High-precision measurements of the atomic mass and electron-capture decay $Q$ value of $^{95}$Tc

TL;DR

This study precisely measured the electron-capture decay $Q$ value of $^{95}$Tc using advanced mass spectrometry, identifying potential ultra-low $Q$-value transitions for neutrino-mass experiments and analyzing decay energy distributions.

Contribution

The paper presents the first high-precision measurement of $^{95}$Tc's $Q$ value and identifies new decay transitions suitable for neutrino-mass determination.

Findings

$Q$ value measured as 1695.92(13) keV with high precision.

Two potential ultra-low $Q$-value transitions identified.

Decay energy distribution compared to $^{163}$Ho.

Abstract

A direct measurement of the ground-state-to-ground-state electron-capture decay $Q$ value of $^{95}$Tc has been performed utilizing the double Penning trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP. The $Q$ value was determined to be 1695.92(13) keV by taking advantage of the high resolving power of the phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique to resolve the low-lying isomeric state of $^{95}$Tc (excitation energy of 38.910(40) keV) from the ground state. The mass excess of $^{95}$Tc was measured to be $-$86015.95(18) keV/c$^2$, exhibiting a precision of about 28 times higher and in agreement with the value from the newest Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME2020). Combined with the nuclear energy-level data for the decay-daughter $^{95}$Mo, two potential ultra-low $Q$-value transitions are identified for future long-term neutrino-mass determination experiments. The atomic self-consistent many-electron Dirac--Hartree--Fock--Slater method and the nuclear shell model have been used to predict the partial half-lives and energy-release distributions for the two transitions. The dominant correction terms related to those processes are considered, including the exchange and overlap corrections, and the shake-up and shake-off effects. The normalized distribution of the released energy in the electron-capture decay of $^{95}$Tc to excited states of $^{95}$Mo is compared to that of $^{163}$Ho currently being used for electron-neutrino-mass determination.