This thesis describes the experimental work that finally led to a successful measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scatteringa process proposed forty-three years ago. The experiment was performed at the Spallation Neutron Source facility, sited at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Tennessee.

Of all known particles, neutrinos distinguish themselves for being the hardest to detect, typically requiring large multi-ton devices for the job. The process measured here involves the difficult detection of very weak signals arising from nuclear recoils (tiny neutrino-induced kicks to atomic nuclei), but leads to a much larger probability of neutrino interaction when compared to all other known mechanisms. As a result of this, neutrino technologies using miniaturized detectors (the author's was handheld and weighed only 14 kg) become a possibility. A large community of researchers plans to continue studying this process, facilitating an exploration of fundamental neutrinoproperties that is presently beyond the sensitivity of other methods.

Nominated as an outstanding PhD thesis by the University of Chicago Describes the successful detection of long sought-after signals from nuclear recoils Provides a thorough background on the subject, covering fundamental concepts as well as existing experiments Describes the process of creating and using detector in great detail, from wiring and calibration to measurement and analysis

Autorentext

Bjorn Scholz received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 2017.

Inhalt
Chapter1. Introduction.- Chapter2. Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering.- Chapter3. Coherent at the Spallation Neutron Source.- Chapter4. Background Studies.- Chapter5. The CSI[NA] CENS Search Detector at the SNS.- Chapter6. Light Yield and Light Collection Uniformity.- Chapter7. Barium Calibration of the CENS Detector.- Chapter8. Measurement of the Low-Energy Quenching Factor in CSI[NA].- Chapter9. CENS Search at the SNS.- Chapter10. Conclusion.