Search for two-neutrino double-beta decay of^(136)Xe to the 0^(+)_(1)excited state of 136Ba with the complete EXO-200 dataset
摘要
A new search for two-neutrino double-beta(2νββ)decay of^(136)Xe to the 0+1 excited state of 136Ba is performed with the full EXO-200 dataset.A deep learning-based convolutional neural network is used to discriminate signal from background events.Signal detection efficiency is increased relative to previous searches by EXO-200 by more than a factor of two.With the addition of the Phase II dataset taken with an upgraded detector,the median 90%confidence level half-life sensitivity of 2νββdecay to the 0+1 state of 136Ba is 2.9×10^(24)yr using a total^(136)Xe exposure of 234.1 kg yr.No statistically significant evidence for 2νββdecay to the 0^(+)_(1)state is observed,leading to a lower limit of T2ν1/2(0^(+)→0^(+)_(1))>1.4×10^(24)yr at 90%confidence level,improved by 70%relative to the current world's best constraint.
