Abstract
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 . Data considered in the present analysis have been collected between November 2011 and May 2013 with a total exposure of 21.6 kg yr. A blind analysis is performed. The background index is about after pulse shape discrimination. No signal is observed and a lower limit is derived for the half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay of , (90% C.L.). The combination with the results from the previous experiments with yields (90% C.L.).
- Received 17 July 2013
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.122503
© 2013 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Neutrinoless Decays Are a No Show Again
Published 19 September 2013
A new experiment sets more stringent limits on neutrinoless double beta decay, thus further constraining the possibility that the neutrino and antineutrino are the same particle
See more in Physics