Nuclear physics insights for new-physics searches using nuclei: Neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay and dark matter direct detection

Abstract

Experiments using nuclei to probe new physics beyond the Standard Model, such as neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay searches testing whether neutrinos are their own antiparticle, and direct detection experiments aiming to identify the nature of dark matter, require accurate nuclear physics input for optimizing their discovery potential and for a correct interpretation of their results. This demands a detailed knowledge of the nuclear structure relevant for these processes. For instance, neutrinoless $\beta \beta$ decay nuclear matrix elements are very sensitive to the nuclear correlations in the initial and final nuclei, and the spin-dependent nuclear structure factors of dark matter scattering depend on the subtle distribution of the nuclear spin among all nucleons. In addition, nucleons are composite and strongly interacting, which implies that many-nucleon processes are necessary for a correct description of nuclei and their interactions. It is thus crucial that theoretical studies and experimental analyses consider $\beta$ decays and dark matter interactions with a coupling to two nucleons, called two-nucleon currents.

11 pages, 5 figures, invited parallel talk at the XIIth Quark Confinement & the Hadron Spectrum conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2016

References in corpus (10)

• Chiral effective field theory and nuclear forces
• Double Beta Decay, Majorana Neutrinos, and Neutrino Mass
• Disassembling the Nuclear Matrix Elements of the Neutrinoless double beta Decay
• $0\nu \beta \beta$ and $2\nu \beta \beta$ nuclear matrix elements in the interacting boson model with isospin restoration
• $0\nu \beta \beta$ and $2\nu \beta \beta$ nuclear matrix elements, QRPA, and isospin symmetry restoration
• Three-Nucleon Low-Energy Constants from the Consistency of Interactions and Currents in Chiral Effective Field Theory
• Average and recommended half-life values for two neutrino double beta decay
• Systematic study of nuclear matrix elements in neutrinoless double-beta decay with a beyond mean-field covariant density functional theory
• Nuclear structure aspects of spin-independent WIMP scattering off xenon
• Effects of three-nucleon forces and two-body currents on Gamow-Teller strengths