Sterile neutrinos with non-standard interactions in β- and 0νββ-decay experiments

• Published in: The journal of high energy physics 2021-08, Vol.2021 (8), p.1-29, Article 128
• Main Authors: Dekens, W., de Vries, J., Tong, T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Beta decay; Beyond Standard Model; Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Effective Field Theories; Elementary Particles; Experiments; Field theory; High energy physics; Neutrino Physics; Neutrinos; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Relativity Theory; String Theory
• ISSN: 1029-8479; 1029-8479
• DOI: 10.1007/JHEP08(2021)128

A bstract Charged currents are probed in low-energy precision β -decay experiments and at high-energy colliders, both of which aim to measure or constrain signals of beyond-the-Standard-Model physics. In light of future β -decay and LHC measurements that will further explore these non-standard interactions, we investigate what neutrinoless double- β decay (0 νββ ) experiments can tell us if a nonzero signal were to be found. Using a recently developed effective-field-theory framework, we consider the effects that interactions with right-handed neutrinos have on 0 νββ and discuss the range of neutrino masses that current and future 0 νββ measurements can probe, assuming neutrinos are Majorana particles. For non-standard interactions at the level suggested by recently observed hints in β decays, we show that next-generation 0 νββ experiments can determine the Dirac or Majorana nature of neutrinos, for sterile neutrino masses larger than O 10 eV.