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Abstract
We present a study of the sensitivity and discovery potential of CUORE, a bolometric
double-beta decay experiment under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran
Sasso in Italy. Two approaches to the computation of experimental sensitivity for
various background scenarios are presented, and an extension of the sensitivity formulation
to the discovery potential case is also discussed. Assuming a background rate of 10^-2
cts/(keV kg y), we find that, after 5 years of live time, CUORE has a 1 sigma sensitivity
to the neutrinoless double-beta decay half-life of T_1/2(1 sigma) = 1.6 \times 10^26
y and thus a potential to probe the effective Majorana neutrino mass down to 40-100
meV; the sensitivity at 1.64 sigma, which corresponds to 90% C.L., will be T_1/2(1.64
sigma) = 9.5 \times 10^25 y. This range is compared with the claim of observation
of neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge and the preferred range of the neutrino
mass parameter space from oscillation results.