Searching for Two-Neutrino and Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay of ^{134}Xe with the PandaX-4T Experiment

Phys Rev Lett. 2024 Apr 12;132(15):152502. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.152502.

Abstract

^{134}Xe is a candidate isotope for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) search. In addition, the two-neutrino case (2νββ) allowed by the standard model of particle physics has not yet been observed. With the 656-kg natural xenon in the fiducial volume of the PandaX-4T detector, which contains 10.4% of ^{134}Xe, and its initial 94.9-day exposure, we have established the most stringent constraints on 2νββ and 0νββ of ^{134}Xe half-lives, with limits of 2.8×10^{22} yr and 3.0×10^{23} yr at 90% confidence level, respectively. The 2νββ (0νββ) limit surpasses the previously reported best result by a factor of 32 (2.7), highlighting the potential of large monolithic natural xenon detectors for double beta decay searches.