Double-beta Decay Nuclear Matrix Elements Research Articles

Experimental and theoretical multi-channel study of direct nuclear reactions: a tool to provide data driven information on the 76Ge neutrino-less double-beta decay

The study of heavy-ions induced double charge-exchange (HI-DCE) nuclear reactions is a promising way to access data-driven information on neutrino-less double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements. In the following, particular attention is given to the (18O,18Ne) and (20Ne,20O) HI-DCE reactions as tools for β + β + and β − β − decays, respectively. The experiments are performed in Catania at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN-LNS). The MAGNEX magnetic spectrometer is used to momentum analyse the ejectiles of a large network of nuclear reactions. New preliminary experimental data for the 76Se(18O,18F)76As and 76Ge(20Ne,20F)76As single charge exchange (SCE) and for the 76Se(18O,18Ne)76Ge and 76Ge(20Ne,20O)76Se DCE nuclear reactions were also investigated.

Single- and Double-Charge Exchange Reactions and Nuclear Matrix Element for Double-Beta Decay

Neutrino properties such as the Majorana nature and the masses, which go beyond the standard model, are derived from the experimental double-beta decay (DBD) rate by using the DBD nuclear matrix element (NME). Theoretical evaluations for the NME, however, are very difficult. Single-charge exchange reactions (SCERs) and double-charge exchange reactions (DCERs) are used to study nuclear isospin (τ) and spin (σ) correlations involved in the DBD NME and to theoretically calculate the DBD NME. Single and double τσ NMEs for quasi-particle states are studied by SCERs and DCER. They are found to be reduced with respect to the quasi-particle model NMEs due to the τσ correlations. The impact of the SCER- and DCER-NMEs on the DBD NME is discussed.

Is it possible to study neutrinoless ββ decay by measuring double Gamow-Teller transitions?

Searches of neutrinoless double-beta decay require information on the value of the nuclear matrix elements that rule the process to plan and interpret experiments. At present, however, even the matrix elements obtained with the most reliable many-body approaches do not agree to each other better than a factor two or three. A usual test of the many-body calculations is the comparison to several nuclear observables, but so far no nuclear structure property has been found to show a good correlation to neutrinoless double-beta decay. Here we propose that double charge-exchange experiments can offer a very valuable tool to provide insights on neutrinoless double-beta decay. Double charge-exchange reactions are being currently performed in various laboratories worldwide and aim to find the novel nuclear collectivity given by double Gamow-Teller excitations. Our results suggest a good linear correlation between double Gamow- Teller transitions to the ground state of the final nucleus and neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements. The correlation seems robust across pf-shell nuclei.

Calculation of Gamow-Teller and two-neutrino double- β decay properties for Te130 and Xe136 with a realistic nucleon-nucleon potential

We report on the calculation of Gamow-Teller and double-beta decay properties for nuclei around 132Sn within the framework of the realistic shell model. The effective shell-model Hamiltonian and Gamow-Teller transition operator are derived by way of many-body perturbation theory, without resorting to empirical effective quenching factor for the Gamow-Teller operator. The results are then compared with the available experimental data, in order to establish the reliability of our approach. This is a mandatory step, before we apply the same methodology, in forthcoming studies, to the calculation of the neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element for nuclei that are currently considered among the best candidates for the detection of this process.

Large-Scale Shell-Model Analysis of the NeutrinolessββDecay ofCa48

We present the nuclear matrix element for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of ^{48}Ca based on large-scale shell-model calculations including two harmonic oscillator shells (sd and pf shells). The excitation spectra of ^{48}Ca and ^{48}Ti, and the two-neutrino double-beta decay of ^{48}Ca are reproduced in good agreement to the experimental data. We find that the neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element is enhanced by about 30% compared to pf-shell calculations. This reduces the decay lifetime by almost a factor of 2. The matrix-element increase is mostly due to pairing correlations associated with cross-shell sd-pf excitations. We also investigate possible implications for heavier neutrinoless double-beta decay candidates.

Two-neutrino double-βdecay ofNd150to excited final states inSm150

Double-beta decay is a rare nuclear process in which two neutrons in the nucleus are converted to two protons with the emission of two electrons and two electron anti-neutrinos. We measured the half life of the two-neutrino double-beta decay of $^{150}$Nd to excited final states of $^{150}$Sm by detecting the de-excitation gamma rays of the daughter nucleus. This study yields the first detection of the coincidence gamma rays from the 0$^+_1$ excited state of $^{150}$Sm. These gamma rays have energies of 333.97 keV and 406.52 keV, and are emitted in coincidence through a 0$^+_1\rightarrow$2$^+_1\rightarrow$0$^+_{gs}$ transition. The enriched Nd$_2$O$_3$ sample consisted of 40.13 g $^{150}$Nd and was observed for 642.8 days at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility, producing 21.6 net events in the region of interest. This count rate gives a half life of $T_{1/2}=(1.07^{+0.45}_{-0.25}(stat)\pm0.07(syst.))\times 10^{20}$ years. The effective nuclear matrix element was found to be 0.0465$^{+0.0098}_{-0.0054}$. Finally, lower limits were obtained for decays to higher excited final states. Our half-life measurement agrees within uncertainties with another recent measurement in which no coincidence was employed. Our nuclear matrix element calculation may have an impact on a recent neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element calculation which implies the decay to the first excited state in $^{150}$Sm is favored over that to the ground state.

Neutrinoless double-beta decay and seesaw mechanism

From the standard seesaw mechanism of neutrino mass generation, which is based on the assumption that the lepton number is violated at a large (~10exp(+15) GeV) scale, follows that the neutrinoless double-beta decay is ruled by the Majorana neutrino mass mechanism. Within this notion, for the inverted neutrino-mass hierarchy we derive allowed ranges of half-lives of the neutrinoless double-beta decay for nuclei of experimental interest with different sets of nuclear matrix elements. The present-day results of the calculation of the neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements are briefly discussed. We argue that if neutrinoless double-beta decay will be observed in future experiments sensitive to the effective Majorana mass in the inverted mass hierarchy region, a comparison of the derived ranges with measured half-lives will allow us to probe the standard seesaw mechanism assuming that future cosmological data will establish the sum of neutrino masses to be about 0.2 eV.

Double-beta decay Q values of 116Cd and 130Te

The Q values of the 116Cd and 130Te double-beta decaying nuclei were determined by using a Penning trap mass spectrometer. The new atomic mass difference between 116Cd and 116Sn of 2813.50(13) keV differs by 4.5 keV and is 30 times more precise than the previous value of 2809(4) keV. The new value for 130Te, 2526.97(23) keV is close to the Canadian Penning trap value of 2527.01±0.32 keV (Scielzo et al., 2009) [1], but differs from the Florida State University trap value of 2527.518±0.013 keV (Redshaw et al., 2009) [2] by 0.55 keV (2σ). These values are sufficiently precise for ongoing neutrinoless double-beta decay searches in 116Cd and 130Te. Hence, our Q values were used to compute accurate phase-space integrals for these double-beta decay nuclei. In addition, experimental two-neutrino double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements were determined and compared with the theoretical values. The neutrinoless double-beta decay half-lives for these nuclei were estimated using our precise phase-space integrals and considering the range of the best available matrix elements values.

Nuclear-structure aspects of the neutrinoless ββ -decays

In this article, we analyze some nuclear-structure aspects of the 0ν double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements (NME). We give results for the decays of 48Ca , 76Ge , 82Se , 124Sn , 128Te , 130Te , and 136Xe , using improved effective interactions and valence spaces. We examine the dependence of the NMEs on the effective interaction and the valence space, and analyze the effects of the short-range correlations and the finite size of the nucleon. Finally, we study the influence of the deformation on the values of the NMEs.

The np interaction effects on the double-beta decay nuclear matrix elements for medium-mass nuclei

The quality of Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov wave functions is tested by comparing the theoretically calculated results with the available experimental data for a number of spectroscopic properties like yrast spectra, reduced B(E2) transition probabilities, quadrupole moments, and g factors for the nuclei involved in 2νββ decay. It is observed that the np interactions vis-à-vis the deformations of the intrinsic ground states of medium-mass nuclei play a crucial role in the fine tuning of the nuclear matrix elementsM 2ν.