1–5 Jun 2026
Paraninfo, University of Zaragoza
Europe/Madrid timezone

Exploring Rare Event Searches with the LEGEND experiment: From 0nbb to Dark Matter

1 Jun 2026, 12:50
20m
Aula Magna

Aula Magna

Oral presentation Direct Detection Parallel Session - Direct Detection

Speaker

Valentina Biancaccci (GSSI, INFN)

Description

The LEGEND Collaboration searches for the neutrinoless double beta (0$\nu\beta\beta$) decay of $^{76}$Ge using high-purity germanium detectors enriched in $^{76}$Ge and deployed within a radiopure liquid argon cryostat.
LEGEND pursues a phased experimental program designed to probe 0$\nu\beta\beta$ decay with a discovery sensitivity in the half-life beyond $10^{28}$ years: LEGEND-200, currently ongoing, and LEGEND-1000, the next generation development.
LEGEND-200 started operating in 2023 at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso and ran in a stable physics data taking regime for about one year with 142.5 kg of detectors installed.
The performed analysis of LEGEND-200 data finds no evidence for a 0$\nu\beta\beta$ signal. A joint GERDA + MAJORANA Demonstrator + LEGEND-200 analysis provides a limit of $T^{0\nu}_{1/2}$ $>$ 1.9 $\times$ 10$^{26}$ yr, at 90\% CL.
The scientific goals of LEGEND extend well beyond the search for 0$\nu\beta\beta$, covering a wider spectrum of BSM physics, including various dark matter candidates.
In this talk, we will present the performance and the obtained results of the ongoing experiment LEGEND-200, and give an update on the status of its second phase LEGEND-1000. Therefore, we will review the range of dark matter candidates the experiment is well-positioned to probe in both the current and future phases.

This work is supported by the U.S. DOE and the NSF, the LANL, ORNL and LBNL LDRD programs; the European ERC and Horizon programs; the German DFG, BMBF, and MPG; the Italian INFN; the Polish NCN and MNiSW; the Czech MEYS; the Slovak RDA; the Swiss SNF; the UK STFC; the Canadian NSERC and CFI; the LNGS and SURF facilities.

Main Contribution topic Direct detection
Secondary contribution topic Instrumentation for Dark Matter

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