Majorana Neutrinos and Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry: Status and Prospects of Double Beta Decay Search in Experiment and in Theory
A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Physics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 222
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to present recent and possible future developments in the study and searches of double beta decay. Double beta decay is an established second-order process in the standard model (SM) of electroweak interaction, in which two electrons and two anti-neutrinos are emitted simultaneously in a nucleus. If the neutrinos are Majorana particles, a second double beta decay mode becomes possible, where a nucleus can decay to its daughter by emitting just two electrons without anti-neutrinos, hence the name neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ). The observation of 0νββ would demonstrate the Majorana nature of neutrinos, and provides possible explanations for the asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the universe. Many experiments have searched for the 0νββ processes employing various isotopes, including Ge-76, Te-130, and Xe-136. The constraints on the half-lives of these isotopes are in the order of 1026 yr. Theorists focus on understanding the nucleus models, the calculation of nuclear matrix elements and phase space factors for the 0νββ.
This Special Issue is open to experimental investigations and theoretical calculations related to the various modes of double beta decay, as well as to developments in the areas of dedicated detectors and methodologies.
Dr. Shaobo Wang
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Majorana neutrinos
- neutrinoless double beta decay
- matter and antimatter asymmetry
- underground experiment
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