CONFIRMATION OF THE OBSERVATION OF 2-NU BETA-BETA DECAY OF GE-76

Two previous independent reports of 2-nu-beta-beta-decay by the ITEP-YPI Collaboration, T1/2(2-nu) = (9 +/- 1) X 10(20) yr (1-sigma), and the PNL-USC Collaboration, T1/2(2-nu) = (1.12(-0.26)+0.48) X 10(21) yr (2-sigma), are confirmed. A 0.25 kg Ge(Li) detector, isotopically enriched to 85% in Ge-75, was operated in the PNL-USC ultralow-background facility in the Homestake gold mine. Following a single correction to the data, a spectrum resembling that observed in the earlier PNL-USC experiment, with about the same intensity per Ge-76 atom per year, was observed. The measured half-life is T1/2(2-nu) = (9.2(-0.4)+0.7) X 10(20) yr (2-sigma).