The background in the neutrinoless double beta decay experiment GERDA

Understand

The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS) of INFN is searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of 76Ge.

• The signature of the signal is a monoenergetic peak at 2039 keV, the Q-value of the decay, Q_bb.
• To avoid bias in the signal search, the present analysis does not consider all those events, that fall in a 40 keV wide region centered around Q_bb.
• The main parameters needed for the neutrinoless double beta decay analysis are described.