Benchmarking Xe-136 neutrinoless beta beta decay matrix element calculations with the Ba-138(p, t) reaction

Rebeiro, B. M.; Triambaka, S.; Garrett, P. E.; Brown, B. A.; Ball, G. C.; Lindsay, R.; Adsley, R.; Bildstein, V.; Burbadge, C.; Varela, A. Diaz; Faestermann, T.; Fang, D. L.; Hertenberger, R.; Horoi, M.; Jigmeddorj, B.; Kamil, M.; Leach, K. G.; Mabika, P. Z.; Ondze, J. C. Nzobadila; Orce, J. N. und Wirth, H.-F. (2020): Benchmarking Xe-136 neutrinoless beta beta decay matrix element calculations with the Ba-138(p, t) reaction. In: Physics Letters B, Vol. 809, 135702

Abstract

We used a high-resolution magnetic spectrograph to study neutron pair-correlated 0(+) states in Ba-136, produced via the Ba-138(p, t) reaction. In conjunction with state-of-the-art shell model calculations, these data benchmark part of the dominant Gamow-Teller component of the nuclear matrix element (NME) for Xe-136 neutrinoless double beta (0 nu beta beta) decay. We demonstrate for the first time an evaluation of part of a 0 nu beta beta decay NME by use of an experimental observable, presenting a new avenue of approach for more accurate calculations of 0 nu beta beta decay matrix elements. (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Physics
• Subjects: 500 Science > 530 Physics
• ISSN: 0370-2693
• Language: English