Neutron pair correlations in A=100 nuclei involved in neutrinoless double-β decay
Abstract
The pairing properties of the neutrinoless double beta decay (02β) candidate 100Mo have been studied, along with its daughter 100Ru, to provide input for nuclear matrix element calculations relevant to the decay. The (p,t) two-neutron transfer reaction was measured on nuclei of 102,100Ru and 100,98Mo. The experiment was designed to have particular sensitivity to 0+ states up to excitation energies of 3 MeV with high energy resolution. Measurements were made at two angles and L=0 transitions identified by the ratio of yields between the two angles. For the reactions leading to and from 100Ru, greater than 95% of the L=0 (p,t) strength was in the ground state, but in 100Mo about 20% was in excited 0+ states. The measured (p,t) data, together with existing (t,p) data, suggest that 100Mo is a shape-transitional nucleus while 100Ru is closer to the spherical side of that transition. Theoretical calculations of the 02β nuclear matrix element may be complicated by this difference in shape.
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