Erlangen 2026 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 22: Neutrino Physics II

T 22.7: Talk

Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 17:45–18:00, AudiMax

Exploring coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering with NUCLEUS: Overview of the experiment — •Alexander Wallach for the NUCLEUS collaboration — Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany

Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CEνNS) is a pure weak-neutral current interaction predicted within the Standard Model. The CEνNS cross section is several orders of magnitude larger than that of other low-energy neutrino interactions, enabling its study with small, highly sensitive detectors. Investigating CEνNS provides a pathway to probe neutrino properties, explore physics beyond the Standard Model, and address the CEνNS background in dark matter searches.

The NUCLEUS experiments aim to perform precision measurements of CEνNS properties using reactor antineutrinos at the Chooz nuclear power plant. In order to measure nuclear recoils below 100eV, NUCLEUS employs a multi-stage detection system, consisting of CaWO₄ and Al₂O₃ cryogenic calorimeters with an O(10 eV) energy threshold, surrounded by a twofold system of instrumented cryogenic vetoes, an external passive shielding and a muon veto to improve the identification and discrimination of backgrounds.

In this talk I will give an overview of the NUCLEUS experiment, focusing on the underlying physics motivation and the detection concept.

Keywords: neutrino detection; coherent elastic neutrino nucleus scattering; transition edge sensors; cryogenic calorimeters; BSM