CALDER - Neutrinoless double-beta decay identification in TeO₂ bolometers with kinetic inductance detectors

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Next-generation experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay must be sensitive to a Majorana neutrino mass as low as 10 meV. CUORE, an array of 988 TeO₂ bolometers being commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, features an expected sensitivity of 50-130 meV at 90% C.L, that can be improved by removing the background from α radioactivity. This is possible if, in coincidence with the heat release in a bolometer, the Cherenkov light emitted by the β signal is detected. The amount of light detected is so far limited to only 100 eV, requiring low-noise cryogenic light detectors. The CALDER project (Cryogenic wide-Area Light Detectors with Excellent Resolution) aims at developing a small prototype experiment consisting of TeO₂ bolometers coupled to new light detectors based on kinetic inductance detectors. The R&D is focused on the light detectors that could be implemented in a next-generation neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment.