Abstract
We report on the measurement of the two-neutrino double-beta decay half-life of ^{130}Te with the CUORE-0 detector. From an exposure of 33.4 kg year of TeO_2, the half-life is determined to be T_{1/2}^{2nu } = [8.2 ± 0.2 (stat.) ± 0.6 (syst.)] times 10^{20} year. This result is obtained after a detailed reconstruction of the sources responsible for the CUORE-0 counting rate, with a specific study of those contributing to the ^{130}Te neutrinoless double-beta decay region of interest.
Highlights
Double-beta decay is a rare nuclear process in which two nucleons simultaneously decay and emit two electrons
The allowed Standard Model version of this process emits twoneutrinos and is called two-neutrino double-beta decay (2νββ). This decay is interesting in its own right as the slowest process ever directly observed [1,2]. It may represent an important source of background for the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ), i.e. a related process with no neutrino emission [3]. 0νββ manifestly violates lepton number and its discovery would point to new physics beyond the Standard Model
In addition to being a competitive 0νββ experiment [5,11,12], Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE)-0 is a test of the assembly protocols for CUORE: the reconstruction of background sources responsible for the CUORE-0 counting rate enables us to verify that the necessary background requirements for CUORE are fulfilled
Summary
Double-beta decay is a rare nuclear process in which two nucleons simultaneously decay and emit two electrons. The allowed Standard Model version of this process emits two (anti-)neutrinos and is called two-neutrino double-beta decay (2νββ). 0νββ produces no neutrinos and the experimental signature is a sharp peak at the Q-value of the decay, broadened by the energy resolution of the detector. The other background contributions in the ROI come from naturally occurring radioactivity in the detector components These background sources can be disentangled and described quantitatively by carefully analyzing the shape of the measured spectrum and constructing a detailed background model, including both physics processes and instrumental effects. The period before the trigger is used to establish the baseline temperature of the crystal and the remaining 4 s is used to determine the pulse amplitude Together these are used to extract the energy deposited. The dilution refrigerator, shielding, and other cryostat components are those from the Cuoricino experiment [15,16]
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