No abstract available

[en] The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the first bolometric experiment searching for neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay that has been able to reach the 1-ton scale. The detector consists of an array of 988 TeO₂ crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. The construction of the experiment and, in particular, the installation of all towers in the cryostat was completed in 2016 and data taking started in 2017. In this conference we present the 0νββ decay results of CUORE from examining a total TeO₂ exposure of 86.3 kg yr, characterized by an effective energy resolution of 7.7 keV FWHM and a background in the region of interest of 0.014 counts/(keV kg yr). Based on these data, CUORE places a lower limit on the 0νββ decay half-life of ${}^{130}\mathrm{T}\mathrm{e}{T}_{1/2}^{0\mathrm{\upsilon <!--\; ??\; -->}}><!--\; >\; -->1.5\times <!--\; ??\; -->{10}^{25}\mathrm{y}\mathrm{r}$ (90% C.L.). We then discuss the latest updates in the analysis of background and in the evaluation of the half-life of 2νββ decay of ¹³⁰Te. (paper)

[en] During 2017 an agreement was signed between ENEA, INFN and the Italian Spatial Agency to cooperate in the field of neutron/gamma radiation damage analysis on electronic components to be used in future space-crafts. This agreement provides for use ENEA TRIGA RC-1 research reactor as a facility to perform neutron/gamma irradiation on such electronic devices. This paper describes the experimental characterization of the neutron flux spectrum performed in the Central Channel and in the Lazy Susan irradiation facilities of the TRIGA RC-1 reactor. The neutron activation technique is used to measure the intensity, the energy spectrum, and the spatial distribution of the neutron flux. The reactions have been chosen so to cover the whole energy range of the flux spectrum allowing for unfolding techniques of the neutron spectrum. (author)

[en] Developing detectors operating in time coincidence is a possible way to increase the sensitivity in gamma spectroscopy. Such design allows both the selection of specific events and the rejection of background. In this work we present a new low background detector mainly developed for the determination of radioactive contamination of liquid samples. The system was constructed by combining a liquid organic scintillator, for the detection of alpha and beta particles, and a High Purity Germanium for the detection of correlated gamma rays. Despite being located in a non-underground laboratory, the instrument can reach sensitivities in the range of tens mBq/kg for ²³⁸U, ²³⁵U and ²³²Th, exploiting alpha–gamma and beta–gamma coincidence events.

[en] Searches for new physics in the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering require a precise knowledge of the neutrino flux and energy spectrum. In this paper we investigate the feasibility and the performance of an experiment based on a ${}^{51}$Cr source, whose neutrino spectrum is known and whose activity can be heat-monitored at few permil level. With a 5 MCi source placed at ∼25 cm from the detector, under an exposure of two ${}^{51}$Cr half-lives (55.4 days), we evaluate 3900 (900) counts on a 2000 cm${}^3$ target of germanium (sapphire) featuring an energy threshold of 8 (20) eV. To further increase the exposure, multiple activations of the same source could be possible.

[en] The MOSCAB experiment (Materia OSCura A Bolle) uses a new technique for dark matter search. The Geyser technique is applied to the construction of a prototype detector with a mass of 0.5 kg and the encouraging results are reported here; an accent is placed on a big detector of 40 kg in construction at the Milano-Bicocca University and INFN

[en] In nuclear reactor analysis, a relevant challenge is to achieve a suitable global description of nuclear systems through the coupling between neutronics and thermal-hydraulics. Indeed, a multi-physics approach improves the reactor safety analysis and the design of different types of nuclear systems; in addition, it allows the investigation of physical effects at different scales of time and space. In this context, a challenging task is the development of multi-physics tools to study the fuel burnup: these tools could improve the fuel management and estimate the amount of long-lived radionuclides in spent nuclear fuel for current and innovative nuclear reactors. This paper presents the study of a burnup analysis with the Serpent Monte Carlo code, that implements an external interface for the coupling with OpenFOAM, in order to import material temperatures and density field calculated by a thermal-hydraulics solver. In particular, we carried out a burnup analysis for the entire fuel cycle of a simplified fuel cell, composed by an UO₂ pin surrounded by water. We evaluated the effects of the multi-physics coupling by comparing the results from simulations that adopt uniform distributions of material temperatures and densities, to those obtained with the multi-physics coupled approach. Particularly, we will show the differences in nuclide densities and the results from the transport calculation (neutron fluxes, reaction rates and criticality). (author)

[en] The CUORE-0 experiment, a 52 bolometer array searching for neutrinoless double beta decay from "1"3"0Te, has started taking data in spring 2013 underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The excellent results obtained in terms of energy resolution and background level allowed this experiment to reach the sensitivity of Cuoricino in approximately half the runtime. Combining CUORE-0 data (9.8 kg·yr exposure of "1"3"0Te) with the 19.75 kg·yr exposure of the Cuoricino experiment, we obtain the most stringent limit to date on the half-life of this isotope (T_1_/_2 > 4.0 × 10"2"4 yr). In this article, we review the results from CUORE-0 and discuss the status and the physics potential of CUORE, a 19 times larger bolometer array that plans to begin operations by end of this year

[en] This work is based on an object-oriented approach for the modeling and simulation of the reactor dynamics. The model is applied and validated on a TRIGA Mark II reactor. The aim of this work is to investigate the neutronic reactivity model, accounting for the temperature feedback of the fuel and of the moderator, as well as the poisons accumulation effects. The reactivity model is validated on experimental data from extended transients of the system temperature, at nominal power. In particular, the positive value of moderator temperature coefficient and the negative value of fuel temperature coefficient are estimated at nominal power. There is good agreement of the extended experimental transients with the whole reactivity and thermodynamics model of the plant. The model simulation shows a good reliability against experimental data and a good trade-off to computational time. In the extended transients, the model tracks the effects of the reactor pool thermal inertia on the system dynamics.

[en] The CUPID-0 experiment searches for neutrinoless double beta decay using the first array of enriched Zn⁸²Se scintillating bolometers with double (heat and light) read-out. To further enhance the CUPID-0 detector performances, the heat-light correlation has been exploited to improve the energy resolution. Different decorrelation algorithms have been studied and the best result is the average reduction of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) energy resolution to (90.5±0.6) % of its original value, corresponding to a change from FWHM=(20.7±0.5) keV to FWHM=(18.7±0.5) keV at the 2615 keV γ line.