We present an improved search for neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of ^{136}Xe in the KamLAND-Zen experiment. Owing to purification of the xenon-loaded liquid scintillator, we achieved a ...significant reduction of the ^{110m}Ag contaminant identified in previous searches. Combining the results from the first and second phase, we obtain a lower limit for the 0νββ decay half-life of T_{1/2}^{0ν}>1.07×10^{26} yr at 90% C.L., an almost sixfold improvement over previous limits. Using commonly adopted nuclear matrix element calculations, the corresponding upper limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass are in the range 61-165 meV. For the most optimistic nuclear matrix elements, this limit reaches the bottom of the quasidegenerate neutrino mass region.
The KamLAND-Zen experiment has provided stringent constraints on the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay half-life in ^{136}Xe using a xenon-loaded liquid scintillator. We report an improved search ...using an upgraded detector with almost double the amount of xenon and an ultralow radioactivity container, corresponding to an exposure of 970 kg yr of ^{136}Xe. These new data provide valuable insight into backgrounds, especially from cosmic muon spallation of xenon, and have required the use of novel background rejection techniques. We obtain a lower limit for the 0νββ decay half-life of T_{1/2}^{0ν}>2.3×10^{26} yr at 90% C.L., corresponding to upper limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of 36-156 meV using commonly adopted nuclear matrix element calculations.
Differential cross sections for Compton scattering from the proton have been measured at scattering angles of 55°, 90°, and 125° in the laboratory frame using quasimonoenergetic linearly (circularly) ...polarized photon beams with a weighted mean energy value of 83.4 MeV (81.3 MeV). These measurements were performed at the High Intensity Gamma-Ray Source facility at the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The results are compared to previous measurements and are interpreted in the chiral effective field theory framework to extract the electromagnetic dipole polarizabilities of the proton, which gives α_{E1}^{p}=13.8±1.2_{stat}±0.1_{BSR}±0.3_{theo},β_{M1}^{p}=0.2∓1.2_{stat}±0.1_{BSR}∓0.3_{theo} in units of 10^{-4} fm^{3}.
The decay of the primordial isotopes 238U, 235U, 232Th, and 40K has contributed to the terrestrial heat budget throughout the Earth's history. Hence, the individual abundance of those isotopes are ...key parameters in reconstructing contemporary Earth models. The geoneutrinos produced by the radioactive decays of uranium and thorium have been observed with the Kamioka Liquid‐Scintillator Antineutrino Detector (KamLAND). Those measurements have been improved with more than 18‐year observation time, and improvement in detector background levels mainly with an 8‐year nearly reactor‐free period, which now permit spectroscopy with geoneutrinos. Our results yield the first constraint on both uranium and thorium heat contributions. The KamLAND result is consistent with geochemical estimations based on elemental abundances of chondritic meteorites and mantle peridotites. The High‐Q model is disfavored at 99.76% C.L. and a fully radiogenic model is excluded at 5.2σ assuming a homogeneous heat producing element distribution in the mantle.
Plain Language Summary
The energy to drive the Earth's engine comes from two different sources: primordial and radiogenic. Primordial energy comes from the added heat by collisions of accreting material and less so by the energy accompanying the sinking of metal to form the core. The radioactive decays of heat producing elements (i.e., potassium, thorium, and uranium) also generate energy and some of these decaying elements produce antineutrinos (geoneutrinos). Geoneutrino measurements provide the Earth's fuel gauge for its radiogenic power supply and insights into the planet's cooling history. The measurement accuracy of the KamLAND experiment has been improved by an 18‐year long‐term observation and a reduction of the significant background generated by commercial reactors. Consequently, modern geoneutrino measurements have entered an era of distinct spectroscopic contributions coming from uranium and thorium. The KamLAND result is consistent with compositional models for the bulk silicate Earth (the crust plus the mantle) predicting low to medium radiogenic heat (10–20 TW (1012 W)) and disfavor high concentration models (30 TW). This constraint sets the best limit on the permissible radiogenic energy budget in the Earth. Geoneutrino observations now begin to make significant contributions to the understanding of fundamental driving forces powering the Earth dynamic behavior.
Key Points
Geoneutrino measurement with low reactor neutrino backgrounds improves the distinct spectroscopic contributions of U and Th
Radiogenic power in the Earth estimated from this geoneutrino measurement is consistent with a range of models and disfavors the higher power model
Identifying the Earth's mantle contribution to the total geoneutrino flux strongly depends on an accurate estimation of the crustal contribution
We present results of a study of neutrino oscillation based on a 766 ton/year exposure of KamLAND to reactor antineutrinos. We observe 258 nu (e) candidate events with energies above 3.4 MeV compared ...to 365.2+/-23.7 events expected in the absence of neutrino oscillation. Accounting for 17.8+/-7.3 expected background events, the statistical significance for reactor nu (e) disappearance is 99.998%. The observed energy spectrum disagrees with the expected spectral shape in the absence of neutrino oscillation at 99.6% significance and prefers the distortion expected from nu (e) oscillation effects. A two-neutrino oscillation analysis of the KamLAND data gives Deltam(2)=7.9(+0.6)(-0.5)x10(-5) eV(2). A global analysis of data from KamLAND and solar-neutrino experiments yields Deltam(2)=7.9(+0.6)(-0.5)x10(-5) eV(2) and tan((2)theta=0.40(+0.10)(-0.07), the most precise determination to date.
In this paper, we present a precision measurement of the $^{136}$Xe two-neutrino $\beta\beta$ electron spectrum above 0.8 MeV, based on high-statistics data obtained with the KamLAND-Zen experiment. ...An improved formalism for the two-neutrino $\beta\beta$ rate allows us to measure the ratio of the leading and subleading $2\nu\beta\beta$ nuclear matrix elements (NMEs), $\xi^{2\nu}_{31} = -0.26^{+0.31}_{-0.25}$. Theoretical predictions from the nuclear shell model and the majority of the quasiparticle random-phase approximation (QRPA) calculations are consistent with the experimental limit. However, part of the $\xi^{2\nu}_{31}$ range allowed by the QRPA is excluded by the present measurement at the 90%25 C.L. Our analysis reveals that predicted $\xi^{2\nu}_{31}$ values are sensitive to the quenching of NMEs and the competing contributions from low- and high-energy states in the intermediate nucleus. Since these aspects are also at play in neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ decay, $\xi^{2\nu}_{31}$ provides new insights towards reliable neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ NMEs.
The KamLAND experiment has determined a precise value for the neutrino oscillation parameter Deltam21(2) and stringent constraints on theta12. The exposure to nuclear reactor antineutrinos is ...increased almost fourfold over previous results to 2.44 x 10(32) proton yr due to longer livetime and an enlarged fiducial volume. An undistorted reactor nuovere energy spectrum is now rejected at >5sigma. Analysis of the reactor spectrum above the inverse beta decay energy threshold, and including geoneutrinos, gives a best fit at Deltam21(2)=7.58(-0.13)(+0.14)(stat) -0.15+0.15(syst) x 10(-5) eV2 and tan2theta12=0.56(-0.07)+0.10(stat) -0.06+0.10(syst). Local Deltachi2 minima at higher and lower Deltam21(2) are disfavored at >4sigma. Combining with solar neutrino data, we obtain Deltam21(2)=7.59(-0.21)+0.21 x 10(-5) eV2 and tan2theta12=0.47(-0.05)+0.06.
The detection of electron antineutrinos produced by natural radioactivity in the Earth could yield important geophysical information. The Kamioka liquid scintillator antineutrino detector (KamLAND) ...has the sensitivity to detect electron antineutrinos produced by the decay of 238U and 232Th within the Earth. Earth composition models suggest that the radiogenic power from these isotope decays is 16 TW, approximately half of the total measured heat dissipation rate from the Earth. Here we present results from a search for geoneutrinos with KamLAND. Assuming a Th/U mass concentration ratio of 3.9, the 90 per cent confidence interval for the total number of geoneutrinos detected is 4.5 to 54.2. This result is consistent with the central value of 19 predicted by geophysical models. Although our present data have limited statistical power, they nevertheless provide by direct means an upper limit (60 TW) for the radiogenic power of U and Th in the Earth, a quantity that is currently poorly constrained.
ABSTRACT In the late stages of nuclear burning for massive stars (M > 8 M ), the production of neutrino-antineutrino pairs through various processes becomes the dominant stellar cooling mechanism. As ...the star evolves, the energy of these neutrinos increases and in the days preceding the supernova a significant fraction of emitted electron anti-neutrinos exceeds the energy threshold for inverse beta decay on free hydrogen. This is the golden channel for liquid scintillator detectors because the coincidence signature allows for significant reductions in background signals. We find that the kiloton-scale liquid scintillator detector KamLAND can detect these pre-supernova neutrinos from a star with a mass of 25 M at a distance less than 690 pc with 3 significance before the supernova. This limit is dependent on the neutrino mass ordering and background levels. KamLAND takes data continuously and can provide a supernova alert to the community.
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