Abstract
Experimental searches for neutrinoless double- decay offer one of the best opportunities to look for physics beyond the standard model. Detecting this decay would confirm the Majorana nature of the neutrino, and a measurement of its half-life can be used to determine the absolute neutrino mass scale. Important to both tasks is an accurate knowledge of the value of the double- decay. The LEBIT Penning trap mass spectrometer was used for the first direct experimental determination of the double- decay value: keV. This value is nearly 7 keV larger than the 2012 Atomic Mass Evaluation [M. Wang et al., Chin. Phys. C 36, 1603 (2012)] value and one order of magnitude more precise. The 3- shift is primarily due to a more accurate measurement of the atomic mass: u. Using the new value, the -decay matrix element, , is calculated. Improved determinations of the atomic masses of all other zirconium and molybdenum isotopes using both and as references are also reported.
- Received 11 February 2015
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.055501
©2015 American Physical Society