Measurement of the double-\beta decay half-life of ^{136}Xe with the KamLAND-Zen experiment

TL;DR

The KamLAND-Zen experiment measured the two-neutrino double-beta decay half-life of ^{136}Xe and set a new lower limit for the neutrinoless decay half-life, significantly improving previous constraints.

Contribution

This work provides the most precise measurement of the two-neutrino decay half-life and establishes a new, more stringent lower limit for neutrinoless decay, advancing the search for physics beyond the Standard Model.

Findings

Two-neutrino decay half-life: 2.38 x 10^{21} years

Neutrinoless decay half-life lower limit: 5.7 x 10^{24} years

Almost five-fold improvement over previous neutrinoless decay limits

Abstract

We present results from the KamLAND-Zen double-beta decay experiment based on an exposure of 77.6 days with 129 kg of $^{136}$Xe. The measured two-neutrino double-beta decay half-life of $^{136}$Xe is $T_{1/2}^{2\nu} = 2.38 \pm 0.02(stat) \pm 0.14(syst) \times 10^{21}$ yr, consistent with a recent measurement by EXO-200. We also obtain a lower limit for the neutrinoless double-beta decay half-life, $T_{1/2}^{0\nu} > 5.7 \times 10^{24}$ yr at 90% confidence level (C.L.), which corresponds to almost a five-fold improvement over previous limits.