Least-informative priors for 0νββ decay searches

Bayesian parameter inference techniques require a choice of prior distribution, which can strongly impact the statistical conclusions drawn. We discuss the construction of least-informative priors for neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Such priors attempt to be objective by maximizing the information gain from an experimental setup. In a parametrization using the lightest neutrino mass and an effective Majorana phase parameter , we construct such a prior using two different approaches and compare them with the standard flat and logarithmic priors in

Probing the mechanism of neutrinoless double-beta decay in multiple isotopes

A large experimental program is being mounted to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay over the next decade. Multiple experiments using different target isotopes are being prepared to explore the whole parameter space allowed for inverted-ordered light neutrinos, and have the potential to make discoveries in several other scenarios, including normal-ordered light neutrinos and other exotic mechanisms. We investigate to what extent long-range and exotic short-range contributions may be distinguished by combining measurements of the decay half-life across isotopes in the framework of a global Bayesian analysis. We demonstrate how measurements in two isotopes will constrain the parameter space up to a two-fold degeneracy, and how a further measurement in a third isotope removes such a degeneracy. We also discuss the impact of uncertainties and correlations in nuclear matrix element calculations. Our work motivates an experimental program measuring neutrinoless double-beta decay in more than one isotope, as this would break parameter degeneracies and advance our understanding of particle physics beyond the Standard Model

Target formation on the circle by monotone system design

Positivity and Perron-Frobenius theory provide an elegant framework for the convergence analysis of linear consensus algorithms. Here we consider a generalization of these ideas to the analysis of nonlinear consensus algorithms on the circle and establish tools for the design of consensus protocols that monotonically converge to target formations on the circle