Inelastic neutron scattering studies of Ge-76 and Se-76: relevance to neutrinoless double-beta decay

Abstract

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements were performed at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory on enriched Ge-76 and Se-76 scattering samples. From measurements at incident neutron energies from 2.0 to 4.0 MeV, many new levels were identified and characterized in each nucleus; level lifetimes, transition probabilities, multipole mixing ratios, and other properties were determined. In addition, gamma-ray cross sections for the Ge-76(n,n'gamma) reaction were measured at neutron energies up to 5.0 MeV, with the goal of determining the cross sections of gamma rays in 2040-keV region, which corresponds to the region of interest in the neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76. Gamma rays from the three strongest branches from the 3952-keV level were observed, but the previously reported 2041-keV gamma ray was not. Population cross sections across the range of incident neutron energies were determined for the 3952-keV level, resulting in a cross section of similar to 0.1 mb for the 2041-keV branch using the previously determined branching ratios. Beyond this, the data from these experiments indicate that previously unreported gamma rays from levels in Ge-76 can be found in the 2039-keV region.