Search For Neutrino Less Double Beta Decay of Te to theFirst Excited 0⁺ State In ¹³⁰Xe With the CUORICINO Detector, and Discovery Potential For the CUORE Experiment

Author

Carlos Eduardo Martinez, University of South CarolinaFollow

Date of Award

1-1-2009

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Sub-Department

Physics

First Advisor

Frank T. Avignone

Abstract

The CUORICINO experiment was an array of 62 of TeO₂ crystals arranged in 13 floors, with a total mass of 40.7 kg. It finished taking data in June 2008, giving a total of more than 3 years of active operating time and providing more than 18 kg y of ¹³⁰Te of statistics. A search for both, the 0ν and 2ν double beta decay process to the first 0⁺ excited state in ¹³⁰Xe was performed by studying both coincidence and anti-coincident possible scenarios. Each scenario has a different efficiency and because of this, an efficiency study was also made, taking into consideration the possibility of having non-active channels. The results of this study yielded efficiencies of up to 7% for CUORE and 6% for CUORICINO, and limits for the half lives of T^2ν _1/2(¹³⁰Te → ¹³⁰Xe^*) > 2.43 × 10²³ y (90% C.L.), T^0ν _1/2(¹³⁰Te → ¹³⁰Xe^*) > 6 × 10²³ y (90% C.L.) for CUORICINO. For the future experiment CUORE, which is a 988 array of TeO₂ crystals with a total mass of 741 kg, a half life sensitivity of T^0ν _1/2(¹³⁰Te → ¹³⁰Xe^*) > 1.7 × 10²⁵ y after 5 years of operation is expected.

Rights

© 2009, Carlos Eduardo Martinez

Recommended Citation

Martinez, C. E.(2009). Search For Neutrino Less Double Beta Decay of Te to theFirst Excited 0⁺ State In ¹³⁰Xe With the CUORICINO Detector, and Discovery Potential For the CUORE Experiment. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/63