Decay characteristics of the scissors mode in the 0νββ-decay mother ¹⁵⁰Nd

¹⁵⁰Nd is a candidate for a potential neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay to ¹⁵⁰Sm. If such a decay were to be measured the neutrino mass could be extracted from the decay rate. To do so, however, precise knowledge of the nuclear structure of both nuclei is necessary. Therefore, nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments were conducted on both isobars using the γ³ setup at the High Intensity γ-ray Source (HIγS) of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory in Durham, NC, USA. The experiments focused on the decay characteristics of the scissors mode, namely the ratio of its transition strengths to the 0₂⁺ and ground state, as it induces constraints on nuclear matrix elements involved in the extraction of the neutrino mass. By using HIγS' intense, nearly monochromatic, linearly polarized γ-ray beam, dipole states were selectively excited. Their parities were determined through the angular distribution of their ground-state transition and a decay to the 0₂⁺ state was observed. Preliminary results of the experiment on ¹⁵⁰Nd will be presented and compared to analogous results on ¹⁵⁰Sm.