601 research outputs found
Search for EC and ECEC processes in Se
For the first time, limits on double-beta processes in Se have been
obtained using a 400 cm HPGe detector and an external source consisting of
natural selenium powder.
At a confidence level of 90%, they are y for the
EC transition to the ground state,
y for the ECEC() transition to the excited state in Ge
(595.8 keV), y for the ECEC() transition to the
excited state in Ge (595.8 keV) and y for
the ECEC() and ECEC() transitions to the excited state in
Ge (1204.2 keV). The last transition is discussed in association with a
possible enhancement of the decay rate, in this case by several orders of
magnitude, because the ECEC process is nearly degenerate with an
excited state in the daughter nuclide. Prospects for investigating such
processes in future experiments are discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures; presented at the 2-nd Symposium on "Neutrino and
Dark Matter in Nuclear Physics" (Paris, September 3-9, 2006); v3: minor
change
Conditions for detecting CP violation via neutrinoless double beta decay
Neutrinoless double beta decay data together with information on the absolute
neutrino masses obtained from the future KATRIN experiment and/or astrophysical
measurements give a chance to find CP violation in the lepton sector with
Majorana neutrinos. We derive and discuss necessary conditions which make
discovery of such CP violation possible for the future neutrino oscillation and
mass measurements data.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, RevTe
Impact of CP phases on neutrinoless double beta decay
We highlight in a model independent way the dependence of the effective
Majorana mass parameter, relevant for neutrinoless double beta decay, on the CP
phases of the PMNS matrix, using the most recent neutrino data including the
cosmological WMAP measurement. We perform our analysis with three active
neutrino flavours in the context of three kinds of mass spectra:
quasi-degenerate, normal hierarchical and inverted hierarchical. If a
neutrinoless double beta decay experiment records a positive signal, then
assuming that Majorana masses of light neutrinos are responsible for it, we
show how it might be possible to discriminate between the three kinds of
spectra.Comment: 10 pages, latex, 9 eps figs, version to appear in Phys Rev
Investigation of double beta decay with the NEMO-3 detector
The double beta decay experiment NEMO~3 has been taking data since February
2003. The aim of this experiment is to search for neutrinoless
() decay and investigate two neutrino double beta decay in
seven different isotopically enriched samples (Mo, Se,
Ca, Zr, Cd, Te and Nd). After analysis of
the data corresponding to 3.75 y, no evidence for decay in the
Mo and Se samples was found. The half-life limits at the 90%
C.L. are y and y, respectively.
Additionally for decay the following limits at the 90% C.L.
were obtained, y for Ca, y
for Zr and y for Nd. The
decay half-life values were precisely measured for all investigated isotopes.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables; talk at conference on "Fundamental
Interactions Physics" (ITEP, Moscow, November 23-27, 2009
Neem Oil and Crop Protection: From Now to the Future
In current agricultural practices, the control of pests is often accomplished by means of the excessive use of agrochemicals, which can result in environmental pollution and the development of resistant pests. A major challenge of agriculture is to increase food production to meet the needs of the growing world population, without damaging the environment. In this context, biopesticides can offer a better alternative to synthetic pesticides, enabling safer control of pest populations. However, limitations of biopesticides, including short shelf life, photosensitivity, and volatilization, make it difficult to use them on a large scale. Here, we investigate the potential use of neem oil in crop protection, considering the gaps and obstacles associated with the development of sustainable agriculture in the not too distant future
Search for EC and ECEC processes in Sn and decay of Sn to the excited states of Te
Limits on EC and ECEC processes in Sn and on
decay of Sn to the excited states of Te have
been obtained using a 380 cm HPGe detector and an external source
consisting of natural tin. A limit with 90% C.L. on the Sn half-life of
y for the ECEC(0) transition to the excited
state in Cd (1871.0 keV) has been established. This transition is
discussed in the context of a possible enhancement of the decay rate by several
orders of magnitude given that the ECEC process is nearly degenerate
with an excited state in the daughter nuclide. Prospects for investigating such
a process in future experiments are discussed. The decay
limits for Sn to the excited states of Te were obtained on the
level of y at the 90% C.L.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Neem oil and crop protection: from now to the future
A major challenge of agriculture is to increase food production to meet the needs of the growing world population, without damaging the environment. In current agricultural practices, the control of pests is often accomplished by means of the excessive use of agrochemicals, which can result in environmental pollution and the development of resistant pests. In this context, biopesticides can offer a better alternative to synthetic pesticides, enabling safer control of pest populations. However, limitations of biopesticides, including short shelf life, photosensitivity, and volatilization, make it difficult to use them on a large scale. Here, we review the potential use of neem oil in crop protection, considering the gaps and obstacles associated with the development of sustainable agriculture in the not too distant future7FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2014/20273-4; 2013/12322-2; 2014/20286-9; 2015/15617-9; 2015/17120-
What can we learn from neutrinoless double beta decay experiments?
We assess how well next generation neutrinoless double beta decay and normal
neutrino beta decay experiments can answer four fundamental questions. 1) If
neutrinoless double beta decay searches do not detect a signal, and if the
spectrum is known to be inverted hierarchy, can we conclude that neutrinos are
Dirac particles? 2) If neutrinoless double beta decay searches are negative and
a next generation ordinary beta decay experiment detects the neutrino mass
scale, can we conclude that neutrinos are Dirac particles? 3) If neutrinoless
double beta decay is observed with a large neutrino mass element, what is the
total mass in neutrinos? 4) If neutrinoless double beta decay is observed but
next generation beta decay searches for a neutrino mass only set a mass upper
limit, can we establish whether the mass hierarchy is normal or inverted? We
base our answers on the expected performance of next generation neutrinoless
double beta decay experiments and on simulations of the accuracy of
calculations of nuclear matrix elements.Comment: Added reference
Study of 2b-decay of Mo-100 and Se-82 using the NEMO3 detector
After analysis of 5797 h of data from the detector NEMO3, new limits on
neutrinoless double beta decay of Mo-100 (T_{1/2} > 3.1 10^{23} y, 90% CL) and
Se-82 (T_{1/2} > 1.4 10^{23} y, 90% CL) have been obtained. The corresponding
limits on the effective majorana neutrino mass are: m < (0.8-1.2) eV and m <
(1.5-3.1) eV, respectively. Also the limits on double-beta decay with Majoron
emission are: T_{1/2} > 1.4 10^{22} y (90% CL) for Mo-100 and T_{1/2}> 1.2
10^{22} y (90%CL) for Se-82. Corresponding bounds on the Majoron-neutrino
coupling constant are g < (0.5-0.9) 10^{-4} and < (0.7-1.6) 10^{-4}.
Two-neutrino 2b-decay half-lives have been measured with a high accuracy,
T_{1/2} Mo-100 = [7.68 +- 0.02(stat) +- 0.54(syst) ] 10^{18} y and T_{1/2}
Se-82 = [10.3 +- 0.3(stat) +- 0.7(syst) ] 10^{19} y.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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