The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a large-scale cryogenic experiment searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0 nu beta beta) in Te-130. The CUORE detector is made of natural tellurium, providing the possibility of rare event searches on isotopes other than Te-130. In this work we describe a search for neutrinoless positron-emitting electron capture (beta+EC) decay in Te-120 with a total TeO2 exposure of 355.7 kg yr, corresponding to 0.2405 kg yr of Te-120. Albeit 0 nu beta beta with two final-state electrons represents the most promising channel, the emission of a positron and two 511-keV gamma's make 0 nu beta+EC decay signature extremely clear. To fully exploit the potential offered by the detector modularity we include events with different topology and perform a simultaneous fit of five selected signal signatures. Using blinded data we extract a median exclusion sensitivity of 3.4 x 10(22) yr at 90% credibility interval (C.I.). After unblinding we find no evidence of 0 nu beta+EC signal and set a 90% C.I. Bayesian lower limit of 2.9 x 10(22) yr on Te-120 half-life. This result improves by an order of magnitude the existing limit from the combined analysis of CUORE-0 and Cuoricino.

Adams, D.Q., Alduino, C., Alfonso, K., Avignone, F.T., Azzolini, O., Bari, G., et al. (2022). Search for neutrinoless β+EC decay of 120Te with CUORE. PHYSICAL REVIEW C, 105(6), 1-12 [10.1103/PhysRevC.105.065504].

Search for neutrinoless β+EC decay of 120Te with CUORE

Del Corso, F;Zucchelli, S
2022

Abstract

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is a large-scale cryogenic experiment searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0 nu beta beta) in Te-130. The CUORE detector is made of natural tellurium, providing the possibility of rare event searches on isotopes other than Te-130. In this work we describe a search for neutrinoless positron-emitting electron capture (beta+EC) decay in Te-120 with a total TeO2 exposure of 355.7 kg yr, corresponding to 0.2405 kg yr of Te-120. Albeit 0 nu beta beta with two final-state electrons represents the most promising channel, the emission of a positron and two 511-keV gamma's make 0 nu beta+EC decay signature extremely clear. To fully exploit the potential offered by the detector modularity we include events with different topology and perform a simultaneous fit of five selected signal signatures. Using blinded data we extract a median exclusion sensitivity of 3.4 x 10(22) yr at 90% credibility interval (C.I.). After unblinding we find no evidence of 0 nu beta+EC signal and set a 90% C.I. Bayesian lower limit of 2.9 x 10(22) yr on Te-120 half-life. This result improves by an order of magnitude the existing limit from the combined analysis of CUORE-0 and Cuoricino.
2022
Adams, D.Q., Alduino, C., Alfonso, K., Avignone, F.T., Azzolini, O., Bari, G., et al. (2022). Search for neutrinoless β+EC decay of 120Te with CUORE. PHYSICAL REVIEW C, 105(6), 1-12 [10.1103/PhysRevC.105.065504].
Adams, DQ; Alduino, C; Alfonso, K; Avignone, FT; Azzolini, O; Bari, G; Bellini, F; Benato, G; Beretta, M; Biassoni, M; Branca, A; Brofferio, C; Bucci,...espandi
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/899783
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