Search for Neutrinoless Quadruple-β Decay of ^{150}Nd with the NEMO-3 Detector

Phys Rev Lett. 2017 Jul 28;119(4):041801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.041801. Epub 2017 Jul 24.

Abstract

We report the results of a first experimental search for lepton number violation by four units in the neutrinoless quadruple-β decay of ^{150}Nd using a total exposure of 0.19 kg yr recorded with the NEMO-3 detector at the Modane Underground Laboratory. We find no evidence of this decay and set lower limits on the half-life in the range T_{1/2}>(1.1-3.2)×10^{21} yr at the 90% C.L., depending on the model used for the kinematic distributions of the emitted electrons.