Improved short-range correlations and 0nbb nuclear matrix elements of 76Ge and 82Se

Abstract

We calculate the nuclear matrix elements of the neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu \beta \beta$) decays of ${}^{76}$Ge and ${}^{82}$Se for the light-neutrino exchange mechanism. The nuclear wave functions are obtained by using realistic two-body forces within the proton-neutron quasiparticle random-phase approximation (pnQRPA). We include the effects that come from the finite size of a nucleon, from the higher-order terms of nucleonic weak currents, and from the nucleon-nucleon short-range correlations. Most importantly, we improve on the presently available calculations by replacing the rudimentary Jastrow short-range correlations by the more advanced unitary correlation operator method (UCOM). The UCOM corrected matrix elements turn out to be notably larger in magnitude than the Jastrow corrected ones. This has drastic consequences for the detectability of $0\nu \beta \beta$ decay in the present and future double beta experiments.

5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Physical Review C (Rapid Communication) 2007

References in corpus (3)

• Erratum: Assessment of uncertainties in QRPA $0\nu \beta \beta$-decay nuclear matrix elements [Nucl. Phys. A 766, 107 (2006)]
• Short-range correlations and neutrinoless double beta decay
• Matrix Elements and Few-Body Calculations within the Unitary Correlation Operator Method

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