Baudis, Laura (2024) Neutrinoless double beta decay: A brief view of the field. Il nuovo cimento C, 47 (6). pp. 1-7. ISSN 1826-9885
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Abstract
Foremost among the open questions regarding neutrinos are whether they are their own anti-particles, hence Majorana fermions, and the magnitude of their rest mass, in particular also why they are so much lighter than the charged leptons. The most sensitive probe of the Majorana nature of neutrinos is a remarkable rare nuclear transition, neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ), in which two electrons and no neutrinos are emitted. Its observation would not only demonstrate that neutrinos are Majorana fermions, but would also establish lepton number violation. A large number of 0νββ-decay experiments, using different candidate isotopes and detection techniques for the two outgoing electrons, are operational or planned to be constructed in deep-underground laboratories. Their extraordinary goal is to observe but a handful of events at the Q-value of the decay, and thus to reduce radioactivity-induced backgrounds to unprecedentedly low levels. Current results limit the 0νββ-decay half-lives to values larger than 1025−26 years, while experiments taking data, under construction or in advanced planning stage aim to probe the 1027−28 years regime. In parallel, new ideas on the possibility to build much larger detectors to explore the half-life regime beyond 1028−29 years are being put forward. Here we give a brief view of the current status of the field, and of future developments including the main experimental challenges.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Subjects: | 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 530 Fisica |
| Depositing User: | Marina Spanti |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Feb 2025 13:40 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Feb 2025 13:40 |
| URI: | http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/23386 |
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