2017/11/16 by Martin Hirsch, M. Hirsch, Rahul Srivastava +2 · 41 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Computer science #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Dirac (video compression format) #Double beta decay #MAJORANA #Majorana equation #Neutrino #Neutrino Physics Research #Neutrino oscillation #Null (SQL) #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics #SIGNAL (programming language) #Sterile neutrino #hep-ex #hep-ph #nucl-ex #nucl-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2018.03.073
published in Physics Letters B 781, 302-305 (Elsevier BV) · 5 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2017/11/16 · openalex publication_date 2018/04/06 · arxiv updated 2018/05/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
According to the “Black Box” theorem the experimental confirmation of neutrinoless double beta decay (0ν2β) would imply that at least one of the neutrinos is a Majorana particle. However, a null 0ν2β signal cannot decide the nature of neutrinos, as it can be suppressed even for Majorana neutrinos. In this letter we argue that if the null 0ν2β decay signal is accompanied by a 0ν4β quadruple beta decay signal, then at least one neutrino should be a Dirac particle. This argument holds irrespective of the underlying processes leading to such decays.