On the discrimination of different mechanisms for 0{nu}2{beta} decay

Journal Article · Fri Dec 16 00:00:00 EST 2011 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3671040· OSTI ID:22003982

Lisi, Eligio ^[1]

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1. INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via Orabona n. 4, I-70126 Bari (Italy)

Nuclear matrix elements (NME) for 0{nu}{beta}{beta} decay are calculated in four candidate nuclei ({sup 76}Ge, {sup 82}Se, {sup 100}Mo, {sup 130}Te) within the quasiparticle random phase approximation (QRPA) and its variants. We assume up to four coexisting mechanisms for 0{nu}2{beta} decay, mediated by light Majorana neutrino exchange ({nu}), heavy Majorana neutrino exchange (N), R-parity breaking supersymmetry (Re), and squark-neutrino (q-tilde), interfering either constructively or destructively with each other. With simple algebraic techniques we show that, by changing the NME within the QRPA variants, the relative contribution of each mechanism to the decay amplitude changes dramatically, even assuming accurate measurements of decay lifetimes. As a consequence, the considered 0{nu}{beta}{beta} mechanisms are nearly degenerate from a phenomenological viewpoint. We discuss implications of such degeneracy on prospective searches for absolute neutrino masses.

• OSTI ID: 22003982
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1417, Issue 1; Conference: MEDEX '11: Workshop on calculation of double-beta-decay matrix elements, Prague (Czech Republic), 13-16 Jun 2011; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
DECAY AMPLITUDES
DOUBLE BETA DECAY
GERMANIUM 76
LIFETIME
MOLYBDENUM 100
NEUTRINOS
NUCLEAR MATRIX
NUCLEON-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS
PARITY
RANDOM PHASE APPROXIMATION
REST MASS
SELENIUM 82
SUPERSYMMETRY
SYMMETRY BREAKING
TELLURIUM 130