Double-beta decay

Journal Article · Tue Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1989 · Scientific American; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1189-48· OSTI ID:6848926

Moe, M K; Rosen, S P

In a double-beta event, two neutrons decay simultaneouly into two protons, two beta rays (electrons) and two antineutrinos. Experimentalists are now searching for another form of double-beta decay, one that does not produce neutrinos or antineutrinos. If such an event is found, it could unravelone of nature's great mysteries: What, if anything, is the mass of the neutrino According to the Standard Model, the neutrino accompanying a negative beta ray is the distinct antiparticle of the one accompanying a positive beta ray. The theories that go beyond the Standard Model and assign a mass to the neutrino, however, predict that the particle emitted with a negative beta ray should be the same as the one emitted with a positive ray. In other words, the neutrino would be its own antiparticle. How can we tell whether these predictions are right Double-beta decay is the ideal process in which to seek an answer to this question. If the neutrino has mass and is its own antiparticle, then the neutrino emitted in the first stage of the process might be reaborbed in the second, yielding a form of decay in which no neutrinos materialize. 8 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6848926
• Journal Information: Scientific American; (USA), Journal Name: Scientific American; (USA) Vol. 261:5; ISSN SCAMA; ISSN 0036-8733
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
ANTILEPTONS
ANTIMATTER
ANTINEUTRINOS
ANTIPARTICLES
BASIC INTERACTIONS
BETA DECAY
BETA-MINUS DECAY
CALORIMETERS
DATA
DECAY
DOUBLE BETA DECAY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FERMIONS
GE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
GERMANIUM 76
GERMANIUM ISOTOPES
HALF-LIFE
HIGH-PURITY GE DETECTORS
INFORMATION
INTERACTIONS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LEPTONS
LIFETIME
MAJORANA THEORY
MASS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NEUTRINOS
NUCLEAR DECAY
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
PARTICLE IDENTIFICATION
PARTICLE MODELS
RADIATION DETECTORS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SELENIUM 82
SELENIUM ISOTOPES
SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
STABLE ISOTOPES
STANDARD MODEL
UNIFIED GAUGE MODELS
WEAK INTERACTIONS