Search for 2-beta decays of 96^Ru and 104^Ru by ultralow-background HPGe gamma spectrometry at LNGS: Final Results

An experiment to search for double-β decay processes in 96Ru and 104Ru, which are accompanied by γ rays, has been realized in the underground Gran Sasso National Laboratories of the I.N.F.N. (Italy). Ruthenium samples with masses of ≈0.5–0.7 kg were measured with the help of ultralow-background high-purity Ge γ -ray spectrometry. After 2162 h of data taking the samples were deeply purified to reduce the internal contamination of 40K. The last part of the data has been accumulated over 5479 h. New improved half-life limits on 2β+/εβ+/2ε processes in 96Ru have been established on the level of 1020 yr, in particular for decays to the ground state of 96Mo: T 2ν2β+ 1/2 1.4 × 1020 yr, T 2νεβ+ 1/2…