Princeton University

Title: CLEAN: Cryogenic Low Energy Astrophysics with Neon

Abstract: CLEAN is a new approach to the detection of weakly interacting particles of astrophysical significance. CLEAN is capable of detecting low energy solar neutrinos, weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), and neutrinos released from supernovas. Because liquid neon has a high scintillation yield, has no long-lived radioactive isotopes, and can be easily purified using cold traps, it is an ideal medium for the detection of rare nuclear events. In addition, neon is inexpensive, dense, and transparent to its own scintillation light, making it practical for use in a large self-shielding apparatus. The center of the full-sized CLEAN detector would be a stainless steel tank holding approximately 100 metric tons of liquid neon. Inside the tank and suspended in the liquid neon would be several thousand photomultipliers. The scientific promise and technical challenges of CLEAN will be discussed.