TheQ EC dependence of evidence for a 17-keV neutrino from the55Fe radiative decay

The internal bremsstrahlung spectrum of⁵⁵Fe was studied using HPGe detector in low background and reduced pileup conditions. The data show that the conclusion on the presence of a heavy mass neutrino strongly depends from the experimental decay energy value taken in the analysis. The decay energy was found to beQ _EC =231.37 ± 0.10 keV. The obtained results also show the need for the higher accuracyQ _EC used in the analysis of the existence of a 17-keV neutrino in the⁵⁵Fe decay.The authors would like to thank A. Plochocki and J. ylicz for helpful discussion and assistance.