2006/11/30 by M. Yoshimura · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Physics #Atomic physics #Electron #Excited state #Ion #Ionization #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Lepton #MAJORANA #Metastability #Neutrino #Neutrino Physics Research #Neutrino detector #Neutrino oscillation #Nuclear physics #Particle physics #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Radiative transfer #Rydberg formula #hep-ex #hep-ph #hep-th #physics.atom-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.75.113007
published as Phys.Rev.D75:113007,2007 · 56 pages, 1 figure added showing the rate. 2 notes added in the end. Several typos are corected from the previous version
arxiv created 2007/06/06 · openalex publication_date 2007/06/25 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We explore a possibility of measuring the absolute magnitude and the nature (Majorana vs Dirac) of neutrino masses, by using a novel process of neutrino pair emission from metastable excited atoms. Except lepton number nonconserving processes, the neutrino pair (\ensuremathν\ensuremathν) emission is the unique process to directly distinguish the Majorana neutrino from the Dirac neutrino, using the interference effect of identical fermions. The small energy difference between atomic levels makes it easier to measure small neutrino masses as indicated by neutrino oscillation experiments. The crucial point is how to enhance the rate of pair emission without enhancing the radiative decay. We discuss two particular cases; (1) laser irradiated pair emission from metastable atoms, and (2) microwave irradiated emission from circular Rydberg states. A new mechanism of the parametric amplification to enhance the neutrino pair emission is pointed out when Rydberg atoms are irradiated by microwave, while the radiative process may be inhibited by the cavity QED effect. A great variety of measurable neutrino parameters and a variety of experimental methods make this investigation attractive.