Results of the NEMO-3 Double Beta Decay Experiment

Understand

The NEMO-3 experiment is searching for neutrinoless double beta decay for 2 main isotopes (100Mo and 82Se) and is studying the two-neutrino double beta decay of seven isotopes.

• The experiment has been taking data since 2003 and, up to the end of 2009, showed no evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay.
• Two 90 % CL lower limits on the half-lives of the transitions were obtained : T_{1/2}^{0\nu} > 1.0 10^{24} yr for 100Mo and T_{1/2}^{0\nu} > 3.2 10^{23}$ yr for 82Se.
• The corresponding limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass are respectively | m_nu | < 0.47 - 0.96 eV and | m_nu | < 0.94 - 2.5 eV.