Engineering sketch of nEXO installed in the SNOLAB underground facility. nEXO’s presentations in the Portfolio Review emphasized our preparedness to build the experiment at SNOLAB.
(Download Image)nEXO Portfolio Review
In July 2021, nEXO participated in a Portfolio Review conducted by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Together, the Nuclear Physics Program’s leadership team and a distinguished panel of reviewers performed the Portfolio Review, which covered the leading proposed technologies for neutrinoless double beta decay searches to guide future US investment in this scientific field.
Members of the nEXO project advocated for the scientific merit and readiness of our liquid xenon time projection chamber design. The material presented included results from our updated study on the sensitivity of nEXO to neutrinoless double beta decay, discussed the unique advantages of liquid xenon time projection chambers, estimated budgets and timelines for the construction of nEXO, and showed plans for installation at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNOLAB).
Based on this Portfolio Review as well as the North America–Europe Workshop on Future of Double Beta Decay, held in September 2021 at the Italian Laboratory of Gran Sasso, the international stakeholders have formed a consensus that the best chance for success in neutrinoless double beta decay research requires the construction of two large tonne-scale neutrinoless double beta decay experiments, one sited in Europe and one in North America. nEXO looks forward to participating in this bright future for research into the fundamental nature of the neutrino.