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

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, C; Camilleri, J; Caminata, A; Campani, A; Canonica, L; Cao, Xg; Capelli, C; Capelli, S; Cappelli, L; Cardani, L; Carniti, P; Casali, N; Celi, E; Chiesa, D; Clemenza, M; Copello, S; Cremonesi, O; Creswick, Rj; Dafinei, I; Del Corso, F; Dell'Oro, S; Di Domizio, S; Di Lorenzo, S; Dompe, V; Fang, Dq; Fantini, G; Faverzani, M; Ferri, E; Ferroni, F; Fiorini, E; Franceschi, Ma; Freedman, Sj; Sh, Fu; Fujikawa, Bk; Ghislandi, S; Giachero, A; Gianvecchio, A; Gironi, L; Giuliani, A; Gorla, P; Gotti, C; Gutierrez, Td; Han, K; Hansen, Ev; Heeger, Km; Huang, Rg; Huang, Hz; Johnston, J; Keppel, G; Kolomensky, Yg; Kowalski, R; Ligi, C; Liu, R; Ma, L; Yg, Ma; Marini, L; Maruyama, Rh; Mayer, D; Mei, Y; Morganti, S; Napolitano, T; Nastasi, M; Nikkel, J; Nones, C; Norman, Eb; Nucciotti, A; Nutini, I; Olmi, M; Ouellet, Jl; Pagan, S; Pagliarone, Ce; Pagnanini, L; Pallavicini, M; Pattavina, L; Pavan, M; Pessina, G; Pettinacci, V; Pira, C; Pirro, S; Pozzi, S; Previtali, E; Puiu, A; Quitadamo, S; Ressa, A; Rosenfeld, C; Sakai, M; Sangiorgio, S; Schmidt, B; Scielzo, Nd; Sharma, V; Singh, V; Sisti, M; Speller, D; Surukuchi, Pt; Taffarello, L; Terranova, F; Tomei, C; Vetter, Kj; Vignati, M; Wagaarachchi, Sl; Wang, Bs; Welliver, B; Wilson, J; Wilson, K; Winslow, La; Zimmermann, S; Zucchelli, S

doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.105.065504

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.

Search for neutrinoless β+EC decay of 120Te with CUORE / 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, C; Camilleri, J; Caminata, A; Campani, A; Canonica, L; Cao, XG; Capelli, C; Capelli, S; Cappelli, L; Cardani, L; Carniti, P; Casali, N; Celi, E; Chiesa, D; Clemenza, M; Copello, S; Cremonesi, O; Creswick, RJ; Dafinei, I; Del Corso, F; Dell'Oro, S; Di Domizio, S; Di Lorenzo, S; Dompe, V; Fang, DQ; Fantini, G; Faverzani, M; Ferri, E; Ferroni, F; Fiorini, E; Franceschi, MA; Freedman, SJ; Fu, SH; Fujikawa, BK; Ghislandi, S; Giachero, A; Gianvecchio, A; Gironi, L; Giuliani, A; Gorla, P; Gotti, C; Gutierrez, TD; Han, K; Hansen, EV; Heeger, KM; Huang, RG; Huang, HZ; Johnston, J; Keppel, G; Kolomensky, YG; Kowalski, R; Ligi, C; Liu, R; Ma, L; Ma, YG; Marini, L; Maruyama, RH; Mayer, D; Mei, Y; Morganti, S; Napolitano, T; Nastasi, M; Nikkel, J; Nones, C; Norman, EB; Nucciotti, A; Nutini, I; Olmi, M; Ouellet, JL; Pagan, S; Pagliarone, CE; Pagnanini, L; Pallavicini, M; Pattavina, L; Pavan, M; Pessina, G; Pettinacci, V; Pira, C; Pirro, S; Pozzi, S; Previtali, E; Puiu, A; Quitadamo, S; Ressa, A; Rosenfeld, C; Sakai, M; Sangiorgio, S; Schmidt, B; Scielzo, ND; Sharma, V; Singh, V; Sisti, M; Speller, D; Surukuchi, PT; Taffarello, L; Terranova, F; Tomei, C; Vetter, KJ; Vignati, M; Wagaarachchi, SL; Wang, BS; Welliver, B; Wilson, J; Wilson, K; Winslow, LA; Zimmermann, S; Zucchelli, S. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW C. - ISSN 2469-9985. - STAMPA. - 105:6(2022), pp. 065504.1-065504.12. [10.1103/PhysRevC.105.065504]