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.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
PhysRevC.105.065504.pdf
accesso aperto
Descrizione: Articolo su rivista internazionale con referees
Tipo:
Versione (PDF) editoriale
Licenza:
Licenza per accesso libero gratuito
Dimensione
1.69 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.69 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.