First neutrinoless double beta decay results from CUORE-0

The CUORE-0 experiment, a 52 bolometer array searching for neutrinoless double beta decay from 130Te, has started taking data in spring 2013 underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The excellent results obtained in terms of energy resolution and background level allowed this experiment to reach the sensitivity of Cuoricino in approximately half the runtime. Combining CUORE-0 data (9.8 kg·yr exposure of 130Te) with the 19.75 kg·yr exposure of the Cuoricino experiment, we obtain the most stringent limit to date on the half-life of this isotope (T1/2 > 4.0 × 1024 yr). In this article, we review the results from CUORE-0 and discuss the status and the physics potential of CUORE, a 19 times larger bolometer array that plans to begin operations by end of this year.