oral invited talk
One puzzling observation in the $^7$Li recoil spectra of the BeEST data is the fact that the peaks widths were significantly larger than the ∼2eV width of the laser peaks set by the energy resolution of the STJ's. This isn't currently understood, thus is a limitation to the progression of the BeEST experimentation through the sensitivity, which is crucial for the observation of small SN masses...
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Caitlyn Stone-whitehead (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-14, 10:05 a.m.Oral invited talk
G4CMP has been developed as an extension to GEANT4 to excite phonons and charges in cryogenic semiconductor crystals in response to energy deposited by radiation. G4CMP is currently being developed towards superconducting processes in the developer's consortium, allowing for modelling the implanted BeEST signal. This talk will demonstrate the applications and value of G4CMP for simulating the...
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Mohamad Kanafani (LPC Caen)2025-05-14, 10:25 a.m.Oral contributed talk
Poor knowledge of incomplete energy deposition of Auger electrons are a limiting factor in the BeEST's sensitivity to sterile neutrinos. We will present state of the art low-energy scattering simulations and focus on how current approximations determine systematic uncertainties.
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Stephan Friedrich (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)2025-05-14, 11:15 a.m.Oral invited talk
At LLNL, we can currently operate up to 32 STJs in two “wet” adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADRs) with liquid N2 and He pre-cooling and a base temperature of ~0.1 K. One of them holds the STJs at the end of a cold finger so that it can be surrounded by large scintillators for coincidence measurements. We also own a “dry” ADR with pulse-tube pre-cooling and a wet dilution refrigerator...
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Francisco Ponce (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)2025-05-14, 11:35 a.m.Oral invited talk
Phase IV of the BeEST experiment requires continuous stable operation of the STJ sensor arrays for 100+ days. This requires transitioning into a dilution refrigerator which will bring new systematics and additional opportunities to deploy recent capabilities demonstrated at LLNL. In this presentation, we will cover the status of STJ sensor operations at PNNL and outline potential areas of improvement.
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Ashley Marie Evangelista (TRIUMF)2025-05-14, 11:55 a.m.Oral invited talk
This contribution will discuss the operation of the VeriCold Dilution Refrigerator (DR) at TRIUMF, a crucial cryogenic instrument for experiments that need ultra-low temperatures and long-term operational duration. A significant challenge was achieving and maintaining stable millikelvin temperatures, essential for effectively operating our Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ) detectors for...
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Wouter Van De Pontseele (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-14, 12:15 p.m.Oral invited talk
Together with Maybell Quantum, we are designing a low-vibration dilution refrigerator with a large and modular sample area. This fridge will be installed on the Mines campus and is a first step towards the Colorado Underground Research Institute (CURIE). At CURIE, the muon flux is 500x suppressed, and we will have low $-$ and in-situ characterized $-$ vibration, EMI disturbances, and high...
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Joseph Templet (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-14, 12:35 p.m.Oral contributed talk
Dilution refrigerators, in contrast to the single-shot adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators previously utilized in the BeEST experiment, provide continuous cooling power, resulting in a nearly indefinite experimental runtime and a colder, more thermally stable base temperature—properties beneficial for STJ operation. Here, I discuss a bespoke experimental design for testing STJs in dilution...
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Thomas Brunner (McGill/TRIUMF)2025-05-14, 2:10 p.m.Oral invited talk
A challenge in preparing radioactive samples is the dependence on beam time at radioactive isotope facilities. One can imagine implanting large amounts of long-lived isotopes into a target at an isotope facility. The target is then brought to an offline laboratory where specific quantifies of the isotope are extracted from the target via laser ablation. The ablated ions can then be...
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Brian Lenardo (SLAC)2025-05-14, 2:30 p.m.Oral contributed talk
The broadening for nuclear recoils observed in BeEST’s STJ experiments is as-yet unexplained. We are working to investigate the origins of this broadening with two proposed control experiments: 1) repeating the 7Be measurements with a phonon-mediated detector, rather than direct pair-breaking, and 2) measuring nuclear recoils from gamma ray emission rather than electron captures. I will...
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Connor Bray (Colorado School of MInes)2025-05-14, 2:50 p.m.Oral invited talk
Gamma-coincidence tagging has proven to be a valuable tool for performing high-selectivity measurements of specific excited state nuclear recoils for the BeEST experiment. In this talk I present experimental concepts for further utilizing coincidence tagging in the BeEST and SALER experimental programs.
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Spencer Fretwell (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-14, 3:10 p.m.Oral invited talk
The nuclear broadening of the BeEST spectrum as a result of materials effects is poorly constrained. While a precise model of the recoil of dopant radioisotopes in a superconductor such as tantalum and the resulting quasiparticle dynamics in an STJ are challenging, measuring this effect in analogous aluminum-based STJs provides an experimental comparison of this effect. This talk will discuss...
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Brian Mong (SLAC)2025-05-14, 3:30 p.m.Oral invited talk
We will discuss the design of a more adaptable device holder for future implantations in the TRIUMF-ISAC facility. This holder will be able to accommodate much larger devices, such as the SLAC Transition Edge Sensors, as well as more objects at the same time so that fewer vacuum breaks are necessary. We are currently building a swap in replacement of the chamber that should be available by June.
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Douglas Tuckler (TRIUMF and Simon Fraser University)2025-05-14, 4:20 p.m.Oral invited talk
New physics coupled to neutrinos are well-motivated extensions of the SM, and could play a role in neutrino mass generation or mediating interactions between the SM and dark sectors. In this talk, we will explore the phenomenology of light neutrinophilic particles, and their signatures in electron capture experiments like BeEST.
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Leendert Hayen (LPC Caen)2025-05-14, 4:40 p.m.Oral invited talk
We will provide a status update of three-body decay searches in the BeEST data set, focusing on the anticipated sensitivity in the current data set.
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Joseph Smolsky (STAR Cryoelectronics)2025-05-14, 5:00 p.m.Oral contributed talk
The precision of the BeEST measurement can be used to study wavepacket sizes in 7-Be electron capture decays. Predictions for wavepacket sizes vary widely based on the scale of localizing interactions and are largely unconstrained by data. By using Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and conservation laws, the BeEST measurement places the first experimental limit on the size of decay products...
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David Moore (Yale)2025-05-14, 5:20 p.m.Oral invited talk
I will describe some ideas for analyzing the $^7$Be recoil energy spectrum to search for physics other than sterile neutrinos with this data.
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Andrew Marino (Colorado School of Mines)2025-05-15, 1:30 p.m.Oral invited talk
The SALER experiment aims to expand the precision nuclear recoil measurements in STJs pioneered by the BeEST to much shorter-lived isotopes on-line at FRIB. In this talk we present on the initial commissioning of SALER with a 262 nm UV laser as well as development towards coupling STJs in an ADR cryostat to the FRIB beamline.
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Leendert Hayen (LPC Caen)2025-05-15, 1:50 p.m.Oral invited talk
We will introduce the proposed ASGARD experiment, which utilises a combination of novel technological steps to perform high precision spectroscopy on short-lived isotopes. The latter is used for TeV-scale searches for new physics and can open up new directions in nuclear physics studies.
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David Moore (Yale)2025-05-15, 2:10 p.m.Oral invited talk
I will describe ideas to use optically trapped nanoparticles to search for sterile neutrinos or other new physics by directly measuring the momentum of nuclear recoils from the decay of radioisotopes within the particles. These techniques can provide complementarity to the energy resolving measurements performed by the BeEST, and can allow a number of isotopes to be studied.
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Pietro Giampa (TRIUMF)2025-05-15, 2:30 p.m.Oral contributed talk
In this talk, we will review why low-mass (KeV-MeV) dark matter is an interesting field of study and how cryogenic superconducting techniques could assist in the search for this elusive component of the universe.
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