arXiv · 2205.04158
Double-Weak Decays of $^{124}$Xe and $^{136}$Xe in the XENON1T and XENONnT Experiments
Abstract
We present results on the search for double-electron capture ($2\nu\text{ECEC}$) of $^{124}$Xe and neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{136}$Xe in XENON1T. We consider captures from the K- up to the N-shell in the $2\nu\text{ECEC}$ signal model and measure a total half-life of $T_{1/2}^{2\nu\text{ECEC}}=(1.1\pm0.2_\text{stat}\pm0.1_\text{sys})\times 10^{22}\;\text{yr}$ with a $0.87\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ isotope exposure. The statistical significance of the signal is $7.0\,\sigma$. We use XENON1T data with $36.16\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ of $^{136}$Xe exposure to search for $0\nu\beta\beta$. We find no evidence of a signal and set a lower limit on the half-life of $T_{1/2}^{0\nu\beta\beta} > 1.2 \times 10^{24}\;\text{yr}\; \text{at}\; 90\,\%\;\text{CL}$. This is the best result from a dark matter detector without an enriched target to date. We also report projections on the sensitivity of XENONnT to $0\nu\beta\beta$. Assuming a $275\;\text{kg}\times\text{yr}$ $^{136}$Xe exposure, the expected sensitivity is $T_{1/2}^{0\nu\beta\beta} > 2.1 \times 10^{25}\;\text{yr}\; \text{at}\; 90\,\%\;\text{CL}$, corresponding to an effective Majorana mass range of $\langle m_{\beta\beta} \rangle < (0.19 - 0.59)\;\text{eV/c}^2$.
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E. Aprile, K. Abe, F. Agostini, S. Ahmed Maouloud, M. Alfonsi, L. Althueser, B. Andrieu, E. Angelino, J. R. Angevaare, V. C. Antochi, D. Antón Martin, F. Arneodo, L. Baudis, A. L. Baxter, L. Bellagamba, R. Biondi, A. Bismark, A. Brown, S. Bruenner, G. Bruno, R. Budnik, C. Cai, C. Capelli, J. M. R. Cardoso, D. Cichon, M. Clark, A. P. Colijn, J. Conrad, J. J. Cuenca-García, J. P. Cussonneau, V. D'Andrea, M. P. Decowski, P. Di Gangi, S. Di Pede, A. Di Giovanni, R. Di Stefano, S. Diglio, K. Eitel, A. Elykov, S. Farrell, A. D. Ferella, H. Fischer, W. Fulgione, P. Gaemers, R. Gaior, A. Gallo Rosso, M. Galloway, F. Gao, R. Glade-Beucke, L. Grandi, J. Grigat, M. Guida, A. Higuera, C. Hils, L. Hoetzsch, J. Howlett, M. Iacovacci, Y. Itow, J. Jakob, F. Joerg, A. Joy, N. Kato, M. Kara, P. Kavrigin, S. Kazama, M. Kobayashi, G. Koltman, A. Kopec, H. Landsman, R. F. Lang, L. Levinson, I. Li, S. Li, S. Liang, S. Lindemann, M. Lindner, K. Liu, J. Loizeau, F. Lombardi, J. Long, J. A. M. Lopes, Y. Ma, C. Macolino, J. Mahlstedt, A. Mancuso, L. Manenti, A. Manfredini, F. Marignetti, T. Marrodán Undagoitia, K. Martens, J. Masbou, D. Masson, E. Masson, S. Mastroianni, M. Messina, K. Miuchi, K. Mizukoshi, A. Molinario, S. Moriyama, K. Morå. 2022-05-09. Double-Weak Decays of $^{124}$Xe and $^{136}$Xe in the XENON1T and XENONnT Experiments. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevc.106.024328
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