Nuclear matrix elements for neutrinoless double-beta decay and double-electron capture

Abstract

A new generation of neutrinoless double beta decay experiments with improved sensitivity is currently under design and construction. They will probe inverted hierarchy region of the neutrino mass pattern. There is also a revived interest to the resonant neutrinoless double-electron capture, which has also a potential to probe lepton number conservation and to investigate the neutrino nature and mass scale. The primary concern are the nuclear matrix elements. Clearly, the accuracy of the determination of the effective Majorana neutrino mass from the measured 0\nu\beta\beta-decay half-life is mainly determined by our knowledge of the nuclear matrix elements. We review recent progress achieved in the calculation of 0\nu\beta\beta and 0\nu ECEC nuclear matrix elements within the quasiparticle random phase approximation. A considered self-consistent approach allow to derive the pairing, residual interactions and the two-nucleon short-range correlations from the same modern realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. The effect of nuclear deformation is taken into account. A possibility to evaluate 0\nu\beta\beta-decay matrix elements phenomenologically is discussed.Comment: 24 pages; 80 references. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1101.214