Spectroscopy of low lying states in 136Cs

B Rebeiro,P Adsley,T Faestermann,H-F Wirth,V Bildstein,R Lindsay,S Triambak,A Varela,R Hertenberger,C Burbadge,A Radich,E Rand,Pe Garrett,G Ball

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/689/1/012026

Abstract

The low-lying excited states in 136Cs relevant to the double beta decay of 136Xe were studied via a 138Ba(d, α)136Cs transfer reaction with a high resolution magnetic spectrometer. Preliminary results from the experiment are presented.

Highlights

Within the standard model of particle physics [1] neutrinos are assumed to be massless
The 0νββ decay is possible only if the neutrino coincides with its own anti-particle and it occurs when a Z=even, N =even parent nucleus is more bound than its daughter, so that the single beta decay is energetically forbidden
If the neutrino were a Majorana fermion, a double beta decay could occur with the emission of two electrons but no neutrinos

Summary

Introduction

Within the standard model of particle physics [1] neutrinos are assumed to be massless. The low-lying excited states in 136Cs relevant to the double beta decay of 136Xe were studied via a 138Ba(d, α)136Cs transfer reaction with a high resolution magnetic spectrometer. Limit on the 0νββ decay amplitude into the corresponding neutrino Majorana mass arises from theoretical limitations in calculating the nuclear matrix elements, which depend on the structure of the nuclei involved in the decay.

Results

Conclusion