Ab initio calculation of the electron capture spectrum of 163Ho: Auger-Meitner decay into continuum states

Abstract

Determining the electron neutrino mass by electron capture in ${}^{163}$Ho relies on an accurate understanding of the differential electron capture nuclear decay rate as a function of the distribution of the total decay energy between the neutrino and electronic excitations. The resulting spectrum is dominated by resonances due to local atomic multiplet states with core holes. Coulomb scattering between electrons couple the discrete atomic states, via Auger-Meitner decay, to final states with free electrons. The atomic multiplets are above the auto-ionisation energy, such that the delta functions representing these discrete levels turn into a superposition of Lorentzian, Mahan- and Fano-like line-shapes. We present an \textit{ab initio} method to calculate nuclear decay modifications due to such processes. It includes states with multiple correlated holes in local atomic orbitals interacting with unbound Auger-Meitner electrons. A strong energy-dependent, asymmetric broadening of the resonances in good agreement with recent experiments is found. We present a detailed analysis of the mechanisms determining the final spectral line-shape and discuss both the Fano interference between different resonances, as well as the energy dependence of the Auger-Meitner Coulomb matrix elements. The latter mechanism is shown to be the dominant channel responsible for the asymmetric line-shape of the resonances in the electron capture spectrum of ${}^{163}$Ho.

References in corpus (6)

• HOLMES - The Electron Capture Decay of 163Ho to Measure the Electron Neutrino Mass with sub-eV sensitivity
• Bands, resonances, edge singularities and excitons in core level spectroscopy investigated within the dynamical mean field theory
• Examination of the calorimetric spectrum to determine the neutrino mass in low-energy electron capture decay
• Search for Oscillation of the Electron-Capture Decay Probability of ${}^{142}$Pm
• Determination of the neutrino mass by electron capture in 163 Holmium and the role of the three-hole states in 163 Dysprosium
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• Neutrino mass measurements using cryogenic detectors
• Development and characterisation of high-resolution microcalorimeter detectors for the ECHo-100k experiment
• Phenomenological Modeling of the ${}^{163}$Ho Calorimetric Electron Capture Spectrum from the HOLMES Experiment
• Data reduction for a calorimetrically measured ${}^{163}\mathrm{Ho}$ spectrum of the ECHo-1k experiment