Published September 2009 | Version v1
Journal article

Measurement of the double-β decay half-life of 150Nd and search for neutrinoless decay modes with the NEMO-3 detector

  • 1. LAL, Universite Paris-Sud 11, CNRS/IN2P3, Orsay (France)
  • 2. IPHC, Universite de Strasbourg, CNRS/IN2P3, F-67037 Strasbourg (France)
  • 3. INL, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415 (United States)
  • 4. Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, RU-117259 Moscow (Russian Federation)
  • 5. University College London, WC1E 6BT London (United Kingdom)

Description

The half-life for double-β decay of 150Nd has been measured by the NEMO-3 experiment at the Modane Underground Laboratory. Using 924.7 days of data recorded with 36.55 g of 150Nd, we measured the half-life for 2νββ decay to be T1/22ν=(9.11-0.22+0.25(stat.)±0.63(syst.))x1018 yr. The observed limit on the half-life for neutrinoless double-β decay is found to be T1/20ν>1.8x1022 yr at 90% confidence level. This translates into a limit on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of <4.0-6.3 eV if the nuclear deformation is taken into account. We also set limits on models involving Majoron emission, right-handed currents, and transitions to excited states.

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. C, Nuclear Physics
Journal Volume
80
Journal Issue
3
Journal Page Range
p. 032501-032501.5
ISSN
0556-2813
CODEN
PRVCAN

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2009 The American Physical Society
Collaborations
NEMO Collaboration