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Register a new userTwo-neutrino double-beta decay of $^{150}$Nd to excited final states in $^{150}$Sm
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Double-beta decay is a rare nuclear process in which two neutrons in the nucleus are converted to two protons with the emission of two electrons and two electron anti-neutrinos. We measured the half life of the two-neutrino double-beta decay of $^{150}$Nd to excited final states of $^{150}$Sm by detecting the de-excitation gamma rays of the daughter nucleus. This study yields the first detection of the coincidence gamma rays from the 0$^+_1$ excited state of $^{150}$Sm. These gamma rays have energies of 333.97 keV and 406.52 keV, and are emitted in coincidence through a 0$^+_1rightarrow$2$^+_1rightarrow$0$^+_{gs}$ transition. The enriched Nd$_2$O$_3$ sample consisted of 40.13 g $^{150}$Nd and was observed for 642.8 days at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility, producing 21.6 net events in the region of interest. This count rate gives a half life of $T_{1/2}=(1.07^{+0.45}_{-0.25}(stat)pm0.07(syst.))times 10^{20}$ years. The effective nuclear matrix element was found to be 0.0465$^{+0.0098}_{-0.0054}$. Finally, lower limits were obtained for decays to higher excited final states. Our half-life measurement agrees within uncertainties with another recent measurement in which no coincidence was employed. Our nuclear matrix element calculation may have an impact on a recent neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element calculation which implies the decay to the first excited state in $^{150}$Sm is favored over that to the ground state.
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The double beta decay of $^{150}$Nd to the first excited 0$^+$ level of $^{150}$Sm ($E_{exc}$ = 740.5 keV) has been investigated with the help of the ultra-low-background setup consisting of four HP Ge (high-purity germanium) detectors (${approx}$ 225 cm$^3$ volume each one) at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory of INFN (Italy). A highly purified 2.381-kg sample of neodymium oxide (Nd$_2$O$_3$) was used as a source of ${gamma}$ quanta expected in the decays. Gamma quanta with energies 334.0 keV and 406.5 keV emitted after deexcitation of the $0_1^+$ 740.5 keV level of $^{150}$Sm are observed in the coincidence spectra accumulated over 16375 h. The half-life relatively to the two neutrino double beta decay $^{150}$Nd $rightarrow$ $^{150}$Sm(0$_1^+$) is measured as $T_{1/2} = [4.7_{-1.9}^{+4.1}text{(stat)} {pm} 0.5text{(syst)}] {times} 10^{19} y$, in agreement with results of previous experiments.
The $^{150}$Nd($^3$He,$t$) reaction at 140 MeV/u and $^{150}$Sm($t$,$^3$He) reaction at 115 MeV/u were measured, populating excited states in $^{150}$Pm. The transitions studied populate intermediate states of importance for the (neutrinoless) $betabeta$ decay of $^{150}$Nd to $^{150}$Sm. Monopole and dipole contributions to the measured excitation-energy spectra were extracted by using multipole decomposition analyses. The experimental results were compared with theoretical calculations obtained within the framework of Quasiparticle Random-Phase Approximation (QRPA), which is one of the main methods employed for estimating the half-life of the neutrinoless $betabeta$ decay ($0 ubetabeta$) of $^{150}$Nd. The present results thus provide useful information on the neutrino responses for evaluating the $0 ubetabeta$ and $2 ubetabeta$ matrix elements. The $2 ubetabeta$ matrix element calculated from the Gamow-Teller transitions through the lowest $1^{+}$ state in the intermediate nucleus is maximally about half of that deduced from the half-life measured in $2 ubetabeta$ direct counting experiments and at least several transitions through $1^{+}$ intermediate states in $^{150}$Pm are required to explain the $2 ubetabeta$ half-life. Because Gamow-Teller transitions in the $^{150}$Sm($t$,$^3$He) experiment are strongly Pauli-blocked, the extraction of Gamow-Teller strengths was complicated by the excitation of the $2hbaromega$, $Delta L=0$, $Delta S=1$ isovector spin-flip giant monopole resonance (IVSGMR). However, the near absence of Gamow-Teller transition strength made it possible to cleanly identify this resonance, and the strength observed is consistent with the full exhaustion of the non-energy-weighted sum rule for the IVSGMR.
Solar neutrinos interact within double-beta decay (BB) detectors and contribute to backgrounds for BB experiments. Background contributions due to solar neutrino interactions with BB nuclei of $^{82}$Se, $^{100}$Mo, and $^{150}$Nd are evaluated. They are shown to be significant for future high-sensitivity BB experiments that may search for Majorana neutrino masses in the inverted-hierarchy mass region. The impact of solar neutrino backgrounds and their reduction are discussed for future BB experiments.
A search for double-beta decays of 136Xe to excited states of 136Ba has been performed with the first phase data set of the KamLAND-Zen experiment. The 0+1, 2+1 and 2+2 transitions of 0{ u}{beta}{beta} decay were evaluated in an exposure of 89.5kg-yr of 136Xe, while the same transitions of 2{ u}{beta}{beta} decay were evaluated in an exposure of 61.8kg-yr. No excess over background was found for all decay modes. The lower half-life limits of the 2+1 state transitions of 0{ u}{beta}{beta} and 2{ u}{beta}{beta} decay were improved to T(0{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 2+) > 2.6times10^25 yr and T(2{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 2+) > 4.6times10^23 yr (90% C.L.), respectively. We report on the first experimental lower half-life limits for the transitions to the 0+1 state of 136Xe for 0{ u}{beta}{beta} and 2{ u}{beta}{beta} decay. They are T (0{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 0+) > 2.4times10^25 yr and T(2{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 0+) > 8.3times10^23 yr (90% C.L.). The transitions to the 2+2 states are also evaluated for the first time to be T(0{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 2+) > 2.6times10^25 yr and T(2{ u}, 0+ rightarrow 2+) > 9.0times10^23 yr (90% C.L.). These results are compared to recent theoretical predictions.
We report on a search for double beta decay of $^{130}$Te to the first $0^{+}$ excited state of $^{130}$Xe using a 9.8 kg$cdot$yr exposure of $^{130}$Te collected with the CUORE-0 experiment. In this work we exploit different topologies of coincident events to search for both the neutrinoless and two-neutrino double-decay modes. We find no evidence for either mode and place lower bounds on the half-lives: $tau^{0 u}_{0^+}>7.9cdot 10^{23}$ yr and $tau^{2 u}_{0^+}>2.4cdot 10^{23}$ yr. Combining our results with those obtained by the CUORICINO experiment, we achieve the most stringent constraints available for these processes: $tau^{0 u}_{0^+}>1.4cdot 10^{24}$ yr and $tau^{2 u}_{0^+}>2.5cdot 10^{23}$ yr.
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