Add massive neutrino support and improve CSV/CLI output

- Add neutrino mass parameter to SpectrumConfig and CLI interface
- Update PhaseSpace component to handle neutrino mass effects properly
- Update CSV headers to show basic endpoint and all transition types
- Add --csv-verbosity option to CLI with 'full' and 'concise' options
- Fix comparison plots to properly show linear scale variations
- Add comprehensive tests for neutrino mass functionality
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The measurement of the 99Tc β-decay spectrum and its implications for the effective
value of weak axial coupling
J. W. Song,1,2 M. Ramalho,3,4 M. K. Lee,1 G. B. Kim,5 I. Kim,5 H. L. Kim,6 Y. C.
Lee,6,7 K. R. Woo,6 J. Kotila,8 J. Kostensalo,9 J. Suhonen,4,10,∗ and H. J. Kim2,†
1Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, Daejeon 34113, South Korea
2Department of Physics, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, South Korea
3School of Physics, Engineering and Technology,
University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom
4Department of Physics, University of Jyva¨skyla¨,
P. O. Box 35 (YFL), FI-40014, Jyva¨skyl¨a, Finland
5Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
6Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 34126, South Korea
7Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, South Korea
8Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyva¨skyl¨a, Jyv¨askyla¨, Finland
9Natural Resources Institute Finland, Yliopistokatu 6B, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland
10International Centre for Advanced Training and Research in Physics (CIFRA), 077125 Bucharest-Magurele, Romania
(Dated: June 24, 2025)
Measurements of β-spectral shapes is an important way to examine the effective value of the
weakaxialcouplingg . Thesestudiesfocusspecificallyonforbiddennon-uniqueβ− transitions,as
A
only in these cases is the spectral shape directly sensitive to the ratio g /g . Here, the value of
A V
the weak vector coupling constant, g , is fixed at 1.0 according to the Conserved Vector Current
V
(CVC) hypothesis. In previous studies for the fourth-forbidden non-unique β− decays of 113Cd
[J. Kostensalo et al., Phys. Lett. B 822, 136652 (2021)] and 115In [A. F. Leder et al., Phys.
Rev. Lett. 129, 232502 (2022) and L. Pagnanini et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 122501 (2024)] a
quenchedvaluewasdeterminedfortheratiog /g usingg =1.0. Anotableexceptionistherecent
A V V
measurementandanalysisofthesecond-forbiddennon-uniqueβ-decaytransitionin99Tc,performed
byM.Paulsenet al.,Phys. Rev. C110,05503(2024). Whereanenhancedratiog /g =1.526(92)
A V
was suggested. To resolve this apparently contradictory situation with the effective value of g , we
A
haveperformedcalculationsbasedonthenuclearshellmodel(NSM)Hamiltoniansglekpn,jj45pnb,
andtheMQPMapproachwithacarefulconsiderationofthesmallrelativisticvectornuclearmatrix
element(sNME).Thetheoreticalspectrawerecomparedtothe99Tcβ-decayspectrumbyusingthe
4πgoldabsorberwithaMetallicMagneticCalorimeter(MMC).Inallcases,wefoundthatthedata
matches well with reduced g /g values of 1.0–1.2. Our result contradicts the previously reported
A V
measurementfor99Tcandinsteadsupportsaquenchedaxialcouplingasreportedforotherisotopes.
Introduction.—Electrons and electron antineutrinos turebeyond-the-standard-modelexperiments;seethere-
are emitted in β− decays as a result of a transmuta- views [1–3].
tion of a parent nucleus (Z,N) to a daughter nucleus
In allowed β decays, such as Fermi and Gamow–Teller
(Z +1,N −1), Z being the number of protons and N
transitions, the emitted lepton pair (electron and an-
the number of neutrons. Studies of β-electrons (elec-
tineutrino)carrieszeroorbitalangularmomentum[4]. In
trons emitted in β− decays) have become an important
contrast,forbiddendecaysoccurwhentheemittedlepton
subject of study, e.g., in connection with nuclear reac-
pair carries nonzero orbital angular momentum [5]. The
tors and the anomalies in their fluxes of antineutrinos,
degreeofforbiddennesscanrangefromfirst-forbiddento
and rare-events experiments searching for beyond-the-
n:th-forbidden, with each additional level typically in-
standard-modelphysics,likethosetryingtomeasurerare
creasing the decay half-life by a factor of approximately
β-decays and double beta decays. The β-electrons can 104. Forbidden β-transitions are generally classified into
also be severe backgrounds in these experiments. In all
two types: unique and non-unique. Unique transitions
the aforementioned cases, measurements of the associ-
are characterized by a single dominant nuclear matrix
atedβ-spectralshapeisessential. Distortionsinβ-decay
element (NME) and thus exhibit a universal β-spectral
spectral shapes also provide important input for under-
shapethatisindependentofnuclearstructure[4]. Incon-
standing the weak axial coupling constant g , which
A trast, non-uniquetransitionsinvolveacomplexinterplay
is relevant for sensitivity estimates in current and fu-
of several NMEs, making the β-decay spectrum highly
sensitivetothenuclearwavefunctionsofboththeinitial
and final states [5–7].
∗ jouni.t.suhonen@jyu.fi The (partial) half-life of a forbidden non-unique β-
† hongjoo@knu.ac.kr transitionsalsodependsonthevaluesoftheweakvector
2
and axial-vector couplings, g and g , respectively [5– plings by writing
V A
7]. The conserved vector current (CVC) hypothesis
sets g V = 1.0 whereas the partially conserved axial- C(w e )=g V 2C V (w e )+g A 2C A (w e )+g V g A C VA (w e ) (2)
vector current (PCAC) hypothesis leads to an effective
where w is the total (rest-mass plus kinetic) energy of
(quenched) value of geff in finite nuclei [8], its bare- e
A the emitted electron. The shape of the β-electron spec-
nucleon value g =1.27 resulting from the experimental
A trum is sensitive to the value of g due to subtle in-
studies of the decay of an isolated neutron. The quench- A
terference effects among the vector C (w ), axial-vector
ing of the effective value of g has recently been studied V e
A C (w), and mixed vector–axial-vector C (w) contribu-
extensively in [2, 8, 9], and in particular its effects on A VA
tionstothetransitionmatrixelement[6]. Forsomenuclei
the neutrinoless double beta decay have been addressed
(veryfew,ascharteduptopresentdays[2,18,19,21,22])
in [1, 3]. To quantify the quenched value of g , com-
A this causes measurable changes in the β-spectra. Thus,
binedexperimentalandtheoreticalanalysesofβ-spectral
the effective value geff can be found by computing the-
shapes of individual β− transitions have recently been A
oretical β-spectra for a set of geff values and comparing
performed for the fourth-forbidden non-unique β-decays A
themwiththemeasuredone. Thismethod,coinedasthe
of 113Cd [10–13] and 115In [14–16].
spectrum-shape method (SSM), was originally proposed
A recent measurement of the β-decay spectrum
in [6].
for the second-forbidden non-unique ground-state-to-
Another factor influencing theoretical analyses of β-
ground-state transition 99Tc(9/2+) → 99Ru(5/2+),
spectral shapes and half-lives is the so-called small rela-
which has a 100% branching ratio, was reported by
tivistic vector nuclear matrix element (sNME) [5]. The
Paulsen et al. [17]. The accompanying theoretical analy-
sNME gathers contributions outside the valence major
sisyieldedacontradictoryresult,suggestinganenhance-
shell that contains the proton and neutron Fermi sur-
ment of the axial coupling with a value of g /g =
A V faces, which makes its calculation particularly hard for
1.526(92) using g =1.0.
V nuclear-theoryframeworksused,e.g.,inthepresentwork
ThegA-EXPERimentandTheory(gA-EXPERT)col-
and also in the work of Paulsen et al. [17]. Despite its
laboration is an international effort dedicated to quan-
smallness, the sNME can influence the β-spectral shapes
tifying the effective axial-vector coupling constant, geff,
A and half-lives quite strongly [11, 12, 19, 21].
by precisely measuring β-decays of various nuclei and
ArealisticvalueofthesNMEcanbeestimatedfromits
comparing the results with state-of-the-art nuclear the-
CVC value [5], first used for spectral-shape calculations
ory calculations. To address the tension raised by the
in Ref. [18] and later by Paulsen et al. [17]. It should be
enhanced value of geff = 1.526(92) reported in Ref. [17],
A noted,though,thattheCVCvaluerepresentsan“ideal”,
we performed a high-precision measurement of the 99Tc
pertaining to a perfect many-body theory, which is not
β-decay spectrum using metallic magnetic calorimeter
the case for the nuclear-structure frameworks typically
quantum sensors with a low-energy threshold of 10 keV.
used for β-decay calculations of heavy open-shell nuclei,
The measured spectrum was compared to predictions
like the presently discussed 99Tc. To circumvent the use
from three nuclear models, each based on distinct nu-
of the CVC value, the experimental works [11, 13, 15]
clear Hamiltonians. In this Letter, we present a quan-
and theoretical works [12, 16] used sNME as a fitting
titative comparison between data and modern nuclear
parameter, together with geff. By this, it was possible to
theory,providingnewconstraintsongeff anddemonstrat- A
A reproduce both the measured β-spectral shape and the
ing the sensitivity of precision β-spectroscopy to nuclear
experimental (partial) half-life of the corresponding β-
structure effects.
transitionwithoutlosingtheCVCvalueg =1.0forthe
Theory.—Tofirstorder,thehalf-lifeofaβ-decaytran- A
vector coupling. This approach, termed the enhanced
sition can be written as:
spectrum-shape method (ESSM) in Ref. [19], is adopted
κ in the present work.
t = , (1)
1/2 C˜ In this Letter, we present new theoretical calculations
of the β spectrum of 99Tc (with Z = 43 and N = 56)
where κ is a constant [18, 19] and C˜ is the integrated and compare them to the measured spectrum in order
shapefunctionC,whichincorporatesvariousphase-space to extract the geff, using ESSM. To gain preliminary in-
A
factors and NMEs arising in the next-to-leading-order sightsintotheeffectiveaxialcouplinggeff intheβ-decay
A
expansion, as discussed in detail in Refs. [6, 7]. Our β- of 99Tc, we performed nuclear shell model (NSM) cal-
spectral shape and half-life analyses employ screening, culations and compared the results with the measured
radiative, and atomic-exchange corrections. For electron spectrum reported in Ref. [17]. As the β-decay rate
energies below some tens of keV, the distortion in the β- has a quadratic dependence on the sNME, two solutions
decay spectral shape is mostly dominated by the atomic werefoundforeachvalueofgeff,onecloserto[sNME(c)]
A
exchange correction, as originally studied for allowed β- and one further away from [sNME(f)] CVC value. In
decays [20]. This correction is responsible for the sharp references [21, 23] the related two sets of theoretical β-
upward trend of the spectral shape at low energies. spectra of 99Tc were introduced for two NSM Hamilto-
The complexity of the shape function C can, however, nians, namely jj45pnb [24] and glekpn [25]; In that pre-
be cast in a very simple dependence on the weak cou- liminary study, for the glekpn interaction we’ve used a
3
set of single particle energies fit to the A=94−98 mass below 1 Bq.
region, however here we use the default single particle
energies since it yields better experimental agreement
for this isotope. Comparison with the measured spec-
trum[17]indicatedthatbothsNMEvaluesusedwiththe
jj45pnb Hamiltonian yielded good agreement, while the
fit is somewhat poorer with sNME(c), and significantly
worsewithsNME(f)whenusingtheglekpn Hamiltonian,
further details of this preliminary study and its calcula-
tions can be found in Refs [21, 23].
In addition to the two NSM Hamiltonians described
above, we also employ the nuclear many-body method
known as the Microscopic Quasiparticle-Phonon Model
(MQPM). A concise presentation of the essentials of
NSM, and MQPM can be found in Ref. [2]. It should
be pointed out here that Ref. [17] employed the NSM
in their analysis, adopting the CVC value for the sNME
withoutfittingittotheexperimentalhalf-lifeofβ-decay.
A systematic comparison of various theoretical models
with the measured spectrum offers a more robust frame-
work for extracting the geff from high-precision spectral
A
data.
Experiment.— Metallic magnetic calorimeters
(MMCs) are some of the most advanced cryogenic FIG. 1. The detector setup used for the β-decay measure-
ment. The gold sample containing the 99Tc source is ther-
detectors for precision energy measurements. These
mally coupled to the MMC sensor via gold wire bonds. A
devices utilize paramagnetic ions embedded in metal-
support washer with a Kapton tape on top for thermal insu-
lic hosts—typically Au:Er or Ag:Er—as temperature
lation was placed below the sample to align its height with
sensors thermally coupled to metallic absorbers. The
that of the MMC sensor.
paramagnetic material is placed in a weak magnetic
field (<10 mT) and operated at temperatures below The detector setup consists of an MMC and a Mag-
100 mK. When an incident particle deposits energy nicon SQUID (Model X1) for signal readout (see Fig-
E in the absorber, it induces a temperature rise ∆T ure 1). The detector was installed and operated in a
in the paramagnetic bath. This temperature increase pulsed tube pre-cooled 3He/4He dilution refrigerator at
leads to a decrease in the total magnetization of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The
paramagneticions,whichissensedbyasuperconducting signal was amplified using an additional array SQUID
pickupcoil. Themagneticsignalisthentransmittedtoa (Model X16) installed at the 4 K stage.
superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) The output was low-pass filtered using a Stanford Re-
for precise readout. In this work, we employed an search Systems SRS 560 amplifier [30] with a 30 kHz
MMC fabricated at the Korea Research Institute of cutoff frequency. Data acquisition was performed over
Standards and Science (KRISS), incorporating 420 ppm 34 hours at 15 mK in un-triggered continuous mode to
of Ag:168Er as the sensor material Refs [26, 27]. capture the full information, with a sampling rate of
Radionuclide sources were prepared in the form of 4π 200 kS/s. A software trigger was applied using a trape-
solid-angle absorbers. A solution of 99Tc dissolved in ni- zoidal filter with a 1-ms shaping time.
tric acid was dropped onto a gold foil (2 mm × 2 mm For energy calibration, an external 133Ba source was
× 33 µm) and subsequently dried. The foil, containing used as a reference, while a 148Gd source was introduced
approximately 10 Bq of 99Tc activity, was then folded inside the setup for internal calibration. Although the α
androlledthreetimesinaprocessknownasthekneading signals from 148Gd were not observed due to slight mis-
method[28,29]. Thistechniqueenhancestheuniformity alignment, characteristic X-rays from 148Gd interactions
of 99Tc distribution within the absorber and improves weresuccessfullydetected. Thesimultaneousobservation
energyresolution. Aportionofthekneadedfoilwascut, ofγraysfrom133BaandX-raysresultingfrom148Gdpro-
encapsulated between two 25 µm thick gold foils, and videdmultiplereferencepointsforaccuratecalibrationof
compressed using a rolling machine. The final encapsu- the energy scale.
lated sample, measuring 1.2 mm × 1.3 mm × 50 µm, Two trapezoidal filters with different shaping parame-
was thermally coupled to the MMC sensor. The total ters were applied to the raw pulses. The long trapezoid
absorber mass was 1.75 mg, and the total heat capacity, was used to obtain information about the entire DC sig-
includingthecontributionfromtheparamagneticionsin nal, while the short trapezoid was designed to capture
the MMC sensor, was approximately 400 pJ in the 15- information corresponding only to the rise time of the
50 mK temperature range. The final 99Tc activity was DC signal [31, 32]. All data were analyzed using custom
4
MATLAB○R
scripts [33]. five most prominent γ peaks from 133Ba: 383.8 keV,
Results.—Inthebackgrounddataset,atotalof130,001 356.0 keV, 302.8 keV, 276.4 keV, and 80.9 keV. The re-
sultingcalibrationfunctionwasthenappliedtotheanal-
| events | were | recorded. | Among | them, | 80,903 | events ex- | | | | | | | | |
| ------ | ---- | --------- | ----- | ----- | ------ | ---------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
ceededtheenergythresholddefinedfortheanalysisas10 ysis dataset. The positions of the Gd X-ray peaks were
keV. A pulse shape discrimination (PSD) cut was sub- compared between the calibration and analysis datasets,
sequently applied to select events consistent with 99Tc andnosignificantdiscrepancieswereobserved. Thiscon-
signal-like pulses. After that, 77,487 events remained for sistency validated the use of the same calibration func-
further analysis. tion for both datasets. Specifically, the 42.3097 keV,
Similarly, the calibration dataset obtained with an ex- 42.9968 keV, and 48.6957 keV peaks in the two datasets
| | 133Ba | | | | | | differedby0.14(11)keV,0.093(18)keV,and0.38(5)keV, | | | | | | | |
| ------ | ----- | ------ | --------- | ------ | ------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ternal | | source | contained | 47,491 | events. | Out of | | | | | | | | |
these, 35,821 events passed the energy threshold. Af- respectively—well within the corresponding uncertain-
| ter applying | | the same | PSD | criteria, | 23,596 | events were | ties. | | | | | | | |
| ------------ | --- | -------- | --- | --------- | ------ | ----------- | ----- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
retained.
FIG.2. 99Tcspectrumwithexternal133Bacalibrationsource.
| Details | of the | X-ray peaks | are | provided | in Table | I. | | | | | | | | |
| ------- | ---------- | ----------- | -------- | -------- | -------- | ---- | -------- | -------- | ---- | ----------- | ----- | ----------- | ----- | ------- |
| | | | | | | | FIG. 3. | Spectrum | of | calibrated | 99Tc, | plotted | with | a 1 keV |
| Figure | 2 presents | | the 99Tc | spectrum | measured | with | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | binning, | compared | with | theoretical | | predictions | based | on the |
the external 133Ba source in place. Characteristic X-ray farCVC variants of the glekpn, jj45pnb, and MQPM models.
peaksfromGdandPtfluorescence,aswellasγlinesfrom Themodelswerefittedusingaχ2 method. Theresidualgraph
ν
133Ba, are clearly visible [34]. These peaks, along with below was calculated over the energy range from 0–280 keV,
| | | 133Ba | | | | | corresponding | | to the | χ2 fitting | range. | | | |
| -------- | ----------- | ----- | --------------- | ------------ | ----------- | ---------- | ------------- | ---- | ------ | ---------- | ------ | --------- | --- | --------- |
| the γ | lines from | | and | escape peaks | due | to partial | | | | ν | | | | |
| energy | deposition, | were | used | for energy | calibration | [35]. | | | | | | | | |
| The peak | positions | | were determined | | by Gaussian | fitting | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | In our | ESSM | theory | framework, | | templates | | of the β- |
withalinearbackgroundmodel,andtheresultsaresum- spectra were generated for a set of g values (with
A
marized in Table I. g = 1.0), adjusting simultaneously the sNME value(s)
V
Mostpeaksexhibitexcellentagreementwithliterature to correctly reproduce the decay half-life. Then, reduced
values,with∆E typicallybelow0.3keVandenergyreso- chi-square (χ2) fitting was performed using the provided
ν
lutionsbetterthan1keVinthe66–383keVenergyrange. models,applyingsimpleshapecomparisonsandcalculat-
TheentriesinTableIlabeledas“Notdistinguished,”in- ingresidualstoidentifytheenergyregionswiththemost
| cluding | K and | K | transitions | from | Gd X-ray | and Au | | | | | | | | |
| ------- | ----- | --- | ----------- | ---- | -------- | ------ | ----------- | ----------- | --- | --- | --- | -------- | ---- | -------- |
| | β3 | β1 | | | | | significant | deviations. | | The | bin | size for | each | spectrum |
escape lines, correspond to peaks with low relative in- was set to 1 keV.
tensities [36]. Given the limited event statistics, these Areducedchi-squared(χ2)fittingprocedurewasthen
ν
| peaks | could | not be | individually | resolved | in | the spectral | | | | | | | | |
| ----- | ----- | ------ | ------------ | -------- | --- | ------------ | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
appliedtocomparethetheoreticalmodelswiththemea-
fit. Theuncertaintiesreportedforeachvaluereflectonly suredspectrum. Thebinsizeforeachspectrumwassetto
thestatisticalerrorsderivedfromtheGaussianfits,with- 1keV.Thefitswereperformedbyminimizingχ2 overthe
ν
out accounting for potential systematic contributions. energy ranges 10–41 keV and 50–280 keV, excluding the
148Gd
The Gd X-ray peaks from the internal source GdX-rayregion. Simpleshapecomparisonsandresidual
and the 133Ba γ lines were used as primary reference analyseswereusedtoidentifyenergyregionswithsignifi-
points for the calibration. Additional fluorescence lines cantdeviations. Figure3visuallydemonstrateshowwell
| fromPtareattributedtomaterialsinthedetectorsetup | | | | | | | | | | | 99Tc | | | |
| ------------------------------------------------ | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---------- | ------ | ---- | --- | ---- | ----- | --- | --- |
| | | | | | | | each model | aligns | with | the | | data. | | |
and collimator. Several low-energy escape peaks (below We performed the fitting using geff with both the
A
20keV)showbroaderFWHManddegradedrelativereso- closeCVC[sNME(c)]andfarCVC[sNME(f)]models,and
lutionduetoincreasednoiseandlimitedeventstatistics. the results are summarized in Table II. For the farCVC
modelatgeff
A linear energy calibration was performed using the cases,theglekpn =1.2yieldsthebestagree-
A
5
TABLE I. Measured X-ray and gamma-ray lines, including their tabulated and measured energies.
Tabulated Measured FWHM
Origin Radiation type ∆E [keV]
energy [keV] [34, 35] energy [keV] resolution [keV]
X-rayK 42.3097(13) 42.30(10) 0.9(4) 0.01(10)
α2
Gdfluorescence X-rayK 42.9968(12) 42.9427(31) 0.686(10) 0.0541(33)
α1
frominternalsource X-rayK 48.5505(21)
β3 48.29(5)a 1.05(22) 0.41(5)
X-rayK 48.6957(21)
β1
Ptfluorescence X-rayK 65.1226(21) 65.005(22) 0.96(6) 0.118(22)
α2
fromcollimator X-rayK 66.8311(20) 66.78(5) 0.65(15) 0.06(5)
α1
γ 80.9979(11) 80.881(24) 0.77(8) 0.117(25)
γ 276.3989(12) 276.12(5) 0.57(13) 0.28(5)
133Bacalibrationlines γ 302.8508(5) 302.764(21) 0.60(5) 0.087(21)
γ 356.0129(7) 355.926(9) 0.653(21) 0.087(9)
γ 383.8485(12) 383.69(6) 0.82(14) 0.16(6)
Absorbed Escaping
133Ba γ line [keV] Au X-ray [keV]
66.993(23)[K ] 316.8555(26) 316.817(18) 0.37(5) 0.038(18)
383.8485 α2
68.8069(22)[K ] 315.0416(25) 315.09(4) 0.72(9) 0.05(4)
α1
66.993(23)[K ] 289.0199(24) 288.943(21) 0.51(5) 0.077(21)
α2
68.8069(22)[K ] 287.206(23) 287.051(26) 0.59(6) 0.155(26)
356.0129 α1
77.5773(35)[K ] 278.4356(36)
β3 277.911(31)a 0.88(8) 0.122(31)
77.983(37)[K ] 278.0329(38)
Escapelines β1
66.993(23)[K ] 235.8578(24) 235.659(23) 0.47(6) 0.199(23)
302.8508 α2
68.8069(22)[K ] 234.0439(23) 233.99(4) 0.63(11) 0.05(4)
α1
66.993(23)[K ] 209.4059(26) 209.137(12) 0.72(4) 0.269(12)
276.3989 α2
68.8069(22)[K ] 207.592(25) 207.36(5) 0.62(13) 0.24(5)
α1
66.993(23)[K ] 14.0049(25) 13.87(5) 1.49(21) 0.13(5)
80.9979 α2
68.8069(22)[K ] 12.191(25) 12.144(17) 0.97(6) 0.046(17)
α1
a Notdistinguished
considered, glekpn slightly outperforms the others, but
TABLE II. Results for the three considered nuclear models
allthreesuggestthataquenchedaxial-vectorcouplingof
ontheparametersofinterestg . Thereducedchi-squareand
A geff =1.0–1.2providesthebestagreementwiththedata.
p-value are also reported as an estimator of the goodness of A
Our result shows a clear deviation from that reported in
fit.
Ref. [17], and instead exhibits better consistency with a
Model geff sNME[fm3] χ2 p-value
A ν quenched g value comparable to those extracted from
CloseCVC A
glekpn 1.1 0.0674 1.1057 0.12 other nuclei.
jj45pnb 1.0 0.0681 1.2436 0.004 Conclusions.—In this work, we performed a high-
MQPM 1.0 0.0651 1.6437 <0.0001 resolutionmeasurementofthe β-decay spectrum of99Tc
usingmetallicmagneticcalorimeterquantumsensorsand
FarCVC(Bestfit)
glekpn 1.2 -0.0698 1.0664 0.22 compared the results with predictions from multiple nu-
jj45pnb 1.0 -0.0669 1.0966 0.14 clear models. The extracted value of the effective axial-
MQPM 1.0 -0.0683 1.0951 0.14 vector coupling, geff, deviates from the enhanced value
A
reported in Ref. [17] and is more consistent with values
observed in other nuclei. We attribute this discrepancy
ment with the experimental spectrum, with a reduced primarilytothedifferenttreatmentofthesNMEadopted
chi-squared value of χ2 = 1.0664 and a corresponding in Ref. [17]. By applying the ESSM, which simultane-
ν
p-value of 0.22. The jj45pnb model at geff = 1.0 also ously fits the measured β-spectrum and reproduces the
A
provides a good match with χ2 = 1.0966 and p-value of partialhalf-life,weplacedmorerobustconstraintsongeff
ν A
0.14. Similarly, the MQPM model at geff = 1.0 gives χ2 based on three nuclear theory approaches.
A ν
= 1.0951 and p-value of 0.14. All fits were performed Our results for the second-forbidden non-unique β−
with ν = 261 degrees of freedom. decay of 99Tc provide valuable insight into the effective
The reduced chi-squared values close to unity and p- axial-vector coupling strength geff in the mass region.
A
values well above 0.05 indicate that all three farCVC Theextractedquenchingpatternisconsistentwiththose
models are statistically compatible with the measured observed in heavier nuclei, such as 113Cd [10–13] and
spectrum. This consistency supports the reliability of 115In [14–16], suggesting that the quenching of g may
A
the farCVC scenario, where the sNME is adjusted to re- follow a systematic trend across mass regions. This im-
produce the experimental half-life. Among the models pliesthatthesamelevelofquenchingcouldbeappliedto
6
bothallowedandforbiddenvirtualtransitionscontribut- istryofResearch,InnovationandDigitization(theNEP-
ing to 0νββ NMEs, thereby simplifying the theoretical TUN project). M. Ramalho acknowledges support by
evaluation of NMEs. theOskarHuttunenFoundation. Weacknowledgegrants
In particular, our findings can inform the modeling of of computer capacity from the Finnish Grid and Cloud
100Mo, Infrastructure (persistent identifier urn:nbn: fi:research-
| 0νββ decay | in | | which | lies | in the | same | mass re- | | | | | | | |
| ---------- | ----- | ------ | -------- | --------- | ------ | -------- | -------- | ------------------ | --- | --- | ----------- | --- | ------ | ---- |
| | | | | | | | | infras-2016072533) | | and | the support | by | CSC–IT | Cen- |
| gion as | 99Tc. | If the | observed | quenching | | behavior | per- | | | | | | | |
sists across neighboring nuclei, it could facilitate a more ter for Science, Finland, for generous computational re-
| | | | | | | | | sources. | G. B. | Kim | and I. Kim | acknowledge | | support |
| ----------- | ------------ | --------- | ------- | ------------ | ---- | ------- | ------ | -------- | --------------- | --- | ---------- | ----------- | --- | ------- |
| unified and | robust | framework | | for | 0νββ | nuclear | matrix | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | from the | U.S. Department | | of Energy, | performed | | under |
| element | calculations | | in this | mass region. | | | | | | | | | | |
theauspicesofLawrenceLivermoreNationalLaboratory
| These | results | demonstrate | | the sensitivity | | of | precision | | | | | | | |
| -------------- | ------- | ----------- | --- | --------------- | ------- | --- | --------- | -------------- | -------------- | ------------------ | -------- | -------- | --------- | ------ |
| | | | | | | | | under Contract | | DE-AC52-07NA27344. | | | This work | was |
| β-spectroscopy | | to nuclear | | structure | effects | and | provide | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | funded by | the Laboratory | | Directed | Research | and | Devel- |
valuable benchmarks for the development and validation opment program of Lawrence Livermore National Labo-
| of nuclear | theory—an | | effort | central | to the | mission | of the | | | | | | | |
| ---------- | --------- | --- | ------ | ------- | ------ | ------- | ------ | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
ratory (23-LW-043).
| gA-EXPERT | | collaboration. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| --------- | --- | -------------- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
ThisworkwascarriedoutwithinthegA-EXPERiment
Acknowledgments.— H. J. Kim acknowledges support and Theory (gA-EXPERT) collaboration—an interna-
by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) tional effort involving Kyungpook National University
grant, funded by the Korean government (MSIT), Con- (KNU), the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), the Korea
tract No. RS-2024-00348317. J. W. Song acknowledges Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS),
support by the National Research Foundation of Korea the University of Jyv¨askyl¨a, and the Finnish Institute
(NRF)grant,fundedbytheMinistryofEducation,Con- of Natural Resources (Luke)—dedicated to determining
tract No. RS-2023-00274589. J. Kotila and J. Suhonen theeffectiveaxial-vectorcouplingconstant, geff, through
A
acknowledge support from project PNRR-I8/C9-CF264, precision β-decay measurements and state-of-the-art nu-
Contract No. 760100/23.05.2023 of the Romanian Min- clear theory comparisons.
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