PLAN

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PLAN

• 150Nd story
• MENPHIS in France short description
• how to keep the installation ?
• a scenario to go further

SNO - SuperNEMO 150Nd meeting Idaho
University November 7, 2007 S. Jullian, LAL Orsay
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150Nd STORY

• ? February 2006  a discovery  MENPHIS in
  France,
• Alain Petit (CEA)

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Achievements of the French SILVA uranium
enrichment program A. PETIT, G. BORDIER, P.
LEMAIRE et al., CEA
Gaseous diffusion
Ultracentrifugation
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Basics of the SILVA/AVLIS process (1/4)

• Selective photoionization

Choosing an efficient photoionization scheme is a
very difficult task ? 3 wavelengths l1, l2, l3
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Basics of the SILVA/AVLIS process (2/4)
depleted U collecting plate
enriched U collecting plate
photoionizing laser beam
vapour jet ( natural U)
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Basics of the SILVA/AVLIS process (3/4)
light-vapor interaction volume
depleted U collector
enriched U collectors
enriched U stream
depleted U stream
feed stream
reflux
electron beam gun
water cooled crucible
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Basics of the SILVA process (4/4)
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Milestones of the AVLIS process (USA)
1972 Beginning of the AVLIS Project at Los
Alamos 1992 150 kg (2) 112 hours (9 hours
full flow) 1992-95 Work on Gd and Er 1997
400 hours (280 hours for enrichment) 1999 the
AVLIS program is stopped in USA
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20002003 Program Menphis facility

Design 2001 Building 2002 1st test early
2003 1st full scale exp. june 2003
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Menphis enrichment experiment results

• Main results for the process
• 204 kg of enriched uranium at
• ? 2.5 mean (predicted) value

• About 2000 kg natural U evaporated
• ?400 on line assay measurements

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• 16 March 2006 visit of the installation at
  Pierrelatte (s-e France)
• talk (see later)
• ? 12 July 2006 Neutrino 2006 conference
• Dominique ? International statement

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• 25 October 2006 letter of F. Avignone to M.
  Spiro, Director of IN2P3/CNRS
• 27 October 2006 letter of Art. Mc Donald to M.
  Spiro
• ? 28 October 2006 E.mail from G. Wormser,
  Director of LAL (Orsay)
• to B. Bigot  Haut Commissaire à lEnergie
  Atomique , CEA  Conseiller scientifique du
  Président et du Gouvernement 
• ? 7 December 2006 D E N gives a  negative 
  advice
• Department of Nuclear Energy CEA
• ? December 2006 Jaca SuperNEMO meeting
• John Baker Nd purification is feasible

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• ? March 2007 ILIAS European statement for
  150Nd,
• see Dominique
• ? 17 April 2007 new meeting with the  Haut
  Commissaire 
• CEA at Saclay all the main people in charge
  of MENPHIS
• again a 2? 150Nd talk
• ? Mai 2007 SuperNEMO collaboration statement
• ? 2 mai 2007 new visit of MENPHIS with the
•  Haut Commissaire  and all the staff

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• ? 21 mai 2007 visit at  Laboratoire des Terres
  Rares 
• CNRS pure Nd or an alloy could be evaporated
• ? 4 juin 2007 visit at lINPG Grenoble a
  short note
• It is possible to evaporate and to collect Nd
• ? mid August 2007 framework fixed by the  Haut
  
• Commissaire  with questions to IN2P3
• 12 September 2007 meeting in IN2P3
• 1) Nd is decoupled from SuperNEMO an
  experiment with
• Se82
• 2) a Nd international collaboration must be
  established to
• go further

I hope we will be able to go further, why ?
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Masse du Neutrino de MajoranaIntérêt du 150Nd

• Pierrelatte
• 16 mars 2006
• S. Jullian - LAL, Orsay

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New enriched isotopes

• 76Ge because Ge is a semiconductor
• 130Te because 33 130Te in NatTe
• 136Xe Xenon is a a noble gas so a good detector
• 100Mo Q 3 MeV and chemistry
• 82Se Q 3 MeV and 2?2? 1020y
• purification OK
• 48Ca, 96Zr, 150Nd, no gaseous compound
• ? no centrifugation
• ? no enrichment

LASER Separation a dream why ?
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Factor of merit of 150Nd
Activity A A0? ? M0? ?2 x G0? (Z, Q??) x lt
m?gt2
150Nd is the best for GO? phase space
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Conclusion

• ?possibility to enrich 3 new isotopes 150Nd, 48Ca
  and 96Zr is a new step for the discovery of 2?0?
  at a level of ltm?gt 50 meV
• mass of enriched isotopes 100 kg
• 150Nd is the best candidate for SuperNEMO

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Conclusion 2nd talk

• CEA, Saclay 17 April 2007, S.Jullian (LAL, Orsay)
• 150Nd a dream for ??0?, 1st priority for the
  SuperNEMO collaboration
• constraint on 222Rn and 214Bi NO
• phase space 100 kg 150Nd equivalent to 1 700 kg
  of 76Ge
• ??0? to the excited state phase space with Q
  2.7 MeV
• Nuclear matrix element may be good but ?
• Mo? (SUSY) 150Nd the best

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Scenario a proposalto be discussed

• Phase 1
• - feasability test of evaporation and
  collection
• - design for MENPHIS
• Phase 2
• - operation of MENPHIS with the laser
• - first run to measure the yields, 10 to 100 g
  could be produced
• Program schedule
• Duration 2 years
• Cost 600 k Euros
• Laboratories IN2P3/CNRS
• IN2P3/CNRS 50
• Others SNO ?, 50
• Discussions with Livermore, real know-how in the
  US to get an advice on the feasibility to enrich
  Nd with MENPHIS