Status and Perspectives on Rare Decay Searches in Tellurium Isotopes

• Main Authors: Alice Campani, Valentina Dompè, Guido Fantini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
• Series: Universe
• Subjects: double beta decay; tellurium; ¹²⁰Te; ¹²³Te; ¹²⁸Te; ¹³⁰Te
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/7/7/212

Neutrinoless double beta decay (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is a posited lepton number violating decay whose search is an increasingly active field in modern astroparticle physics. A discovery would imply neutrinos are Majorana particles and inform neutrino physics, cosmology and beyond-standard-model theories. Among the few nuclei where double beta decay (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is allowed, tellurium isotopes stand for their high natural abundance and are currently employed in multiple experiments. The search for <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn><mi>ν</mi><mi>β</mi><mi>β</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> will provide large exposure data sets in the coming years, paving the way for unprecedented sensitivities. We review the latest rare decay searches in tellurium isotopes and compare past results with theories and prospects from running experiments.