2019/05/18 by Wouter Dekens, Dekens, W.
Physics and Astronomy · #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Neutrino Physics Research #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1905.07516
openalex publication_date 2019/05/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We discuss the contributions of lepton-number-violating sources to neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ). 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 0νββ 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 0νββ 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.