A search for 0 ν β β decay of ¹²⁴ Sn with tin-loaded liquid scintillator

A search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of ¹²⁴ Sn was carried out using the tin-loaded liquid scintillator for an active source-detector technique. Tin (32.6%) in weight was successfully loaded into the liquid scintillator, and light output was as high as 57% of the unloaded liquid scintillator. A tin-loaded liquid scintillator with 1.1ℓ volume was installed at the 700 m underground laboratory in YangYang, and data were taken for 5285 h. No evidence for the 0 ν β β decay was found and a lower limit on the ¹²⁴ Sn half-life was obtained to be 2.0 × 10¹⁹ year with 90% C.L. The new limit represents a significant improvement with respect to those previously available for ¹²⁴ Sn.