Speaker
Description
GERDA has been a pioneering experiment in the search for the still undetected neutrinoless double beta (0𝜈𝛽𝛽)-decay of Ge-76 and this will also hold for the successor experiment LEGEND. The discovery of this extremely rare process would prove the Majorana character of neutrinos and consequently physics beyond the Standard Model. For an explicit identification of a signal caused by the 0𝜈𝛽𝛽-decay, which correspond to an energy of 2039 keV for Ge-76, a precise understanding of all background contributions in the region of interest is crucial.
Previous experiments indicated 𝛾-lines, produced by (n,p) reactions on Ge-76 and Ge-74, but until now, no significant indications for their existence were found. In order to confirm the existence of the 𝛾-lines, an enriched Ge-sample was alternately irradiated by neutrons from a DT generator and measured by a HP Ge detector. The combined 𝛾-ray spectra from 51 irradiation cycles show three peaks in the signal region of GERDA/LEGEND. The experimental procedure and the analysis of the peaks will be presented.
