Description
Neutrinoless double beta decay experiments are developing new technologies to reach sensitivities to the half-life of the order of 10$^{28}$ years. One of the most promising solutions consists in detecting the daughter ion produced in the decay. The NEXT collaboration is exploring chemical sensors to tag the Ba$^{++}$ dication produced in the double beta decay of $^{136}$Xe in coincidence with the two decay electrons. This chemosensors must be suitable for the ultra-dry conditions of a xenon gas chamber. Thus, we use a combination of surface science techniques to prove that Ba$^{++}$ ions are trapped in vacuum by the so-called Fluorescent Bicolor Indicators (FBI) deposited on different surfaces. Furthermore, we trace the shift in fluorescence emission to the chemical and conformational changes occurring in the chemosensors upon ion capture, hence taking solid steps toward a Ba$^{++}$ detector.
| Collaboration | NEXT |
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