No Arabic abstract
Neutrinoless double electron capture is a process that, if detected, would give evidence of lepton number violation and the Majorana nature of neutrinos. A search for neutrinoless double electron capture of $^{36}$Ar has been performed with germanium detectors installed in liquid argon using data from Phase I of the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory of INFN, Italy. No signal was observed and an experimental lower limit on the half-life of the radiative neutrinoless double electron capture of $^{36}$Ar was established: $T_{1/2} > $ 3.6 $times$ 10$^{21}$ yr at 90 % C.I.
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a process that violates lepton number conservation. It is predicted to occur in extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. This Letter reports the results from Phase I of the GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory (Italy) searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of the isotope 76Ge. Data considered in the present analysis have been collected between November 2011 and May 2013 with a total exposure of 21.6 kgyr. A blind analysis is performed. The background index is about 1.10^{-2} cts/(keV kg yr) after pulse shape discrimination. No signal is observed and a lower limit is derived for the half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge, T_1/2 > 2.1 10^{25} yr (90% C.L.). The combination with the results from the previous experiments with 76Ge yields T_1/2 > 3.0 10^{25} yr (90% C.L.).
The GERDA experiment searches for the lepton number violating neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{76}$Ge ($^{76}$Ge $rightarrow$ $^{76}$Se + 2e$^-$) operating bare Ge diodes with an enriched $^{76}$Ge fraction in liquid argon. The exposure for BEGe-type detectors is increased threefold with respect to our previous data release. The BEGe detectors feature an excellent background suppression from the analysis of the time profile of the detector signals. In the analysis window a background level of $1.0_{-0.4}^{+0.6}cdot10^{-3}$ cts/(keV$cdot$kg$cdot$yr) has been achieved; if normalized to the energy resolution this is the lowest ever achieved in any 0$ ubetabeta$ experiment. No signal is observed and a new 90 % C.L. lower limit for the half-life of $8.0cdot10^{25}$ yr is placed when combining with our previous data. The median expected sensitivity assuming no signal is $5.8cdot10^{25}$ yr.
The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment searched for the lepton-number-violating neutrinoless double-$beta$ ($0 ubetabeta$) decay of $^{76}$Ge, whose discovery would have far-reaching implications in cosmology and particle physics. By operating bare germanium diodes, enriched in $^{76}$Ge, in an active liquid argon shield, GERDA achieved an unprecedently low background index of $5.2times10^{-4}$ counts/(keV$cdot$kg$cdot$yr) in the signal region and met the design goal to collect an exposure of 100 kg$cdot$yr in a background-free regime. When combined with the result of Phase I, no signal is observed after 127.2 kg$cdot$yr of total exposure. A limit on the half-life of $0 ubetabeta$ decay in $^{76}$Ge is set at $T_{1/2}>1.8times10^{26}$ yr at 90% C.L., which coincides with the sensitivity assuming no signal.
The Standard Model of particle physics cannot explain the dominance of matter over anti-matter in our Universe. In many model extensions this is a very natural consequence of neutrinos being their own anti-particles (Majorana particles) which implies that a lepton number violating radioactive decay named neutrinoless double beta ($0 ubetabeta$) decay should exist. The detection of this extremely rare hypothetical process requires utmost suppression of any kind of backgrounds. The GERDA collaboration searches for $0 ubetabeta$ decay of $^{76}$Ge ($^{76}rm{Ge} rightarrow,^{76}rm{Se} + 2e^-$) by operating bare detectors made from germanium with enriched $^{76}$Ge fraction in liquid argon. Here, we report on first data of GERDA Phase II. A background level of $approx10^{-3}$ cts/(keV$cdot$kg$cdot$yr) has been achieved which is the world-best if weighted by the narrow energy-signal region of germanium detectors. Combining Phase I and II data we find no signal and deduce a new lower limit for the half-life of $5.3cdot10^{25}$ yr at 90 % C.L. Our sensitivity of $4.0cdot10^{25}$ yr is competitive with the one of experiments with significantly larger isotope mass. GERDA is the first $0 ubetabeta$ experiment that will be background-free up to its design exposure. This progress relies on a novel active veto system, the superior germanium detector energy resolution and the improved background recognition of our new detectors. The unique discovery potential of an essentially background-free search for $0 ubetabeta$ decay motivates a larger germanium experiment with higher sensitivity.
Double-beta processes play a key role in the exploration of neutrino and weak interaction properties, and in the searches for effects beyond the Standard Model. During the last half century many attempts were undertaken to search for double-beta decay with emission of two electrons, especially for its neutrinoless mode ($0 u2beta^-$), the latter being still not observed. Double-electron capture (2EC) was not in focus so far because of its in general lower transition probability. However, the rate of neutrinoless double-electron capture ($0 u2$EC) can experience a resonance enhancement by many orders of magnitude in case the initial and final states are energetically degenerate. In the resonant case, the sensitivity of the $0 u2$EC process can approach the sensitivity of the $0 u2beta^-$ decay in the search for the Majorana mass of neutrinos, right-handed currents, and other new physics. We present an overview of the main experimental and theoretical results obtained during the last decade in this field. The experimental part outlines search results of 2EC processes and measurements of the decay energies for possible resonant $0 u$2EC transitions. An unprecedented precision in the determination of decay energies with Penning traps has allowed one to refine the values of the degeneracy parameter for all previously known near-resonant decays and has reduced the rather large uncertainties in the estimate of the $0 u2$EC half-lives. The theoretical part contains an updated analysis of the electron shell effects and an overview of the nuclear structure models, in which the nuclear matrix elements of the $0 u2$EC decays are calculated. One can conclude that the decay probability of $0 u$2EC can experience a significant enhancement in several nuclides.