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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 65: Niederenergie-Neutrinophysik 3
T 65.1: Group Report
Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 16:45–17:05, P106
GERDA and the search for neutrinoless double beta decay: first results and perspectives — •Werner Maneschg for the GERDA collaboration — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a lepton-number-violating nuclear transition predicted by several extensions of the Standard Model. The Gerda experiment searches for this transition in 76Ge by operating bare Ge detectors in liquid Ar. The talk focuses on the results of data acquired during phase I of the experiment, in which 21.6 kg·yr of exposure with a background index of about 0.01 cts/(keV·kg·yr) were accumulated. No signal was observed, and a lower limit was derived for the half-life of neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge, T1/2>2.1·1025 yr (90% C.L.). The experiment is currently undergoing a major upgrade in preparation for phase II of data collection. Thanks to an increased target mass, an improved energy resolution and the introduction of novel background reduction techniques, the sensitivity of Gerda is expected to increase of about one order of magnitude in a few years of operation.