Novel Nuclear Structure Aspects of the Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

Abstract

We explore the influence of the deformation on the nuclear matrix elements of the neutrinoless double beta decay (NME), concluding that the difference in deformation -or more generally in the amount of quadrupole correlations- between parent and grand daughter nuclei quenches strongly the decay. We correlate these differences with the seniority structure of the nuclear wave functions. In this context, we examine the present discrepancies between the NME's obtained in the framework of the Interacting Shell Model and the Quasiparticle RPA. We surmise that part of the discrepancy can be due to the limitations of the spherical QRPA in treating nuclei which have strong quadrupole correlations. We surmise that the NME's in a basis of generalized seniority are approximately model independent, i. e. they are "universal".

arXiv commentProceedings of the 10th International Spring Seminar On Nuclear Physics, New Quests In Nuclear Structure, Vietri Sul Mare, May 21-25, 2010 (references added)

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Cited by in corpus (9)

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• Toward the discovery of matter creation with neutrinoless double-beta decay
• Neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay mediated by the exchange of light and heavy neutrinos: The role of nuclear structure correlations
• Sense and sensitivity of double beta decay experiments
• Testing the importance of collective correlations in neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay
• Correlations and neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay nuclear matrix elements of $pf$-shell nuclei
• Generalized seniority for the shell model with realistic interactions
• Origin of a sensitive dependence of calculated $\beta \beta$-decay amplitudes on the particle-particle residual interaction
• Application of efficient generator-coordinate subspace-selection algorithm to neutrinoless double-$\beta$ decay