Search for Two-Neutrino Decays of ¹³⁰Te to Excited States With CUORE

The CUORE experiment is a ton-scale search for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) composed of an array of 988 tellurium dioxide crystals, each instrumented as a cryogenic macrocalorimeter. While a discovery of 0νββ would herald new physics, the Standard Model process of two-neutrino double-beta decay (2νββ) in ¹³⁰Te is readily measured by CUORE. However, still unobserved in ¹³⁰Te are decays wherein the daughter ^{​​​​​​​130}​​​​​​​Xe nucleus is left in an excited state which subsequently decays via gamma emission, leading to events with energy deposited across multiple crystals. Understanding the branching ratio and spectral shape for such 2νββ decays to excited states can improve nuclear modelling and help constrain the matrix elements involved in searches for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Progress is ongoing towards an improved search for 2νββ decays to excited states with an increased exposure of CUORE. In this talk, I will describe some of the analysis techniques to be implemented in the search, along with their expected impact on discovery sensitivity.