The next-generation of xenon detectors for the search of neutrinoless double beta decays

The NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) collaboration is pioneering the use of high-pressure gaseous xenon time projection chambers (HPGXe-TPCs) to search for neutrinoless double beta decay, an hypotethical ultra-rare process whose observation would revolutionize our understanding of particle physics and the origin of mass. To demonstrate the scalability of this technology, the collaboration is building the HD-DEMO detector, a medium-scale prototype to be installed at the Donostia International Physics Center that is starting taking data in March 2026.

This internship will focus on developing a detailed Monte Carlo model of HD-DEMO and working on the analysis of the first data taking by this prototype. By comparing simulation and experiment, the student will study how well the detector performs in terms of energy resolution, tracking capability, efficiency, and noise. The project will validate the detector design and also provide insights that are essential for future large-scale experiments.

Working within an international collaboration, the student will gain hands-on experience in advanced detector simulation, calibration techniques, and data analysis, while contributing to some of the most important open questions in physics, addressing whether neutrinos are their own antiparticles and the source of the matter-antimatter imbalance in the universe.