Search for neutrinoless quadruple beta decay of ${}^{136}$Xe in PandaX-4T detector

Abstract

The observation of neutrinoless quadruple beta decay (0$\nu$4$\beta$) in the absence of neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu$2$\beta$) has been argued to provide a strong indication that neutrinos are Dirac particles. We report a search for 0$\nu$4$\beta$ decay of ${}^{136}\text{Xe}$ using a total ${}^{136}\text{Xe}$ exposure of 148.4 kg$\cdot$yr, collected during the commissioning and the first science runs of the PandaX-4T experiment. No significant excess of events over the background is observed. A lower limit on the 0$\nu$4$\beta$ decay half-life of ${}^{136}\text{Xe}$ is set at 6.01 x $10^{24}$ yr at the 90% confidence level. This result establishes the most stringent constraint on this process in xenon, demonstrating the unique capability of the PandaX-4T detector in probing lepton number violation and shedding light on the fundamental nature of neutrinos.