Final Results of GERDA on the Search for Neutrinoless Double-$β$ Decay
Creators: name: GERDA Collaboration
name: Agostini, M.
name: Araujo, G. R.
name: Bakalyarov, A. M.
name: Balata, M.
name: Barabanov, I.
name: Baudis, L.
name: Bauer, C.
name: Bellotti, E.
name: Belogurov, S.
name: Bettini, A.
name: Bezrukov, L.
name: Biancacci, V.
name: Borowicz, D.
name: Bossio, E.
name: Bothe, V.
name: Brudanin, V.
name: Brugnera, R.
name: Caldwell, A.
name: Cattadori, C.
name: Chernogorov, A.
name: Comellato, T.
name: D'Andrea, V.
name: Demidova, E. V.
name: Di Marco, N.
name: Doroshkevich, E.
name: Fischer, F.
name: Fomina, M.
name: Gangapshev, A.
name: Garfagnini, A.
name: Gooch, C.
name: Grabmayr, P.
name: Gurentsov, V.
name: Gusev, K.
name: Hakenmüller, J.
name: Hemmer, S.
name: Hiller, R.
name: Hofmann, W.
name: Huang, J.
name: Hult, M.
name: Inzhechik, L. V.
name: Csáthy, J. Janicskó
name: Jochum, J.
name: Junker, M.
name: Kazalov, V.
name: Kermaïdic, Y.
name: Khushbakht, H.
name: Kihm, T.
name: Kirpichnikov, I. V.
name: Klimenko, A.
name: Kneißl, R.
name: Knöpfle, K. T.
name: Kochetov, O.
name: Kornoukhov, V. N.
name: Krause, P.
name: Kuzminov, V. V.
name: Laubenstein, M.
name: Lazzaro, A.
name: Lindner, M.
name: Lippi, I.
name: Lubashevskiy, A.
name: Lubsandorzhiev, B.
name: Lutter, G.
name: Macolino, C.
name: Majorovits, B.
name: Maneschg, W.
name: Manzanillas, L.
name: Miloradovic, M.
name: Mingazheva, R.
name: Misiaszek, M.
name: Moseev, P.
name: Müller, Y.
name: Nemchenok, I.
name: Panas, K.
name: Pandola, L.
name: Pelczar, K.
name: Pertoldi, L.
name: Piseri, P.
name: Pullia, A.
name: Ransom, C.
name: Rauscher, L.
name: Riboldi, S.
name: Rumyantseva, N.
name: Sada, C.
name: Salamida, F.
name: Schönert, S.
name: Schreiner, J.
name: Schütt, M.
name: Schütz, A. -K.
name: Schulz, O.
name: Schwarz, M.
name: Schwingenheuer, B.
name: Selivanenko, O.
name: Shevchik, E.
name: Shirchenko, M.
name: Shtembari, L.
name: Simgen, H.
name: Smolnikov, A.
name: Stukov, D.
name: Vasenko, A. A.
name: Veresnikova, A.
name: Vignoli, C.
name: von Sturm, K.
name: Wester, T.
name: Wiesinger, C.
name: Wojcik, M.
name: Yanovich, E.
name: Zatschler, B.
name: Zhitnikov, I.
name: Zhukov, S. V.
name: Zinatulina, D.
name: Zschocke, A.
name: Zsigmond, A. J.
name: Zuber, K.
name: Zuzel, G.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) experiment searched for the lepton-number-violating neutrinoless double-$β$ ($0νββ$) decay of $^{76}$Ge, whose discovery would have far-reaching implications in cosmology and particle physics. By operating bare germanium diodes, enriched in $^{76}$Ge, in an active liquid argon shield, GERDA achieved an unprecedently low background index of $5.2\times10^{-4}$ counts/(keV$\cdot$kg$\cdot$yr) in the signal region and met the design goal to collect an exposure of 100 kg$\cdot$yr in a background-free regime. When combined with the result of Phase I, no signal is observed after 127.2 kg$\cdot$yr of total exposure. A limit on the half-life of $0νββ$ decay in $^{76}$Ge is set at $T_{1/2}&gt;1.8\times10^{26}$ yr at 90% C.L., which coincides with the sensitivity assuming no signal.
description: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters