Abstract
To solve the controversial issue concerning the possible existence of a 17 keV neutrino with a 1% admixture in nuclear [beta] decay, we searched directly for any evidence of a production-threshold effect. The [sup 63]Ni [beta] spectrum was measured with a magnetic spectrometer, with very high statistics along with a fine energy scan over a narrow energy region around the expected threshold. The obtained mixing strength was [vert bar][ital U][vert bar][sup 2]=[[minus]0.011[plus minus]0.033(stat)[plus minus]0.030(syst)]%, very consistent with zero, and decisively excluding the existence of a 17 keV neutrino admixing at the 1% level with the electron neutrino. The corresponding upper limit was set at [vert bar][ital U][vert bar][sup 2][lt]0.073% (95% C.L.). A new limit was also obtained for a wider mass range: [vert bar][ital U][vert bar][sup 2][lt]0.15% (95% C.L.) for 10.5 to 25.0 keV neutrinos.
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