Double-beta decay Q values of 116Cd and 130Te

Abstract. Cadmium tungstate crystal scintillators enriched in 116 Cd to 82% ( 116 CdWO 4 , total mass of ≈1.2 kg) are used to search for 2β decay of 116 Cd deep underground at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN (Italy). The radioactive contamination of the 116 CdWO 4 crystals has been studied carefully to reconstruct the background of the detector. The measured half-life of 116 Cd relatively to 2ν2β decay is T 2ν2β 1/2 = [2.8 ± 0.05(stat.) ± 0.4(syst.)] × 10 19 yr, in agreement with the results of previous experiments. The obtained limit on the 0ν2β decay of 116 Cd (considering the data of the last 8696 h run with an advanced background 0.12(2) counts/yr/kg/keV in the energy interval 2.7 − 2.9 MeV) is T 1/2 ≥ 1.0 × 10 23 yr at 90% C.L. The sensitivity of the experiment to the 0ν2β process is lim T 1/2 = 3×10 23 yr at 90% C.L. over 5 years of the measurements and it can be advanced (by further reduction of the background by a factor 3−30) to the level of lim T 1/2 = (0.5−1.5)×10 24 yr for the same period of the data taking.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Search for 2βdecay of¹¹⁶Cd with the help of enriched¹¹⁶CdWO₄crystal scintillators

Poda

Barabash

Belli

et al. 2014

“…It is in fact the rarest weak decay ever observed, with half lives in the range (10 19 ÷ 10 21 ) years. In neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) only the two electrons are emitted (equation 2).…”

Section: Neutrinoless Double Beta Decaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tellurium is an advantage in this instance because of the relatively high natural abundance (34.2% [7]) of the 0νββ candidate isotope, which means that enrichment is not necessary to achieve a reasonably large active mass. Also, the Q-value (around 2528 keV [8][9][10]) of the decay falls between the peak and the Compton edge of the 2615 keV gamma line of 208 Tl, the highest-energy gamma from the natural decay chains; this leaves a relatively clean window in which to look for the signal. Moreover crystals or TeO 2 can be grown to large size with low radioactive contamination [11].…”

Section: The Cuore Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The CUORE and CUORE-0 experiments at Gran Sasso

Giachero

Artusa

Avignone

et al. 2015

Abstract. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) in 130 Te and other rare processes. CUORE is a cryogenic detector composed of 988 TeO 2 bolometers for a total mass of about 741 kg. The detector is being constructed at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, where it will start taking data in 2015. If the target background of 0.01 counts/(keV·kg·y) will be reached, in five years of data taking CUORE will have an half life sensitivity around 1 × 10 26 y at 90% C.L. As a first step towards CUORE a smaller experiment CUORE-0, constructed to test and demonstrate the performances expected for CUORE, has been assembled and is running. The detector is a single tower of 52 CUORE-like bolometers that started taking data in spring 2013. The status and perspectives of CUORE will be discussed, and the first CUORE-0 data will be presented.

“…Also, the Q-value around 2528 keV of the decay [15][16][17] falls in a relatively clean window in which to look for the 1 Cuoricino tested also some smaller crystals.…”

Section: Detector Parameters 41 Isotopic Abundance and Detector Massmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutrinoless double-beta decay search with CUORE and CUORE-0 experiments

Moggi

Artusa²,

Avignone³

et al. 2015

Abstract. The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is an upcoming experiment designed to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decays. Observation of the process would unambiguously establish that neutrinos are Majorana particles and provide information on their absolute mass scale hierarchy. CUORE is now under construction and will consist of an array of 988 TeO 2 crystal bolometers operated at 10 mK, but the first tower (CUORE-0) is already taking data. The experimental techniques used will be presented as well as the preliminary CUORE-0 results. The current status of the full-mass experiment and its expected sensitivity will then be discussed.