First observation of single beta decay of $^{96}$Zr

A. S. Barabash; S. Evseev; D. Filosofov; Yu. M. Gavrilyuk; A. M. Gangapshev; N. Gorshkov; V. V. Kazalov; S. Kazartsev; T. Khussainov; V. V. Kuzminov; A. Lubashevskiy; D. V. Ponomarev; S. Rozov; N. Temerbulatova; S. Vasilyev; E. A. Yakushev; V. I. Yumatov

arXiv · 2605.18344

First observation of single beta decay of $^{96}$Zr

A. S. Barabash·S. Evseev·D. Filosofov·Yu. M. Gavrilyuk·A. M. Gangapshev·N. Gorshkov·V. V. Kazalov·S. Kazartsev·T. Khussainov·V. V. Kuzminov·A. Lubashevskiy·D. V. Ponomarev·S. Rozov·N. Temerbulatova·S. Vasilyev·E. A. Yakushev·V. I. Yumatov

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Abstract

The single beta decay of $^{96}$Zr has been detected for the first time using a 211 cm$^3$ low-background HPGe detector and an external source consisting of two samples of enriched zirconium (atomic fraction of $^{96}$Zr is 88.28%, total mass is 140.65 g). During the search for the $\beta$ decay of $^{96}$Zr, the $\beta$ decay of the daughter nucleus $^{96}$Nb to the excited states of $^{96}$Mo has been observed. The $\gamma$-ray cascade produced by the $^{96}$Mo nucleus while de-exciting to the ground state has been detected with the HPGe detector. The experiment has been carried out at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory. It has produced 12625.34 h of data. The half-life of the single beta decay of $^{96}$Zr is measured to be $T_{1/2} = [2.27^{+0.53}_{-0.36}(stat) \pm 0.27(syst)]\times10^{20}$ yr.

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A. S. Barabash, S. Evseev, D. Filosofov, Yu. M. Gavrilyuk, A. M. Gangapshev, N. Gorshkov, V. V. Kazalov, S. Kazartsev, T. Khussainov, V. V. Kuzminov, A. Lubashevskiy, D. V. Ponomarev, S. Rozov, N. Temerbulatova, S. Vasilyev, E. A. Yakushev, V. I. Yumatov. 2026-05-18. First observation of single beta decay of $^{96}$Zr. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.18344

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