6533b856fe1ef96bd12b266f
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Can one ever prove that neutrinos are Dirac particles?
Rahul SrivastavaMartin HirschJosé W. F. Vallesubject
Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsParticle physicsNuclear TheoryAstrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaFOS: Physical sciences01 natural sciencesHigh Energy Physics - ExperimentNuclear Theory (nucl-th)symbols.namesakeHigh Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)Double beta decay0103 physical sciencesNuclear Experiment (nucl-ex)010306 general physicsNuclear ExperimentPhysics010308 nuclear & particles physicsDirac (video compression format)Null (mathematics)High Energy Physics::PhenomenologyBeta decaylcsh:QC1-999MAJORANAHigh Energy Physics - PhenomenologyDirac fermionsymbolsHigh Energy Physics::ExperimentNeutrinolcsh:Physicsdescription
According to the "Black Box" theorem the experimental confirmation of neutrinoless double beta decay ($0 \nu 2 \beta$) would imply that at least one of the neutrinos is a Majorana particle. However, a null $0 \nu 2 \beta$ 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 $0 \nu 2 \beta$ decay signal is accompanied by a $0 \nu 4 \beta$ 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.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-11-16 |