Investigating ββ decay with the NEMO-3 and SuperNEMO experiments

The NEMO-3 and SuperNEMO experiments search for neutrino less double beta decay (0 vββ). Detection of 0 vββ decay would provide direct evidence that neutrinos are Majorana particles and lepton number is not conserved. In these experiments, the isotopes of interest are separated from the active detector region, allowing for reconstruction of the full event topology. This aids in background suppression and discrimination between underlying 0 vββ decay mechanisms. The NEMO-3 experiment investigated a total of seven 0 vββ decay isotopes. The SuperNEMO experiment builds upon the design of NEMO-3. Upgrades to the detector technologies and radiopurity, as well as an increase in isotope mass will allow SuperNEMO to improve 0 vββ half-life sensitivities by two orders of magnitude. The latest result from NEMO-3 is summarized, and an overview of the progress in the construction of the SuperNEMO demonstrator module is presented. (paper)