33 pages included 7 figures and 14 tables; an extended version of the invited talk at 13th Lomonosov Conference of Elementary Particle Physics, 23-29 August, 2007, Moscow, Russia
The present status of double beta decay experiments (including the search for $2β^{+}$, EC$β^{+}$ and ECEC processes) are reviewed. The results of the most sensitive experiments are discussed. Average and recommended half-life values for two-neutrino double beta decay are presented. Conservative upper limits on effective Majorana neutrino mass and the coupling constant of the Majoron to the neutrino are established as $<m_ν > < 0.75$ eV and $<g_{ee} > < 1.9 \cdot 10^{-4}$, respectively. Proposals for future double beta decay experiments with a sensitivity for the $<m_ν>$ at the level of (0.01-0.1) eV are considered.
Two most outstanding questions are puzzling the world of neutrino Physics: the possible Majorana nature of neutrinos and their absolute mass scale. Direct neutrino mass measurements and neutrinoless double beta decay (0nuDBD) are the present strategy to solve the puzzle. Neutrinoless double beta decay violates lepton number by two units and can occurr only if neutrinos are massive Majorana particles. A positive observation would therefore necessarily imply a new regime of physics beyond the standard model, providing fundamental information on the nature of the neutrinos and on their absolute m…
The NEMO 3 experiment is devoted to the search for neutrinoless double beta decay, as well as for accurate measurement of two-neutrino double beta decay. The detector has been taking data in the LSM laboratory since 2003 and the latest NEMO 3 results for seven double beta decay isotopes are presented here for both decay modes. The SuperNEMO project aims to extend the NEMO technique to a 100-200 kg isotope experiment with the target half-life sensitivity of 1-2 x 10^26 y. The current status of the SuperNEMO R&D programme is described.
The NEMO3 detector, now operating in the Frejus Underground Laboratory, is devoted to search for neutrinoless double beta decay; the expected sensitivity for the effective neutrino mass is on the order of 0.1 eV. The performances of the tracking detector are presented. The first and very preliminary results concerning the background and the double beta signal are given.
With more intense sources of cold and ultracold neutrons becoming available and with improved experimental techniques being developed, determination of |Vud| from neutron beta decay with a similar precision to that from from superallowed beta decays is within reach. Determination of |Vud| from neutron beta decay, free from nuclear corrections, hold the most promise for a further improvement of the determination of |Vud|. The current and future neutron beta decay correlation experiments including the UCNA experiment at Los Alamos National Laboratory are reviewed
NEMO 3 experiment is designed to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. It is located in the Modane Underground Laboratory (LSM) and has been taking data since February 2003. The half- lives of two neutrino beta decay have been measured for seven isotopes. No evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay has been found. The limits on both the half-lives of the neutrinoless double beta decay and the corresponding Majorana effective masses are derived
The NEMO 3 experiment searches for neutrinoless double beta decay and makes precision measurements of two-neutrino double beta decay in seven isotopes. The latest two-neutrino half-life results are presented, together with the limits on neutrinoless half-lives and the corresponding effective Majorana neutrino masses. Also given are the limits obtained on neutrinoless double beta decay mediated by Rp-violating SUSY, right-hand currents and different Majoron emission modes.
The half-life for two-neutrino double beta decay of Nd-150 has been measured with data taken by the NEMO 3 experiment at the Modane Underground Laboratory. The limits are also set on the half-life of different neutrinoless double beta decay of this isotope.
The present status of double beta decay experiments are reviewed. The results of the most sensitive experiments, NEMO-3 and CUORICINO, are discussed. Proposals for future double beta decay experiments are considered. In these experiments sensitivity for the effective neutrino mass will be on the level of (0.1-0.01) eV.
A brief history of double beta decay experiments is presented. The best currently running experiments (NEMO-3 and CUORICINO) and their latest results are described. The best measurements and limits for the $2νββ$, $0νββ$ and $0νχ^{0}ββ$ are summarized.
The simultaneous beta decay of two neutrons in a nucleus without the emission of neutrinos (called neutrinoless double beta decay) is a lepton number violating process which is not allowed in the Standard Model of particle physics. More than a dozen experiments using different candidate isotopes and a variety of detection techniques are searching for this decay. Some (EXO-200, Kamland-Zen, GERDA) started to take data recently. EXO and Kamland-Zen have reported first limits of the half life $T_{1/2}^{0ν}$ for $^{136}$Xe. After a decade of little progress in this field, many new results will soo…
Latest results on $0νββ$, $0νχ^0ββ$ and $2νββ$ decays of different isotopes from NEMO-3 double beta decay experiment are presented. In particular, new limits at 90% C.L. on neurtinoless double beta decay of $^{100}Mo$ and $^{82}Se$ have been obtained, $T_{1/2} > 5.8\times 10^{23}$ y and $T_{1/2} > 2.1\times 10^{23}$ y, respectively.
The NEMO 3 detector has been running since February 2003 with several double beta emitters. New results are given for Mo100, Se82, Nd150, Zr96, Ca48. The NEMO 3 detector properties are presented for tracking reconstruction, identification of particles, energy measurement. Angular distributions for one and two electrons are produced as well as energy spectra. It is deduced new values of half lives for the double beta emitters and stronger limits on the effective neutrino mass using data on Mo100 and Se82.
This paper presents a review of the search for neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{76}$Ge with emphasis on the recent results of the GERDA experiment. It includes an appraisal of fifty years of research on this topic as well as an outlook.
The NEMO-3 experiment is searching for neutrinoless double beta decay for 2 main isotopes (100Mo and 82Se) and is studying the two-neutrino double beta decay of seven isotopes. The experiment has been taking data since 2003 and, up to the end of 2009, showed no evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay. Two 90 % CL lower limits on the half-lives of the transitions were obtained : T_{1/2}^{0ν} > 1.0 10^{24} yr for 100Mo and T_{1/2}^{0ν} > 3.2 10^{23}$ yr for 82Se. The corresponding limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass are respectively | m_nu | < 0.47 - 0.96 eV and | m_nu | < 0.94 - …
Latest results on $ββ0 ν$, $ββ0 νχ^0$ and $ββ2 ν$ decays of different isotopes from NEMO-3 double beta decay experiment are presented. In particular, new limits on neurtinoless double beta decay of $^{100}Mo$ and $^{82}Se$ have been obtained, $T_{1/2} > 4.6\times 10^{23}$ y and $T_{1/2} > 1\times 10^{23}$ y, respectively. A possible next step with SuperNEMO detector is discussed.
NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) is an experimental program whose goals are to discover neutrinoless double beta decay using $^{136}$Xe in high pressure xenon TPCs with electroluminescent readout. In this paper, results from the NEXT-White detector, which is currently taking data at Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc (LSC) will be reported. The prospects for the NEXT-100 apparatus, scheduled to start operations in 2020, as well as the plans to extend the technology to large and ultra-low background detectors needed to fully explore the inverse hierarchy of neutrino masses, will als…
On the termination of the Heidelberg-Moscow double-beta decay of Germanium-76 experi-ment, the analysis of the obtained data is presented. The value of the half-life for two-neutrino double beta decay (2b2n mode) and limitation of the half-life for neutrinoless dou-ble beta decay (2b0n mode) are given. The results were presented at NANP2003, Dubna, June, 24.
Recent results of the Heidelberg-Moscow double beta decay experiment are presented. After 8.6 kg$\cdot$a of measuring time no signal is seen for the neutrinoless decay mode. A half-life limit of $T_{1/2}^{0νββ} > 5.1\cdot 10^{24}$~a is deduced which converts into a neutrino mass limit of $\langle m_{ν_e}\rangle < 0.68 $ eV (90\% CL). The experiment thus is the first one penetrating into the sub-eV range for the neutrino mass. For the $2ν$ mode a half life of $T_{1/2}^{2νββ} = (1.53\pm0.04 _{stat}\pm0.13_{sys})\cdot 10^{24}$ a is derived. More than 10000 $2ν$ double beta events are observed. Th…
Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a forbidden, lepton-number-violating nuclear transition whose observation would have fundamental implications for neutrino physics, theories beyond the Standard Model and cosmology. In this review, we summarize the theoretical progress to understand this process, the expectations and implications under various particle physics models, as well as the nuclear physics challenges that affect the precise predictions of the decay half-life. We will also provide a synopsis of the current and future large-scale experiments that aim at discovering this process in physi…
The nuclear matrix elements that govern the rate of neutrinoless double beta decay must be accurately calculated if experiments are to reach their full potential. Theorists have been working on the problem for a long time but have recently stepped up their efforts as ton-scale experiments have begun to look feasible. Here we review past and recent work on the matrix elements in a wide variety of nuclear models and discuss work that will be done in the near future. Ab initio nuclear-structure theory, which is developing rapidly, holds out hope of more accurate matrix elements with quantifiable …
The search for neutrinoless double beta ($0νββ$) decay is the best way to test lepton number violation and Majorana nature of neutrinos. One of the most promising techniques to discover $0νββ$ decay is by operating High-Purity Ge detectors enriched in $^{76}$Ge. The current generation of $^{76}$Ge experiments, GERDA and MAJORANA, lead the field in the achieved energy resolution and ultra-low background. These are two of the most important characteristics for sensitive searches of this undiscovered decay. The next generation of $0νββ$ decay experiments requires more mass and further reduction o…
Neutrinoless double-beta decay (0$νββ$) decay is a hypothetical process that violates lepton number, and whose observation would unambiguously indicate that neutrinos are Majorana fermions. In the standard inverted-ordering neutrino mass scenario, the minimum possible value of mbb corresponds to a half-life around 10$^{28}$ yr for 0$νββ$ decay in $^{76}$Ge, which is the target of the next generation of experiments. The current limits of GERDA and MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR indicate a half-life higher than 10$^{26}$ yr. These experiments use high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors that are highly enr…
A collection of stories is presented on discoveries of double beta decay (including neutrinoless one) which were refuted in the subsequent investigations.
Scintillator detectors can be used in experiments searching for neutrinoless double beta decay. A wide variety of double beta decay candidate isotopes can be made into scintillators or can be loaded into scintillators. Experimental programs developing liquid xenon, inorganic crystals, and Nd-loaded liquid scintillator are described in this review. Experiments with 48Ca and 150Nd benefit from their high endpoint which places the neutrinoless double beta decay signal above most backgrounds from natural radioactivity.
We demonstrate that the limiting energy available for ejected electrons in double beta decay is diminished by about 400 eV due to inelastic processes in the electronic shell.
The indications in favor of the existence of light sterile neutrinos at the eV scale found in short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments is reviewed. The future perspectives of short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments and the connections with beta-decay measurements of the neutrino masses and with neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments are discussed.
Liquid scintillator experiments for neutrinoless double beta decay search have high sensitivity based on the ultra low background environment and high scalability. This paper describes an overview of current ongoing projects KamLAND-Zen and SNO+.
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a lepton number violating process whose observation would also establish that neutrinos are their own anti-particles. There are many experimental efforts with a variety of techniques. Some (EXO, Kamland-Zen, GERDA phase I and CANDLES) started take data in 2011 and EXO has reported the first measurement of the half life for the double beta decay with two neutrinos of $^{136}$Xe. The sensitivities of the different proposals are reviewed.
We investigate several Pb$(n,n'γ$) and Ge$(n,n'γ$) reactions. We measure $γ$-ray production from Pb$(n,n'γ$) reactions that can be a significant background for double-beta decay experiments which use lead as a massive inner shield. Particularly worrisome for Ge-based double-beta decay experiments are the 2041-keV and 3062-keV $γ$ rays produced via Pb$(n,n'γ$). The former is very close to the ^{76}Ge double-beta decay endpoint energy and the latter has a double escape peak energy near the endpoint. Excitation $γ$-ray lines from Ge$(n,n'γ$) reactions are also observed. We consider the contributi…
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a promising test for lepton number violating physics beyond the standard model of particle physics. There is a deep connection between this decay and the phenomenon of neutrino masses. In particular, we will discuss the relation between neutrinoless double beta decay and Majorana neutrino masses provided by the so-called Schechter--Valle theorem in a quantitative way. Furthermore, we will present an experimental cross check to discriminate neutrinoless double beta decay from unknown nuclear background using only one isotope, i.e., within one experiment.
In the Standard Model the total lepton number is conserved. Thus, neutrinoless double-beta decay, in which the total lepton number is violated by two units, is a probe of physics beyond the Standard Model. In this review we consider the basic mechanism of neutrinoless double-beta decay induced by light Majorana neutrino masses. After a brief summary of the present status of our knowledge of neutrino masses and mixing and an introduction to the seesaw mechanism for the generation of light Majorana neutrino masses, in this review we discuss the theory and phenomenology of neutrinoless double-bet…
The search for neutrinoless double beta decay is a rich source for new physics. The observation of this decay will lead to understanding of the absolute mass scale of neutrinos, the Majorana nature of the neutrino (whether the neutrino is its own anti-particle), and lepton number violation. Double beta decay is being investigated around the world by several experiments using different candidate isotopes. There has been much progress made in experimental techniques recently such that achieving sensitivity to neutrino masses at 50 meV and below will be possible in the near future. A summary of r…
Xenon time projection chambers (TPCs) have become a well-established detection technology for neutrinoless double beta decay searches in $^{136}$Xe. I discuss the motivations for this choice. I describe the status and prospects of both liquid and gaseous xenon TPC projects for double beta decay.
AMoRE is an international project to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of $^{100}$Mo using a detection technology consisting of magnetic microcalorimeters (MMCs) and molybdenum-based scintillating crystals. Data collection has begun for the current AMORE-I phase of the project, an upgrade from the previous pilot phase. AMoRE-I employs thirteen $^\mathrm{48depl.}$Ca$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystals and five Li$_2$$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystals for a total crystal mass of 6.2 kg. Each detector module contains a scintillating crystal with two MMC channels for heat and light detection. We report the …
Probing neutrinoless double beta decay is one of the primary goals for SNO+, SNOLAB's multi-purpose neutrino detector. In order to achieve this goal the SNO detector has been adapted so that it can be filled with Te-loaded liquid scintillator. During the initial double beta phase the target loading is 0.3% natural Te, which equates to $\sim790$ kg of double beta isotope. Estimating the sensitivity to neutrinoless double beta decay requires a well understood background model. For SNO+ this is provided by a comprehensive study considering all possible background contributions, whether they origi…
This article reviews the application of high pressure gas xenon (HPXe) time projection chambers to neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. First, the fundamentals of the technology and the historical development of the field are discussed. Then, the state of the art is presented, including the prospects for the next generation of experiments with masses in the ton scale.
We analyze the impact of a measurement, or of an improved bound, on theta_{13} for the determination of the effective neutrino mass in neutrino-less double beta decay and cosmology. In particular, we discuss how an improved limit on (or a specific value of) theta_{13} can influence the determination of the neutrino mass spectrum via neutrino-less double beta decay. We also discuss the interplay with improved cosmological neutrino mass searches.
In this brief review we discuss the generation of Majorana neutrino masses through the see-saw mechanism, the theory of neutrinoless double-beta decay, the implications of neutrino oscillation data for the effective Majorana mass, taking into account the recent Daya Bay measurement of theta_13, and the interpretation of the results of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments.
We investigate the half-life expectations for neutrinoless double beta decay by applying statistical distributions of neutrino mixing observables, neutrino mass constraints from cosmology and nuclear matrix elements. The analysis is performed in the standard scenario of active Majorana neutrino exchange, when light sterile neutrinos are added, and within TeV-scale left-right symmetric frameworks. The latter two cases correspond to a modified phenomenology of double beta decay for a normal and inverted mass ordering, and thus different discovery potential for future experiments.
In the minimal supersymmetric extension to the Standard Model, a non-zero lepton number violating coupling lambda'_111 predicts both neutrinoless double beta decay and resonant single slepton production at the LHC. We show that, in this case, if neutrinoless double beta decay is discovered in the next generation of experiments, there exist good prospects to observe single slepton production at the LHC. Neutrinoless double beta decay could otherwise result from a different source (such as a non-zero Majorana neutrino mass). Resonant single slepton production at the LHC can therefore discriminat…
Neutrinoless double beta decay searches are currently among the major foci of experimental physics. The observation of such a decay will have important implications in our understanding of the intrinsic nature of neutrinos and shed light on the limitations of the Standard Model. The rate of this process depends on both the unknown neutrino effective mass and the nuclear matrix element associated with the given neutrinoless double-beta decay transition. The latter can only be provided by theoretical calculations, hence the need of accurate theoretical predictions of the nuclear matrix element f…
This report constitutes the roadmap document prepared by the Double Beta Decay APPEC Committee for the APPEC SAC on the future neutrinoless double beta decay experimental programme in Europe. It reviews the existing, planned and proposed technologies for neutrinoless double beta decay, their discovery potential and technical challenges, making a critical examination of resources and schedules. It also provides a concise discussion of the theoretical issues and of the status and uncertainties on the nuclear matrix element evaluation.
This paper reviews the current status and future outlook of neutrinoless double beta decay searches, which try to provide an answer to the fundamental question of whether neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles.
We propose to use charged-current neutrino-nucleus interactions as a probe of the many virtual transitions involved in neutrinoless double-beta decay. By performing neutrino and anti-neutrino interaction studies on the initial and final nucleus respectively, one can get information on the two branches involved in the double-beta decay process. The measurement of such reactions could help to further constrain double-beta decay predictions on the half-lives.
We consider perturbative one loop QCD corrections to the light neutrino contribution to neutrinoless double beta decay and find large enhancement to the rate. QCD corrections also generate structures which mimic new physics contributions usually considered. Within some approximations, the net effect seem to almost saturate the experimental limits, and therefore seems to implt that this is all there is to neutrinoless double beta decay.
We examine how constraints can be placed on the neutrino component of dark matter by an accurate measurement of neutrinoless double beta ($0νββ$) decay and the solar oscillation amplitude. We comment on the alleged evidence for $0νββ$ decay.
After a short review of the current status of three-neutrino mixing, the implications for the values of neutrino masses are discussed. The bounds on the absolute scale of neutrino masses from Tritium beta-decay and cosmological data are reviewed. Finally, we discuss the implications of three-neutrino mixing for neutrinoless double-beta decay.
Of the many extensions to the standard model that could possibly generate neutrino mass, most necessitate the neutrino being a Majorana fermion. If this is the case, the rare process of neutrinoless double beta decay is predicted with half lives greater than about $10^{25}$ years. Many current and future experiments look for this decay by identifying a summed double beta energy at the Q value of the decay, but adding energy and angular measurements of the individual betas allows the underlying decay mechanism to be probed. A novel nano-tracking detector based on a clever combination of thin fi…
We perform a statistical analysis with the prospective results of future experiments on neutrino-less double beta decay, direct searches for neutrino mass (KATRIN) and cosmological observations. Realistic errors are used and the nuclear matrix element uncertainty for neutrino-less double beta decay is also taken into account. Three benchmark scenarios are introduced, corresponding to quasi-degenerate, inverse hierarchical neutrinos, and an intermediate case. We investigate to what extend these scenarios can be reconstructed. Furthermore, we check the compatibility of the scenarios with the cla…
Deviations from Lorentz and CPT invariance in the neutrino sector and their observable effects in double beta decay are studied. For two-neutrino double beta decay, a spectral distortion and its properties are characterized for different isotopes. Majorana couplings for Lorentz violation are studied and shown to trigger neutrinoless double beta decay even for negligible Majorana mass. Existing data are used to obtain first limits of $5 \times 10^{-9}$ for 18 individual coefficients and attainable sensitivities in current and future experiments are presented.
A class of discrete flavor-symmetry-based models predicts constrained neutrino mass matrix schemes that lead to specific neutrino mass sum-rules (MSR). We show how these theories may constrain the absolute scale of neutrino mass, leading in most of the cases to a lower bound on the neutrinoless double beta decay effective amplitude.
In the event of an observation of neutrinoless double beta decay, a relevant question would be: what lepton number violating physics is responsible for the decay? The exchange of Majorana neutrinos and/or supersymmetric particles may contribute. We point out that measurements of supersymmetric signals at the LHC, including single slepton production, could be used to help bound some supersymmetric processes contributing to neutrinoless double beta decay. LHC information about the supersymmetric spectrum could be combined with Bd-Bd bar mixing data in order to bound a competing neutrinoless doub…
A measurement of neutrinoless double beta decay in one isotope does not allow to determine the underlying physics mechanism. We discuss the discrimination of mechanisms for neutrinoless double beta decay by comparing ratios of half life measurements for different isotopes. Six prominent examples for specific new physics contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay are analyzed. We find that the change in corresponding ratios of half lives varies from 60% for supersymmetric models up to a factor of 5-20 for extra-dimensional and left-right-symmetric mechanisms.
The potential of large scale Yb-loaded liquid scintillators as proposed for solar neutrino spectroscopy are investigated with respect to double beta decay. The potential for beta-beta- - decay of 176Yb as well as the beta+/EC - decay for 168Yb is discussed. Not only getting for the first time an experimental half-life limit on 176Yb - decay, this will even be at least comparable or better than existing ones from other isotopes. Also for the first time a realistic chance to detect beta+/EC - decay exists. Effects of MeV-neutrinos are discussed as well.
We analyze the constraints on neutrino mass spectra with extra sterile neutrinos as implied by the LSND experiment. The various mass related observables in neutrinoless double beta decay, tritium beta decay and cosmology are discussed. Both neutrino oscillation results as well as recent cosmological neutrino mass bounds are taken into account. We find that some of the allowed mass patterns are severely restricted by the current constraints, in particular by the cosmological constraints on the total sum of neutrino masses and by the non-maximality of the solar neutrino mixing angle. Furthermore…
The detection of neutrinoless double-beta decay will establish the Majorana nature of neutrinos. In addition, if the nuclear matrix elements of this process are reliably known, the experimental lifetime will provide precious information about the absolute neutrino masses and hierarchy. I review the status of nuclear structure calculations for neutrinoless double-beta decay matrix elements, and discuss some key issues to be addressed in order to meet the demand for accurate nuclear matrix elements.
The connection of neutrino physics with neutrinoless double beta decay is reviewed. After presenting the current status of the PMNS matrix and the theoretical background of neutrino mass and lepton mixing, we will summarize the various implications of neutrino physics for double beta decay. The influence of light sterile neutrinos and other exotic modifications of the three neutrino picture is also discussed.
Nuclear double beta decay provides an extraordinarily broad potential to search for beyond Standard Model physics, probing already now the TeV scale, on which new physics should manifest itself. These possibilities are reviewed here.
The motivation, present status, and future plans of the search for the neutrinoless double beta decay are reviewed. It is argued that, motivated by the recent observations of neutrino oscillations, there is a reasonable hope that neutrinoless double beta decay corresponding to the neutrino mass scale suggested by oscillations, <m_ν> of about 50 meV, actually exists. The challenges to achieve the sensitivity corresponding to this mass scale, and plans to overcome them, are described.
