Physics of nuclear processes triggered by the interplay of strong and weak interactions

Abstract

Neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of nuclei is a process that requires the neutrino to be a massive Majorana particle and thus cannot proceed in the standard model of electro-weak interactions. Recent results of the neutrino-oscillation experiments have produced accurate information on the mixing of neutrinos and their squared mass differences. The 0νββ decay takes place in atomic nuclei where it can be observed, at least in principle, by underground neutrino experiments. The information about the weak-interaction observables, like the neutrino mass, has to be filtered from the data through the nuclear matrix elements (NMEs). In this article recent work of the Jyv¨askyl¨a group on the NMEs related to double beta decays is reviewed. This work concerns (1) the relevance to neutrinoless double beta decay of occupancies of single-particle orbitals close to the Fermi surface and (2) an example of the resonant neutrinoless double electron-capture decay of an atomic nucleus.