Observation of this process would confirm the existence of elementary Majorana (“ma-yo-RA-na”) fermions. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this type of nuclear decay that emits only two electrons but also violates lepton number.
ANSWER: neutrinoless double beta decay [prompt on double beta decay]
[10m] The nEXO experiment plans to measure neutrinoless double beta decay in liquid xenon-136 via this process, in which ionization radiation is absorbed by a material and then re-emitted as light.
ANSWER: scintillation [accept scintillators]
[10e] Experiments observing neutrinoless double beta decay also serve to bound this physical quantity for neutrinos, which is less than one electronvolt, or 1.782 times 10 to the negative 36 kilograms.
ANSWER: mass
<Sheffield A, Physics>