| Autor: |
Lukáš Gráf, Sudip Jana, Oliver Scholer, Nele Volmer |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2024 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
Physics Letters B, Vol 859, Iss , Pp 139111- (2024) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
0370-2693 |
| DOI: |
10.1016/j.physletb.2024.139111 |
| Popis: |
We present a proof-of-concept extension to the Standard Model that can generate a non-vanishing neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) signal without the existence of Majorana neutrinos or lepton number violation in the zero-density vacuum-ground-state Lagrangian. We propose that the 0νββ can be induced by the capture of an ultralight scalar field, a potential dark matter candidate, that carries two units of lepton number. This makes the observable 0νββ spectrum indistinguishable from the usual 0νββ mechanisms by any practical means. We find that a non-zero 0νββ rate does not require neutrinos to be fundamentally Majorana particles. However, for sizeable decay rates within the range of next-generation experiments, the neutrino will, generally, acquire an (effective) Majorana mass as the scalar field undergoes a transition to the Bose-Einstein condensate phase. We also discuss the distinction between the aforementioned scenario and the case in which the emission of a lepton-number-two scalar leads to 0νββ, exhibiting discernible qualitative features that make it experimentally distinguishable from the conventional scenario. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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Full Text from ScienceDirect