This document discusses neutrinoless double beta decay, a proposed nuclear decay process that could provide evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. It first provides theoretical background on Majorana neutrinos, which are their own antiparticles, and how their existence would require modifying the Standard Model. It then discusses the process of double beta decay, both the conventional two-neutrino type and the hypothetical neutrinoless type. It outlines how the decay rates for these processes can be calculated using Fermi's Golden Rule and the weak interaction Hamiltonian. Finally, it discusses experimental efforts to observe neutrinoless double beta decay, such as the Majorana Collaboration experiment.
This document discusses neutrinoless double beta decay, a proposed nuclear decay process that could provide evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. It first provides theoretical background on Majorana neutrinos, which are their own antiparticles, and how their existence would require modifying the Standard Model. It then discusses the process of double beta decay, both the conventional two-neutrino type and the hypothetical neutrinoless type. It outlines how the decay rates for these processes can be calculated using Fermi's Golden Rule and the weak interaction Hamiltonian. Finally, it discusses experimental efforts to observe neutrinoless double beta decay, such as the Majorana Collaboration experiment.
This document discusses neutrinoless double beta decay, a proposed nuclear decay process that could provide evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. It first provides theoretical background on Majorana neutrinos, which are their own antiparticles, and how their existence would require modifying the Standard Model. It then discusses the process of double beta decay, both the conventional two-neutrino type and the hypothetical neutrinoless type. It outlines how the decay rates for these processes can be calculated using Fermi's Golden Rule and the weak interaction Hamiltonian. Finally, it discusses experimental efforts to observe neutrinoless double beta decay, such as the Majorana Collaboration experiment.
James Esterline Abstract With evidence for massive neutrinos and neutrino oscillations having recently been established, neutrino physics beyond the Standard Model is of increasing interest. One proposed treatment of the neutrino is that of a Majorana particle a particle that is its own antiparticle. As a result of the violation of lepton number conservation that is necessary for a Majorana neutrino to exist, phenomena such as neutrinoless double beta decay of atomic nuclei would be allowed. The necessary theoretical modifications to the Standard Model to incorporate Majorana neutrinos, the outline of the calculational procedure of obtaining the neutrinoless double beta decay half-life, and an overview of the planned experiment of the Majorana Collaboration to observe the process will be presented. Table of Contents Theoretical Background: Majorana Particles Pg. 2 Modification to the Standard Model Due to Majorana Neutrinos Pg. 3 Double Beta Decay Pg. 4 Calculation of Decay Rates for Double Beta Decay Pg. 5 Candidate Nuclei for Double Beta Decay Pg. 7 Experimental Measurement of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay: Experimental Signatures of Double Beta Decay Pg. 8 Experimental Design the Majorana Experiment Pg. 9 Goals of the Majorana Experiment Pg. 9 References: Pg. 10 Appendix: Pg. 11 2 Theoretical Background The speculation that neutrinos behave in a manner not predicted by the minimal Standard Model understandably predates the Standard Model. Ettore Majorana, the namesake of the neutrinos of interest to neutrinoless double beta decay, lived in the early twentieth century; his conjecture that neutrinos might not be Dirac particles comes very early in the history of the neutrino, in 1937 [Boe87]. To integrate the behavior of such particles into the Standard Model to provide the necessary quantities with which double beta decays can be calculated, one need first examine the fundamental properties of the Majorana neutrino. Majorana Particles A crude definition, such as has been presented in the abstract, of a Majorana particle is one that is equivalent to its own antiparticle. In the case of weakly interacting particles, such as neutrinos, this definition fails due to the lack of charge conjugation symmetry in the weak interaction: an antiparticle (in the sense of a charge conjugate of a particle) is ill-defined. Instead, we use the presumably good symmetry of CPT (in addition to Lorentz transformations) to describe the distinction between a Dirac and Majorana neutrino, following the argument presented in [Boe87]. Consider a left-handed neutrino, ! L , whose helicity is negative: its momentum is antiparallel to its spin. Since it is massive and therefore moving slower than the speed of light, there exists Lorentz boost that reverses the direction of momentum and necessarily leaves the spin unchanged; hence, the particle is now a right-handed (positive helicity) neutrino, ! R . Consider that, instead of boosting to a frame in which the momentum is reversed, CPT is operated on the left-handed neutrino. This necessarily gives a right-handed antiparticle to the neutrino, which we call "! R . Since this particle is massive as well, there exists another Lorentz boost which reverses the direction of momentum and results in a left-handed state, "! L . This gives a total of four possible neutrino states. In the case that all four states are distinct, the particle is called a Dirac particle; if the act of CPT is equivalent to that of the Lorentz transformation, that is, if "! R is identical to ! R , and "! L is identical to ! L , the neutrino has only two distinct states corresponding to the different chiralities or helicities; this is referred to as a Majorana neutrino, as the diagram adapted from [Boe87] below illustrates: Lorentz boost Dirac: ! L "! R "! L ! R CPT CPT 3 Lorentz boost Majorana: ! L ! R CPT Modifications to the Standard Model Due to Majorana Neutrinos Before anything else need be considered, it is immediately obvious that lepton number conservation is violated by the existence of Majorana neutrinos. In the current formulation of the Standard Model, the neutrino is assigned a lepton number of +1 and the antineutrino is assigned a lepton number of -1, with a distinction being made between the three lepton flavors. Evidence in the form of neutrino oscillations has already shown that the flavor distinction in lepton number is violated; the requirement that a neutrino be its own antiparticle would force neutrinos and antineutrinos to have lepton numbers of the same sign, and one can quickly conclude, by examining beta decays (which would require charged leptons to carry lepton number opposite to those of associated neutrinos) and other weak processes (muon decay, with the above assumptions, would be necessarily neutrinoless), that the concept of conserved lepton number is no longer valid. There is also the possibility, as will be examined in further detail, that right-handed interactions need be introduced into the Standard Model electroweak Hamiltonian. To do this, one merely parametrizes the inclusion of right-handed terms in the electroweak interaction (formulation for energies below the W mass): ( ) ( ) ( ) . . 2 c h M M J M M J G H R L R R L L W + + + + = ! ! ! ! ! ! " # $ This differs from the Standard Model by the inclusion of right-handed lepton current J R and right-handed quark current M R (# in the above equation denotes four-vector notation); equivalently, it retrieves the Standard Model in the case where the dimensionless parameters $, %, and & are zero. Due to the observation that, if right-handed lepton currents are present at all in the weak interaction, they are highly suppressed, the coefficients % and & are generally presumed very small. Note that a further modification arising from the inclusion of right-handed currents is the existence of a right-handed W boson, which presumably interacts much more weakly than its left-handed counterpart. No deeper explanation of such a particle was to be found in the literature, however. 4 Double Beta Decay Double beta decay is the process by which an atomic nucleus with mass number A and atomic number Z decays to an atomic nucleus with the same mass number but atomic number Z+2 along with two electrons (and typically two neutrinos): A Z ! A (Z+2) + 2e - + 2"! e This decay is described using the following diagram: The intermediate (and generally energetically disallowed) A Z+1 nucleus is virtual in the above diagram, which represents the so-called two-nucleon mechanism of double beta decay [Boe87]. This is simply the second-order process corresponding to single beta decay; essentially, it represents two simultaneous single beta decays, and operates well within the confines of the current Standard Model. Neutrinoless double beta decay is identical to two-neutrino double beta decay except for the omission of the neutrinos from the decay products: A Z ! A (Z+2) + 2e - The process by which neutrinoless double beta decay proceeds is quite different from that of two-neutrino decay. The two-nucleon mechanism is inadequate to explain the annihilation of the emitted neutrinos; assuming massive neutrinos, there are two possible diagrams for this reaction, shown as follows (arrows denote the helicity): The decay depicted above requires the interaction of a right-handed neutrino at the lower vertex, violating the exclusive left-handedness of the weak interaction. Consequently, we are required to make use of the right-handed addition to the weak interaction presented in the previous section. As [Boe87] also points out, this decay is prohibited in the absence of neutrino mixing. e - e - ! e ! e p
p
p
p
A Z p
( A Z+1) p
A Z+2 p
n p
n p
e - e - "! e " p
p
p
p
A Z p
( A Z+1) p
A Z+2 p
n p
n p
"! e " 5 The decay depicted above maintains the left-handedness of the weak interaction, but has a helicity mismatch in the exchange of the Majorana neutrino. This is only possible if the neutrino is massive (as has been supported experimentally); in this case, the helicity of the neutrino emitted at the first vertex contains a positive component proportional to the neutrinos mass divided by its energy, which, considering the energy available to double beta decays (on the order of MeV), is a remarkably small, but nonzero, quantity. Calculation of Decay Rates for Double Beta Decay Fermis Golden Rule gives the second-order weak decay (that which proceeds via the two-nucleon mechanism) to be 2 , 2 ! ! " " " # # $ % & & ' ( " = ) * ) ) +, - m e m i f f i E E E E i H m m H f E E d where the sum over m represents the sum over the intermediate states of the virtual nucleus. Despite the neutrinos nonvanishing mass, p ! = E ! is still a good approximation, and is used henceforth. Substituting in for the weak Hamiltonian H ' , which is the product of nuclear and leptonic currents, we obtain ( ) 2 , , , 4 4 cos 8 ! ! ! " " " # # $ % & & ' ( " = ) ) * + , * + * + , , , - . / 0 m n n e m i n n n n f f i c F e e e E p E E J J i M m m M f E E G d where the notation of [Boe87] has been used: M is the nuclear current, n e(!) is either 1 or 2 (labeling each emitted pair of leptons), and n e(!) is the complement of n e(!) (that is, 3 - n e(!) ). From this, we may extract the decay rate for the two-neutrino double beta decay, w 2! , using the derivation in [Boe87]: ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ! ! ! " " " " " " # $ % & ' ( = e e e e e e m E m e e E E m e e e e m E m e e e e C F dp p E E E Xp dE E p E Z F dE E p E Z F G 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 7 4 4 2 , , 8 cos ) ) ) ) * + , where E 0 is the decay energy of the double beta decay, and F(Z,E) is the Fermi function, which provides the contribution to the decay of the electromagnetic interaction between the nucleus and emitted electrons. e - e - "! e " p
p
p
p
A Z p
( A Z+1) p
A Z+2 p
n p
n p
"! e " 6 The factor of X in the above expression contains all the nuclear matrix elements; it is given for 0 + ! 0 + decays (a good assumption, considering that all known double-beta-decaying nuclei are even-even and hence both parent and daughter nuclei have ground states of 0 + ) in [Boe87]; combined with the Primakoff-Rosen approximation: ( ) ! " ! ! " Z e Z p E E Z F 2 0 1 2 lim , # $ # = , this results in an energy dependence of the form: ! ! " # $ $ % & + + + + ' 1980 90 9 2 1 4 0 3 0 2 0 0 7 0 2 E E E E E ( ) The resulting half-life for two-neutrino beta decay is expressed as ( ) [ ] ( ) 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 / 1 , 0 0 ! ! ! ! F A V GT M g g M Z E G T " = # + + where G 2! is a lepton phase space factor, M GT and M F are the Gamow-Teller and Fermi matrix elements, respectively, whose formulae are provided below: ! ! ! + " # = + + + + m f i m k i k k l l l f GT M M E m m M 2 / ) ( 0 0 2 $ % $ % & r r ! ! ! + " = + + + + m f i m k i k l l f F M M E m m M 2 / ) ( 0 0 2 # # $ where the summation over l and k are over individual nucleons; ( + and ) are the nucleonic isospin raising operator and the nucleonic spin operator, respectively. [Hor02] notes that the Fermi contribution can generally be eliminated, due to the restriction *T = 0 (that the nuclear isospin must not change) being invalidated by most double beta decays due to proceeding from prohibited intermediate states. The calculation for neutrinoless double beta decay can proceed over either of the two postulated channels presented in the previous section (that is, through the right-handed component arising from the massiveness of the neutrino or through weak coupling to right- handed particles). For the case where right-handed currents have not been added to the electroweak Hamiltonian, the decay rate may be expressed as: ( ) ! " + + = spins e e i f e e p d p d M E E E R 2 3 1 3 2 1 2 0 0 2 # $ % & & where R 0n is the transition amplitude, E f is the energy of the daughter nucleus, and M i is the mass of the parent nucleus. Integration over lepton part of the amplitude is given by [Boe87], and yields a neutrino potential H n (r,E m ), dependent in general on the energy of the intermediate nucleus E m , that represents the propagator between the nucleons involved in the double beta decay. As argued for in the mentioned source, the potential can be reasonably approximated as a 1/r central potential, roughly: ( ) j rm m n e r R E r H ! , 7 where R is the nuclear radius, and m j is the neutrino mass. It is noted that this expression is independent of the energy of the intermediate nucleus. With the addition of the parameters & and % (the effect of $ on the decay rate is negligible according to [Hor02]), the general expression for the inverse of the neutrinoless double beta decay half-life can be expressed as: ( ) [ ] ( ) 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 / 1 , 0 0 ! ! " " ! " !! "! "" # ! # " # # # # # C C C m m C m m C m M g g M Z E G T e m e m F A V GT + + + + + $ = % + + where the C ij are factors containing the nuclear matrix elements and phase space integrals, and G 0! is the phase space integral for the neutrinoless decay. In the case where right-handed currents are ignored, and the Primakoff-Rosen approximation is used, G 0! is approximated by: ! " # $ % & ' + + ( 5 2 3 30 0 0 0 0 E E E G ) It is noted that, since neutrinoless double beta decay has two fewer decay products, the phase space factor is reduced by a factor of E 0 6 , making the neutrinoless mode a very accurate probe for the measurement of the neutrino mass for low energy decays. The nuclear matrix elements differ from those for the two neutrino decay only by the inclusion of the neutrino potential H n (r,E m ). Candidate Nuclei for Double Beta Decay The kinematics of double beta decay allow a vast number of prospective nuclides to undergo the process. The reaction A Z ! A (Z+2) + 2e - (+ 2"! e ) has as the only constraint that the nucleus with Z protons and (A-Z) neutrons (here denoted by A Z) have greater mass than the nucleus with Z+2 protons and (A+Z-2) neutrons (here denoted by A (Z+2)) and two electron masses (and two neutrino masses, although this is too small to discriminate between allowed and disallowed processes). Equivalently, neglecting atomic binding energy, the atomic mass of the parent need exceed that of the daughter. It is noted that any beta-decaying nucleus that is also the daughter of a beta-decaying nucleus enables its parent to decay to its daughter directly through double beta decay; however, this is in general not interesting (only where the half-life for the original parent nucleus is sufficiently large under single beta decay does the contribution from double beta decay become non-negligible). Instead of considering these relatively difficult-to-measure processes, the categories of double-beta- decaying isotopes is typically limited to those for which single beta decay is energetically prohibited. There are relatively few of these nuclides, numbering about 26. Among the isotopes with the highest decay energies and, hence, the highest decay rates based on available phase space are 48 Ca (decay energy 4.27 MeV), 76 Ge (2.04 MeV), 82 Se (3.00 MeV), 96 Zr (3.35 MeV), 100 Mo (3.03 MeV), 110 Pd (2.01 MeV), 116 Cd (2.80 MeV), 124 Sn (2.29 MeV), 130 Te (2.53 MeV), 136 Xe (2.48 MeV), 148 Nd (1.93 MeV), and 150 Nd (3.37 MeV). These are all the nuclides with 8 more than 1.75 MeV decay energy; of these, 48 Ca and 96 Zr are capable of decaying through single beta decay [Boe87], but the associated half-lives are extremely low. Experimental Measurement of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay The phenomenon of double beta decay is understandably a difficult one to measure, due to the extremely long half-lives for the decays. The added constraint that the measured decay be neutrinoless (two-neutrino decays have been observed and are in the literature) complicates matters immensely. As shown in the previous section, neutrinoless double beta decays have much larger half-lives, adding to the difficulty of obtaining a realistically detectable signal (additionally complicated by background and noise, as will be mentioned later). Furthermore, the distinguishability of neutrinoless- and two-neutrino-double beta decays lies primarily in the summed energy spectrum of the emitted electrons, and requires precise energy resolution. One of the proposed experiments to measure neutrinoless double beta decay is the aptly named Majorana Experiment, whose details follow below. Experimental Signatures of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay The most obvious indication of neutrinoless double beta decay would be a well-defined peak in the summed electron energy spectrum corresponding to the exact value of the decay energy. (Two-neutrino double beta decay would have a summed electron energy spectrum qualitatively similar to that of single beta decay: namely, a continuous energy distribution with end-point energy extremely close to the decay energy, but without any peak in the electron energy.) This difference between neutrinoless and two-neutrino energy spectra is due to the absence of invisible neutrinos carrying away any of the decay energy, as they would when present. It is also conceivable to examine the excitation of the daughter nucleus to provide evidence for neutrinoless double beta decay. This is due to the This is remarkably more difficult in that, due to further limitations of phase space, the decay rate is again greatly decreased, and also in that it is not direct evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay, as the absence of neutrinos is not directly observed, as it is in the case of detecting electron energies. On the other hand, it is generally easier to detect the emitted de-excitation gamma rays, especially if two or more are emitted in coincidence. As mentioned in [Tor04], however, the two techniques observing the electron energy spectrum and the emitted de-excitation gamma rays would provide positive identification for a decay event. It is worth noting that there has been a controversial claim to a measurement of a direct observation of neutrinoless double beta decay in 76 Ge by the Heidelberg-Moscow Experiment, with the half-life of the decay allegedly being measured to be 1.6+10 25 years [Kla01] (with an estimated neutrino mass of about .39 eV. Since the methods of background subtraction applied to the experimental data appear to be inadequate in determining a definite observation of neutrinoless double beta decay, this result has been refuted, and a definitive measurement has yet to be reported. 9 Experimental Design the Majorana Experiment There are numerous possible experimental apparatus and configurations thereof that can be used to obtain a definitive measurement of neutrinoless double beta decay. I choose to detail only one of them, that of the proposed Majorana Experiment. The Majorana experiment consists of multiple phases designed to study and optimize several experimental details, such as expected levels of background and detector configuration, culminating in the final phase of the experiment, which is expected to consist of an arrangement of active high-purity Germanium detectors of total mass 120 kg (previously expected to be 500 kg; the revised design will be capable of being extended). The first of the two preliminary phases of the experiment is currently in operation at Duke University. This phase, the Segmented Enriched Germanium Array (SEGA) consists of a segmented 1.2 kg high-purity Germanium detector enriched to 85% in 76 Ge (the natural abundance being 7.8%). The intent of SEGA is to evaluate the method of background reduction proposed for the final phase of the Majorana experiment, namely, the use of a segmented detector to distinguish between single-site events corresponding to double beta decay candidate signals (the distance the emitted electrons travel is at most a few millimeters) and multi-site events, that is, the occurrence of signals in multiple segments of the detector at approximately the same time generally associated with background. Pulse-shape discrimination, a technique applied to distinguish between the types of particles generating the signal in the detector, is also being evaluated. A schematic cut-away diagram of SEGA is included as Figure 1 in the Appendix. A further phase is also in development. Entitled the Multiple Enriched Germanium Array (MEGA), it consists of 16 segmented high-purity Germanium detectors it is designed to further investigate the optimal detector configurations and background reduction techniques. Due to its larger size and requirements for shielding, MEGA is a closer configurational approximation of the final Majorana Experiment. A schematic of the MEGA apparatus is presented as Figure 2 in the Appendix. The Majorana experiment intends to make use of the ability of one of the Germanium isotopes, 76 Ge, to undergo double beta decay, enabling the massive detector array to serve simultaneously as the radioactive source. This is enabled by the proposal to enrich the desired quantity of Germanium in 76 Ge using existing facilities in Russia, which is purportedly the only location with the appropriate equipment to enrich such a considerable amount of Germanium. The Majorana phase of the experiment would occur underground, and be in all regards other than size much like the MEGA experiment in design. The energy spectra would be narrowly gated about the 2039 keV decay energy of 76 Ge. A rendition of the proposed experimental setup is shown in the Appendix as Figure 3. Goals of the Majorana Experiment The original goal of the Majorana Experiment in terms of data acquisition was to run for a period of 5 years with 500 kg of enriched Germanium (hence, have 2500 kg-years of Germanium to measure). With the reduction of Germanium proposed for the commencement of the experiment to 120 kg (as the design has been altered to enable expansion of the detector after data acquisition has started, this is not anticipated to be the amount of Germanium in the apparatus for the entire experiment), the original sensitivity to neutrino mass has been reduced 10 from 50 meV to at most 200 meV, with the focus now being on refuting the purported result of Heidelberg-Moscow. References [Boe87] F. Boehm and P. Vogel. The Physics of Massive Neutrinos. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1987. [Hor02] M. Hornish. Double Beta Decay of 100 Mo and 150 Nd to Excited Final States. Ph.D. thesis, Duke University, 2002. [Kla01] H. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, et al. Modern Phys. Lett. A, 37(2001), 2409. [Tor04] W. Tornow, representing the Majorana Collaboration. Private communication in form of Majorana Experiment Draft Proposal. 11 Appendix Figure 1: SEGA This is a cut-away view of the SEGA detector, including lead shielding (at top) and cryostat (the liquid nitrogen dewar for which is shown at the bottom of the figure). The actual segmented Germanium crystal is the cylindrical gray object encased in the shielding. Source: http://www.wipp.ws/science/DBDecay/SEGAandMEGAdescription.pdf. Figure 2: MEGA 12 A cut-away diagram of the MEGA detector. Visible are the lead shielding and the cryostat. Source: http://www.wipp.ws/science/DBDecay/SEGAandMEGAdescription.pdf. Figure 3: Majorana A cut-away diagram of the proposed Majorana experiment (shielding not shown). The highly enriched, high purity detectors are located in the center; dewars for the cryostat are shown at the sides. Source: http://www.int.washington.edu/talks/WorkShops/Neutrino2000/WorkingGroups/Underground/D eBraeckeleer_L/ht/07.html
Negative Mass and Negative Refractive Index in Atom Nuclei - Nuclear Wave Equation - Gravitational and Inertial Control: Part 2: Gravitational and Inertial Control, #2