Simulation studies for source optimization in Zr-96 beta decay

The single beta decay of Zr-96 to the ground state of Nb-96 is spin forbidden and poses a great experimental challenge. The beta decay of Zr-96 can be studied via coincident detection of de-exciting gamma rays in Mo-96, which is the end product of Nb-96 beta decay. Simulations are done with four high purity Ge (HPGe) detector setup (similar to 33% relative efficiency each) to optimize the source configuration. The results suggest that similar to 70g of 50% enriched Zr-96 will yield sensitivity comparable to the reported results.