##### CUORE

Collaboration:

- Italy: Firenze Univ. and INFN, Insubria Univ. and INFN Milano, LNGS, Milano Univ. and INFN
- Germany: Leiden
- Spain: Zaragoza
- USA: Berkeley, U.C. South Carolina

Location of the experiment: LNGS for cryogenic measurements, Milano-Bicocca for Radioactivity Measurements and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory for the thermistor production and optimization

National Responsible: E. Fiorini (Mi)

1. Goal of the experiment

CUORE is the acronym for "Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events". It consists in a series of experiments with very massive cryogenic detectors to investigate rare processes like double beta decay, interactions of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPS) and solar axions and to search for rare nuclear decays.

More on the experiment…

2.

Activities during 2002

The experiment based on the 20 crystal array has been concluded to leave the space to the CUORICINO set-up. A paper on the results on neutrinoless double beta decay and with the first direct indication for two neutrino double beta decay has been accepted by Phys.Lett.B
The final results on the beta decay of Te-123 are published in the Januray issue of Phys.Rev. C
Results on Dark matter have been presented at the IDM2002 Conference in Sheffield
CUORICINO has been mounted and the first events were seen at the beginning of 2003
A detailed technical proposal for CUORE is going to be published in Nucl.Instrum. and Meth. A. T A paper on the physical motivations of CUORE has been submitted to Astroparticle Physics
R&D for radioactive background reduction and tests on new type of suspentions and thermalization have been carried out in Hall C

The following achievements have been obtained:

- Mounting of CUORICINO (100% )
- Conclusion of a first series of measurements on the neutrinoless double beta decay (*)
- Preparation of a detailed design for CUORE (100%)
- R&D in hall C to improve energy resolution and radioactive background.(100%)
- Study of new types of framing and suspensions (100%)
- Study of new crystals (0%(**))

(*) The whole setup has been completed at the end of January 2003. The measurement will start before the end of February.

(**) The test of new crystals have been posponed after the Cuoricino measurement start.

Milestones 2003

Preliminary results on neutrinoless and two neutrino double beta decay | 30-06-2003
Advanced results on neutrinoless double beta decay | 31-12-2003
Presentation of the CUORE proposal | 31-12-2003

3. INFN contribution to the experiment in terms of manpower and financial support

- Manpower: 23 researchers (10.6 FTE), 5 technicians (2.3 FTE)
- Budget for the year 2003: 1.2 % of the total CSNII budget

4. Publications in refereed journals (in 2002): 4

5. Conference talks (in 2002): 5

6. Number of undergraduate and doctoral thesis on the experiment:

n.3 Laurea diplomas

7. Leadership role and primary responsibilities of the experiment

E.Fiorini (Mi) is the spokesman of the experiment.

Milano Group is responsible of the cryogenic activity and of the measurement of the radioactive background;

Milano group is the only one involved in development of data acquisition and electronic read-out for arrays of cryogenic detectors

8.Innovative instruments:

As mentioned before the presently operating array is by large the most massive ultra-cryogenic set-up in the world

The alpha particle resolution obtained with the large crystal of tellurides is the best of the ones obtained with any type of detector

9.Competing experiments

There are only four other groups so far operating massive detectors underground and none of them searches for beta decay

The Milano group is the only one to perform gamma spectroscopy at high energy and alpha spectroscopy with thermal detectors

10.International committee which has reviewed the experiment

CUORICINO, the first phase of CUORE experiment, is annually reviewed by the INFN National Committee II.

The status of CUORICINO has been reported and approved in September by the International Scientific Committee of the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory and by the funding authorities of INFN and DOE (for the Berkeley group)