In-trap decay spectroscopy of radioactive nuclei at TITAN / TRIMUF for a determination of 2νββ matrix elements

S. Ettenauer, T. Brunner, M. Brodeur, A. T. Gallant, A. Lapierre, R. Ringle, M. Good, C. Andreoiu, P. Delheij, D. Frekers, R. Krücken, J. Dilling

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

To extract the effective neutrino Majorana mass from an observed 0νββ decay, precise knowledge of the involved nuclear matrix element is required. This poses a challenge to nuclear structure models. In particular, calculations based on the proton-neutron Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation show significant discrepancies with experimental electron capture (EC) rates of the intermediate nucleus even when tuned on 2νββ decay rates. However, EC branching ratios (BR) are in many cases not well known because the strengths of these decay branches are at the sensitivity limit of traditional experimental techniques. Here, we present a novel approach at TITAN / TRIUMF to measure EC-BR and to overcome shortcomings of previous methods. We also present results of a first proof-of-principle experiment which represents the very first observation of an electron capture in a Penning trap.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIntersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics - Proceedings of the 10th International Conference
Pages100-103
Number of pages4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
Event10th International Conference on Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics - San Diego, CA, United States
Duration: May 26 2009May 31 2009

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume1182
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

Conference10th International Conference on Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Diego, CA
Period05/26/0905/31/09

Keywords

  • 2νββ
  • Electron capture branching ratio
  • In-trap decay spectroscopy
  • Matrix elements

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