Theory of double beta decay

• Francesco Iachello (J.W. Gibbs Professor of Physics, Yale University - USA)

Room: Aula Caianello The theory of double β decay, both with and without the emission of neutrinos, will be briefly reviewed

Nuclear matrix elements for double beta decay

• Francesco Iachello (J.W. Gibbs Professor of Physics, Yale University - USA)

Room: Aula Caianello Recent results in the calculation of the nuclear matrix elements needed for the determination of the average neutrino mass will be presented.

Current limits on neutrino masses

• Francesco Iachello (J.W. Gibbs Professor of Physics, Yale University - USA)

Room: Aula Caianello The nuclear matrix elements will be combined with phase space factors to make predictions for half-lives and obtain limits on the average neutrino mass from current experiments. Other scenarios, in addition to the standard 3- neutrino scenario, will also be considered including the emission of a scalar particle, called the Majoron, in honor of Majorana, and the presence of sterile neutrinos, that is neutrinos with no standard model interactions, as suggested in 1957 by Pontecorvo.