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The neutrinoless double $\beta$-decay is reviewed. Model independent evidence in favor of neutrino masses and mixing is briefly summarized. The data of the recent experiments on the search for $0\nu\beta\beta$-decay are presented and some…
Several non-threshold reactions which may be used to detect the cosmic neutrino background are presented. The corresponding cross sections are calculated analytically within the Standard Model. These reactions are sensitive not only to the…
The \textsc{Gerda} experiment searches for the neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta$beta$) decay of $^{76}$Ge using high-purity germanium detectors made of material enriched in $^{76}$Ge. For Phase II of the experiment a sensitivity for the…
New generation dark matter experiments aim at exploring the 10e-9 - 10e-10 pb cross-section region for the WIMP-nucleon scalar interactions. Neutrons produced in the detector components are one of the main factors that can limit detector…
We discuss a consistency test which makes it possible to discriminate unknown nuclear background lines from neutrinoless double beta decay with only one isotope. By considering both the transition to the ground state and to the first…
In this work we analyse the ultimate sensitivity of dark matter direct detection experiments, the "neutrino-floor", in the presence of anomalous sources of dark radiation in form of SM or semi-sterile neutrinos. This flux-component is…
With the advent of detectors with sub-keV sensitivities, atomic ionization has been identified as a promising avenue to probe possible neutrino electromagnetic properties. The interaction cross-sections induced by millicharged neutrinos are…
Experiments designed to study rare processes, such as neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$), are crucial tests for physics beyond the standard model. These experiments rely on reducing the intrinsic radioactive background to…
An exploratory search for an anomalous energy deposition by neutrinos in a germanium crystal was performed in the CERN high energy neutrino beam. No signal was found and a limit is set at a level of about 10^-12 of the normal dE/dx for a…
Recent progress on the development of very low noise high purity germanium ionization spectrometers has produced an instrument of 1.2 kg mass and excellent noise performance. The detector was installed in a low-background cryostat intended…
To reduce background in experiments looking for rare events, such as the GERDA double beta decay experiment, it is necessary to employ active background-suppression techniques. One of such techniques is the pulse shape analysis of signals…
The relevant interaction energies for astrophysical radiative capture reactions are very low, much below the repulsive Coulomb barrier. This leads to low cross sections, low counting rates in $\gamma$-ray detectors, and therefore the need…
The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay in $^{76}$Ge with two modular arrays of natural and $^{76}$Ge-enriched germanium detectors. It is located at the 4850 level of Sanford Underground Research Facility…
The nature of the neutrino is one of the major open questions in experimental nuclear and particle physics. The most sensitive known method to establish the Majorana nature of the neutrino is detection of the ultra-rare process of…
The DRIFT-IId dark matter detector is a m$^3$-scale low-pressure TPC with directional sensitivity to WIMP-induced nuclear recoils. Its primary backgrounds were due to alpha decays from contamination on the central cathode. Efforts to reduce…
After the pioneering work of the Heidelberg-Moscow (HDM) and International Germanium Experiment (IGEX) groups, the second round of neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay searches currently underway has or will improve the life-time limits of…
The rate of the direct decay of 40K to the ground state of 40Ar through electron capture has not been experimentally reported. Aside from its inherent importance for the theory of electron capture as the only such decay known of its type…
The discovery that neutrinos have finite rest mass has led to renewed interest in neutrinoless double beta decay. The development of large-scale experiments to search for neutrinoless double beta decay has increased the probability of a…
Neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) is a rare process which could take place if neutrinos are Majorana fermions: the observation of this decay would provide unambiguous evidence for the existence of new Physics beyond the…
We review current experimental efforts to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$). A description of the selected leading experiments is given and the strongest recent results are compared in terms of achieved background…