Prompt Gamma Rays in {sup 77}Ge after Neutron Capture on {sup 76}Ge
- Physikalisches Institut, Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, 72076 Tuebingen (Germany)
- Institut fuer Radiochemie, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Walther-Meissner-Str. 3, 85748 Garching (Germany)
- Institut fuer Kernphysik, Universitaet zu Koeln, Zuelpicher Str. 77, 50937 Cologne (Germany)
The observation of neutrinoless double beta decay would be proof of the Majorana nature of the neutrino. Half-lives for these decays are very long (for {sup 76}Ge:>10{sup 25} y), so background reduction and rejection is the major task for double beta experiments. The GERDA (GERmanium Detector Array) experiment at the Gran Sasso Laboratory of the INFN (LNGS) searches for neutrinoless double beta decay of {sup 76}Ge. The isotope {sup 76}Ge is an ideal candidate because it can be used as source and detector at the same time. A large remaining contribution to the background arises from the prompt gamma cascade after neutron capture by {sup 76}Ge followed by {beta}{sup -}-decay of {sup 77}Ge. Since the prompt gamma decay scheme is poorly known, measurements with isotopically enriched Germanium samples were carried out at the PGAA facility at the research reactor FRM II (Munich). With the known prompt gamma spectrum it will be possible to improve the overall veto efficiency of the GERDA experiment.
- OSTI ID:
- 21255480
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1090, Issue 1; Conference: 13. international symposium on capture gamma-ray spectroscopy and related topics, Cologne (Germany), 25-29 Aug 2008; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3087085; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Results from phase I of the GERDA experiment
ICP MS selection of radiopure materials for the GERDA experiment