Muon capture rates: Evaluation within the quasiparticle random phase approximation

The quasiparticle random phase approximation is used in evaluation of the total muon capture rates for final nuclei participating in double-β decay. Several variants of the method are used, depending on the size of the single-particle model space used, or treatment of the initial bound muon wave function. The resulting capture rates are all reasonably close to each other. In particular, the variant that appears to be most realistic results in rates that are in good agreement with the experimental values. There is no necessity for an empirical quenching of the axial current coupling constant g_A. Its standard value g_A = 1.27 seems to be adequate

Reexamining the light neutrino exchange mechanism of the 0νββ decay with left- and right-handed leptonic and hadronic currents

The extension of the Majorana neutrino mass mechanism of the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) with the inclusion of right-handed leptonic and hadronic currents is revisited. While only the exchange of light neutrinos is assumed, the s_(1/2) and p_(1/2) states of emitted electrons as well as recoil corrections to the nucleon currents are taken into account. Within the standard approximations the decay rate is factorized into a sum of products of kinematical phase-space factors, nuclear matrix elements, and the fundamental parameters that characterize the lepton number violation. Unlike in the previous treatments, the induced pseudoscalar term of hadron current is included, resulting in additional nuclear matrix elements. An improved numerical computation of the phase-space factors is presented, based on the exact Dirac wave functions of the s_(1/2) and p_(1/2) electrons with finite nuclear size and electron screening taken into account. The dependence of values of these phase-space factors on the different approximation schemes used in evaluation of electron wave functions is discussed. The upper limits for effective neutrino mass and the parameters ⟨λ⟩ and ⟨η⟩ characterizing the right-handed current mechanism are deduced from data on the 0νββ decay of ^(76)Ge and ^(136)Xe using nuclear matrix elements calculated within the nuclear shell model and quasiparticle random phase approximation. The differential decay rates, i.e., the angular correlations and the single electron energy distributions for various combinations of the total lepton number violating parameters that can help to disentangle the possible mechanism, are described and discussed

The 150^{150}Nd(3^3He,tt) and 150^{150}Sm(tt,3^3He) reactions with applications to ββ\beta\beta decay of 150^{150}Nd

The $^{150}$Nd($^3$He,$t$) reaction at 140 MeV/u and $^{150}$Sm($t$,$^3$He) reaction at 115 MeV/u were measured, populating excited states in $^{150}$Pm. The transitions studied populate intermediate states of importance for the (neutrinoless) $\beta\beta$ decay of $^{150}$Nd to $^{150}$Sm. Monopole and dipole contributions to the measured excitation-energy spectra were extracted by using multipole decomposition analyses. The experimental results were compared with theoretical calculations obtained within the framework of Quasiparticle Random-Phase Approximation (QRPA), which is one of the main methods employed for estimating the half-life of the neutrinoless $\beta\beta$ decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{150}$Nd. The present results thus provide useful information on the neutrino responses for evaluating the $0\nu\beta\beta$ and $2\nu\beta\beta$ matrix elements. The $2\nu\beta\beta$ matrix element calculated from the Gamow-Teller transitions through the lowest $1^{+}$ state in the intermediate nucleus is maximally about half of that deduced from the half-life measured in $2\nu\beta\beta$ direct counting experiments and at least several transitions through $1^{+}$ intermediate states in $^{150}$Pm are required to explain the $2\nu\beta\beta$ half-life. Because Gamow-Teller transitions in the $^{150}$Sm($t$,$^3$He) experiment are strongly Pauli-blocked, the extraction of Gamow-Teller strengths was complicated by the excitation of the $2\hbar\omega$, $\Delta L=0$, $\Delta S=1$ isovector spin-flip giant monopole resonance (IVSGMR). However, the near absence of Gamow-Teller transition strength made it possible to cleanly identify this resonance, and the strength observed is consistent with the full exhaustion of the non-energy-weighted sum rule for the IVSGMR.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, 2 table

Unique forbidden beta decays and neutrino mass

The measurement of the electron energy spectrum in single β decays close to the endpoint provides a direct determination of the neutrino masses. The most sensitive experiments use β decays with low Q value, e.g. KATRIN (tritium) and MARE (rhenium). We present the theoretical spectral shape of electrons emitted in the first, second, and fourth unique forbidden β decays. Our findings show that the Kurie functions for these unique forbidden β transitions are linear in the limit of massless neutrinos like the Kurie function of the allowed β decay of tritium

The λ Mechanism of the 0νββ-Decay

The λ mechanism (WL − WR exchange) of the neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ-decay), which has origin in left-right symmetric model with right-handed gauge boson at TeV scale, is investigated. The revisited formalism of the 0νββ-decay, which includes higher order terms of nucleon current, is exploited. The corresponding nuclear matrix elements are calculated within quasiparticle random phase approximation with partial restoration of the isospin symmetry for nuclei of experimental interest. A possibility to distinguish between the conventional light neutrino mass (WL − WL exchange) and λ mechanisms by observation of the 0νββ-decay in several nuclei is discussed. A qualitative comparison of effective lepton number violating couplings associated with these two mechanisms is performed. By making viable assumption about the seesaw type mixing of light and heavy neutrinos with the value of Dirac mass mD within the range 1 MeV < mD < 1 GeV, it is concluded that there is a dominance of the conventional light neutrino mass mechanism in the decay rate

Reactor antineutrino spectra and forbidden beta decays

The exact relativistic shape factors, associated with the nuclear matrix elements governing the first forbidden beta decays, are presented. It is expected that their consideration can allow a more accurate theoretical description of antineutrino fluxes from the power reactor. A qualitative analysis of the uncertainty of reactor antineutrino flux from 235U within the electron spectrum conversion method is performed