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Publication
Status of the SNO+ Experiment
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Abstract(s)
The SNO+ experiment has multiple physics goals among which t he search for neutrinoless double-beta decay, the study of solar neutrinos, measureme nts of anti-neutrinos from nuclear reactors and the Earth’s natural radioactivity, as well as t he ability to detect supernova neutrinos. Located in the SNOLAB underground physics laboratory (Cana da) it will re-use the SNO detec- tor equipped with ∼ 9300 PMTs and looking at a 12 m diameter spherical volume. The detector will be filled with 780 tonnes of liquid scintillator to which nat Te at 0.3% loading will be added. The commissioning of the detector at SNOLAB has started, and data with air and partial water fill have been taken. A short phase with the detector complete ly filled with water is expected to start at the end of the year, before running the detector wi th scintillator in 2016. The main detector developments and technical challenges inherent t o this large volume liquid scintillator and low-energy experiment are presented. In addition, the s tatus of the detector which is in its commissioning phase and the detector and physics plans for t he water phase will be described. Fi- nally, the neutrinoless double-beta decay sensitivity and physics goals that SNO+ aims to achieve in phases with different loadings will be given