Neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory

Abstract

We discuss the contributions of lepton-number-violating sources to neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu \beta \beta$). Assuming that these sources arise at scales well above the electroweak scale, they can be described within an effective field theory. Here, we outline the steps required to express the $0\nu \beta \beta$ half-life in terms of the effective interactions, focusing on the dimension-five operator that induces a Majorana mass for the neutrinos. This process involves the evolution of the operators down to scales of a few GeV where they can be matched onto Chiral Perturbation Theory. The resulting Chiral Lagrangian can then used be to derive the lepton-number violating potential, which, in combination with many-body methods, gives the $0\nu \beta \beta$ half-life. We will show that consistent renormalization requires the inclusion of a new contact interaction at leading order in this potential. We also briefly comment on the constraints that can be set on the operators appearing beyond dimension five.

Corrected reference

References in corpus (6)

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