Half-life estimates for neutrinoless double beta decay depend on particle physics models for lepton flavor violation, as well as on nuclear physics models for the structure and transitions of candidate nuclei. Different models considered in the literature can be contrasted - via prospective data - with a "standard" scenario characterized by light Majorana neutrino exchange and by the quasiparticle random phase approximation, for which the theoretical covariance matrix has been recently estimated. We show that, assuming future half-life data in four promising nuclei (Ge-76, Se-82, Te-130, and Xe-136), the standard scenario can be distinguished from a few nonstandard physics models, while being compatible with alternative state-of-the-art nuclear calculations (at 95% C.L.). Future signals in different nuclei may thus help to discriminate at least some decay mechanisms, without being spoiled by current nuclear uncertainties. Prospects for possible improvements are also discussed.
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.
We point out that lepton number violation is possible even if neutrinos are Dirac particles. We illustrate this by constructing a simple model that allows for lepton number violation by four units only. As a consequence, neutrinoless double beta decay is forbidden, but neutrinoless quadruple beta decay is possible: $(A,Z) \to (A,Z+4) + 4 e^-$. We identify three candidate isotopes for this decay, the most promising one being Nd-150 due to its high $Q_{0ν4β}$-value of 2 MeV. Analogous processes, such as neutrinoless quadruple electron capture, are also possible. The expected lifetimes are extrem…
We review the potential to probe new physics with neutrinoless double beta decay $(A,Z) \to (A,Z+2) + 2 e^-$. Both the standard long-range light neutrino mechanism as well as short-range mechanisms mediated by heavy particles are discussed. We also stress aspects of the connection to lepton number violation at colliders and the implications for baryogenesis.
The physics potential of neutrinoless double beta decay is discussed. Furthermore, experimental considerations are presented as well as the current status of experiments. Finally an outlook towards the future, work on nuclear matrix elements and alternative processes is given.
In a previous article [Phys. Rev. D 79, 053001 (2009)] we estimated the correlated uncertainties associated to the nuclear matrix elements (NME) of neutrinoless double beta decay (0 nu beta beta) within the quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA). Such estimates encompass recent independent calculations of NMEs, and can thus still provide a fair representation of the nuclear model uncertainties. In this context, we compare the claim of 0 nu beta beta decay in Ge-76 with recent negative results in Xe-136 and in other nuclei, and we infer the lifetime ranges allowed or excluded at 90% C.…
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 study the impact of new physics contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay arising from right-handed current in comparison with the standard mechanism. If the light neutrinos obtain their masses from Type-II seesaw within left-right symmetric model, where the Type-I contribution is suppressed to negligible extent, the right-handed PMNS matrix is the same as its left-handed counterpart, making it highly predictable and can be tested at next-generation experiments. It is very attractive, especially with recent cosmological constraint favoring the normal hierarchy under which the neutrino…
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.
We quantify the extent to which future experiments will test the existence of neutrinoless double-beta decay mediated by light neutrinos with inverted-ordered masses. While it remains difficult to compare measurements performed with different isotopes, we find that future searches will fully test the inverted ordering scenario, as a global, multi-isotope endeavor. They will also test other possible mechanisms driving the decay, including a large uncharted region of the allowed parameter space assuming that neutrino masses follow the normal ordering.
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…
We show that chiral effective field theory (EFT) two-body currents provide important contributions to the quenching of low-momentum-transfer Gamow-Teller transitions, and use chiral EFT to predict the momentum-transfer dependence that is probed in neutrinoless double-beta decay. We then calculate for the first time the neutrinoless double-beta decay operator based on chiral EFT currents and study the nuclear matrix elements at successive orders. The contributions from chiral two-body currents are significant and should be included in all calculations.
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a hypothetical radioactive process which, if observed, would prove the neutrino to be a Majorana fermion: a particle that is its own antiparticle. In this lecture mini-series I discuss the physics of Majorana fermions and the connection between the nature of neutrino mass and neutrinoless double beta decay. We review Dirac and Majorana spinors, discuss methods of distinguishing between Majorana and Dirac fermions, and derive in outline the connection between neutrino mass and double beta decay rates. We conclude by briefly summarizing the experimental landscap…
Neutrinoless double beta decay is a process of fundamental importance for particle physics. It can be mediated by light massive Majorana neutrinos (standard interpretation) or by something else (non-standard interpretations). We review its dependence on the neutrino parameters, its complementarity to other observables sensitive to neutrino mass, and emphasize its ability to distinguish different neutrino mass models. Then we discuss mechanisms different from light Majorana neutrino exchange, and show what can be learned from those and how they could be tested.
Neutrinoless double beta decay has been the subject of intensive theoretical work as it represents the only practical approach to discovering whether neutrinos are Majorana particles or not, and whether lepton number is a conserved quantum number. Available calculations of matrix elements and phase-space factors are reviewed from the perspective of a future large-scale experimental search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Somewhat unexpectedly, a uniform inverse correlation between phase space and the square of the nuclear matrix element emerges. As a consequence, no isotope is either favore…
We discuss a mechanism of neutrinoless double beta decay, where neutrinos of different flavours come into play. This is realized by effective flavour-violating scalar interactions. As one consequence, we find that within the normal mass ordering the neutrino effective mass may no longer vanish due to contributions from other flavours. We evaluate the necessary nuclear matrix elements, consider the interference between the standard diagram and the new scalar one, and analyze a UV-complete model that realizes the scalar interaction. Tests of the complete model are possible at colliders and futur…
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.
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.
It is firmly believed that a signal of neutrinoless double beta decay can unquestionably confirm the Majorana nature of neutrinos. However we notice that a Majorana neutrino mass induced after some neutrinoless double beta decay processes can be accidentally cancelled by another Majorana neutrino mass induced before any neutrinoless double beta decay processes. This realistic cancellation can simultaneously allow an observable neutrinoless double beta decay and a vanishing Majorana neutrino mass. In consequence a future discovery of neutrinoless double beta decay cannot fully rule out the poss…
Neutrinoless double beta decay experiments constrain one combination of neutrino parameters, while cosmic surveys constrain another. This complementarity opens up an exciting range of possibilities. If neutrinos are Majorana particles, and the neutrino masses follow an inverted hierarchy, then the upcoming sets of both experiments will detect signals. The combined constraints will pin down not only the neutrino masses but also constrain one of the Majorana phases. If the hierarchy is normal, then a beta decay detection with the upcoming generation of experiments is unlikely, but cosmic surveys…
Heavy neutrino potential for neutrinoless double beta decay is studied with focusing on its statistical property. The existence condition for heavy neutrinos is also presented. In particular sterile neutrinos are possible candidate for heavy nuetrinos. The statistics provide a gross view of understanding amplitude of constitutional components of the nuclear matrix element.
Neutrinoless double beta decay can significantly help to shed light on the issue of non-zero neutrino mass, as observation of this lepton number violating process would imply neutrinos are Majorana particles. However, the underlying interaction does not have to be as simple as the standard neutrino mass mechanism. The entire variety of neutrinoless double beta decay mechanisms can be approached effectively. In this work we focus on a theoretical description of short-range effective contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay, which are equivalent to 9-dimensional effective operators incorp…
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…
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.
Neutrino potential for neutrinoless double beta decay is studied with focusing on its statistical property. The statistics provide a gross view of understanding amplitude of constitutional components of the nuclear matrix element.
A significant signal of neutrinoless double beta decay can be consistent with the existence of light quasi-Dirac neutrinos. To demonstrate this possibility, we consider a realistic model where the neutrino masses and the neutrinoless double beta decay can be simultaneously generated after a Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking.
We discuss the contribution of right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) to the effective neutrino mass of the neutrinoless double beta decay within the minimal type-I seesaw model using the intrinsic seesaw relation of neutrino mass and mixing parameters and the relative mass dependence of the nuclear matrix elements. In the viable parameter space, we find the possibilities of both the enhancement and cancellation to the effective neutrino mass from RHNs. The bounds on the parameter space of the RHNs can be determined with the effective neutrino mass extracted from neutrinoless double beta decay experime…
The search for neutrinoless double-beta decay is important in determining the Majorana nature of the neutrino, and also in establishing if lepton number is violated. In this work, we combine the published data from five independent neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments: CUORICINO, EXO, GERDA, KamLAND-Zen and NEMO-3. As these experiments use different isotope sources, the relative signal normalisation between them depends on the Nuclear Matrix Element (NME) calculations used. The combined limits for the Majorana neutrino mass for 5 different NME models range from 130-310 meV. The combined …
Recent neutrino experiment results show a preference for the normal neutrino mass ordering. The global efforts to search for neutrinoless double beta decays undergo a broad gap with the approach to the prediction in the three-neutrino framework based on the normal ordering. This research is intended to show that it is possible to find a neutrinoless double beta decay signal even with normal ordered neutrino masses. We propose the existence of a light sterile neutrino as a solution to the higher effective mass of the electron neutrino expected by the current experiments. A few short-baseline os…
The Large Hadron Collider has a potential to probe the scale of left-right symmetry restoration and the associated lepton number violation. Moreover, it offers hope of measuring the right-handed leptonic mixing matrix. We show how this, together with constraints from lepton flavor violating processes, can be used to make predictions for neutrinoless double beta decay. We illustrate this deep connection in the case of the type-II seesaw.
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.
We study the general phenomenology of neutrinoless double beta decay in seesaw models. In particular, we focus on the dependence of the neutrinoless double beta decay rate on the mass of the extra states introduced to account for the Majorana masses of light neutrinos. For this purpose, we compute the nuclear matrix elements as functions of the mass of the mediating fermions and estimate the associated uncertainties. We then discuss what can be inferred on the seesaw model parameters in the different mass regimes and clarify how the contribution of the light neutrinos should always be taken in…
Weak interaction in nuclei represents a well-known venue for testing many of the fundamental symmetries of the Standard Model. In particular, neutrinoless double-beta decay offers the possibility to test Beyond Standard Model theories predicting that neutrinos are Majorana fermions and the lepton number conservation is violated. This paper focuses on an effective field theory approach to neutrinoless double-beta decay for extracting information regarding the properties of the Beyond Standard Model Lagrangian responsible for this process. We use shell model nuclear matrix elements and the lates…
Interactions that manifest themselves as lepton number violating processes at low energies in combination with sphaleron transitions typically erase any preexisting baryon asymmetry of the Universe. In this article, we discuss the constraints obtained from an observation of neutrinoless double beta decay in this context. If a new physics mechanism of neutrinoless double beta decay other than the standard light neutrino exchange is observed, typical scenarios of high-scale baryogenesis will be excluded unless the baryon asymmetry is stabilized via some new mechanism. We also sketch how this con…
In a class of left-right symmetric models for linear seesaw, a neutrinoless double beta decay induced by the left- and right-handed charged currents together will only depend on the breaking details of left-right and electroweak symmetries. This neutrinoless double beta decay can reach the experimental sensitivities if the right-handed charged gauge boson is below the 100 TeV scale.
Experiments in progress may confirm a nonzero neutrinoless double beta decay rate in conflict with the cosmological upper limit on neutrino masses and thus require new physics beyond the Standard Model. A natural candidate is the Left-Right symmetric theory, which led originally to neutrino mass and the seesaw mechanism. In the absence of cancelations of large Dirac Yukawa couplings, we show how such a scenario would require a low scale of Left-Right symmetry breaking roughly below 10 TeV, tantalizingly close to the LHC reach.
本文简要介绍了无中微子双β衰变实验的理论分析。提出了“可观测”β的理论界限<m>。利用β的实验界<m>，得到了m_l-cos{2 θ_12}平面上的允许区域，其中m_l代表最轻中微子质量。结果表明，结合未来无中微子双β衰变和{}^3 H β衰变实验的可能结果，可以排除Majorana中微子。还讨论了约束两个马约拉纳阶段之一的可能性。
