New observation of decay of 100Mo to the level of 100Ru in the ARMONIA experiment

A sample of 100MoO3 powder with molybdenum enriched in 100Mo to 99.5% and mass of 1199 g was measured for 18120 h in a low-background set-up with 4 HP Ge detectors ( ≃ 225 cm 3 volume each one) deep underground (3600 m w.e.) at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of the INFN (Italy). The two γ quanta of 540 keV and of 591 keV emitted in the deexcitation process after a 2 β 2 ν decay of 100Mo to the 0 1 + excited level of 100Ru ( E exc = 1131 keV ) are observed in the accumulated data both in coincidence and in the 1-dimensional sum spectrum. The measured half life is: T 1 / 2 = 6.9 − 0.8 + 1.0 ( stat. ) ± 0.7 ( syst. ) × 10 20 yr , well in agreement with positive results obtained in previous experiments. Moreover, the limit on charge non-conserving β decay of 100Mo is also set: τ CNC > 4.5 × 10 19 yr at 90% C.L.; it corresponds to the limit on CNC admixture in weak currents: ϵ ν 2 2.9 × 10 − 21 .