The effective neutrino mass of neutrinoless double-beta decays: how possible to fall into a well

The neutrinoless double-beta (\(0\nu 2\beta \)) decay is currently the only feasible process in particle and nuclear physics to probe whether massive neutrinos are the Majorana fermions. If they are of a Majorana nature and have a normal mass ordering, the effective neutrino mass term \(\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}\) of a \(0\nu 2\beta \) decay may suffer significant cancellations among its three components and thus sink into a decline, resulting in a “well” in the three-dimensional graph of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\) against the smallest neutrino mass \(m^{}_1\) and the relevant Majorana phase \(\rho \). We present a new and complete analytical understanding of the fine issues inside such a well, and identify a novel threshold of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\) in terms of the neutrino masses and flavor mixing angles: \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|^{}_* = m^{}_3 \sin ^2\theta ^{}_{13}\) in connection with \(\tan \theta ^{}_{12} = \sqrt{m^{}_1/m^{}_2}\) and \(\rho =\pi \). This threshold point, which links the local minimum and maximum of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|\), can be used to signify observability or sensitivity of the future \(0\nu 2\beta \)-decay experiments. Given current neutrino oscillation data, the possibility of \(|\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}| < |\langle m\rangle ^{}_{ee}|^{}_*\) is found to be very small.     

Effective Majorana mass and neutrinoless double beta decay

The probability distribution for the effective Majorana mass as a function of the lightest neutrino mass in the standard three neutrino scheme is computed via a random sampling from the distributions of the involved mixing angles and squared mass differences. A flat distribution in the \([0,2\pi ]\) range for the Majorana phases is assumed, and the dependence of small values of the effective mass on the Majorana phases is highlighted. The study is then extended with the addition of the cosmological bound on the sum of the neutrino masses. Finally, the prospects for \(0\nu \beta \beta \) decay search with \(^{76}\)Ge, \(^{130}\)Te and \(^{136}\)Xe are discussed, as well as those for the measurement of the electron neutrino mass.     

Fully constrained Majorana neutrino mass matrices using $$\varvec{\varSigma (72\times 3)}$$

In 2002, two neutrino mixing ansatze having trimaximally mixed middle (\(\nu _2\)) columns, namely tri-chi-maximal mixing (\(\text {T}\chi \text {M}\)) and tri-phi-maximal mixing (\(\text {T}\phi \text {M}\)), were proposed. In 2012, it was shown that \(\text {T}\chi \text {M}\) with \(\chi =\pm \,\frac{\pi }{16}\) as well as \(\text {T}\phi \text {M}\) with \(\phi = \pm \,\frac{\pi }{16}\) leads to the solution, \(\sin ^2 \theta _{13} = \frac{2}{3} \sin ^2 \frac{\pi }{16}\), consistent with the latest measurements of the reactor mixing angle, \(\theta _{13}\). To obtain \(\text {T}\chi \text {M}_{(\chi =\pm \,\frac{\pi }{16})}\) and \(\text {T}\phi \text {M}_{(\phi =\pm \,\frac{\pi }{16})}\), the type I see-saw framework with fully constrained Majorana neutrino mass matrices was utilised. These mass matrices also resulted in the neutrino mass ratios, \(m_1:m_2:m_3=\frac{\left( 2+\sqrt{2}\right) }{1+\sqrt{2(2+\sqrt{2})}}:1:\frac{\left( 2+\sqrt{2}\right) }{-1+\sqrt{2(2+\sqrt{2})}}\). In this paper we construct a flavour model based on the discrete group \(\varSigma (72\times 3)\) and obtain the aforementioned results. A Majorana neutrino mass matrix (a symmetric \(3\times 3\) matrix with six complex degrees of freedom) is conveniently mapped into a flavon field transforming as the complex six-dimensional representation of \(\varSigma (72\times 3)\). Specific vacuum alignments of the flavons are used to arrive at the desired mass matrices.     

CUPID-0: the first array of enriched scintillating bolometers for 0$$\nu \beta \beta $$ decay investigations

The CUPID-0 detector hosted at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy, is the first large array of enriched scintillating cryogenic detectors for the investigation of \(^{82}\)Se neutrinoless double-beta decay (\(0\nu \beta \beta \)). CUPID-0 aims at measuring a background index in the region of interest (RoI) for \(0\nu \beta \beta \) at the level of 10\(^{-3}\) counts/(keV kg years), the lowest value ever measured using cryogenic detectors. CUPID-0 operates an array of Zn\(^{82}\)Se scintillating bolometers coupled with bolometric light detectors, with a state of the art technology for background suppression and thorough protocols and procedures for the detector preparation and construction. In this paper, the different phases of the detector design and construction will be presented, from the material selection (for the absorber production) to the new and innovative detector structure. The successful construction of the detector lead to promising preliminary detector performance which is discussed here.     

CP violations in predictive neutrino mass structures

We study the CP-violation effects from two types of neutrino mass matrices with (i) \((M_\nu )_{ee}=0\), and (ii) \((M_\nu )_{ee}=(M_\nu )_{e\mu }=0\), which can be realized by the high-dimensional lepton number violating operators \(\bar{\ell }_R^c\gamma ^\mu L_L (D_\mu \Phi )\Phi ^2\) and \(\bar{\ell }_R^c l_R (D_\mu {\Phi })^2\Phi ^2\), respectively. In (i), the neutrino mass spectrum is in the normal ordering with the lightest neutrino mass within the range \(0.002\,\mathrm{eV}\lesssim m_0\lesssim 0.007\,\mathrm{eV}\). Furthermore, for a given value of \(m_0\), there are two solutions for the two Majorana phases \(\alpha _{21}\) and \(\alpha _{31}\), whereas the Dirac phase \(\delta \) is arbitrary. For (ii), the parameters of \(m_0\), \(\delta \), \(\alpha _{21}\), and \(\alpha _{31}\) can be completely determined. We calculate the CP-violating asymmetries in neutrino–antineutrino oscillations for both mass textures of (i) and (ii), which are closely related to the CP-violating Majorana phases.     

$$\varvec{B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-}$$ decay in the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model

In the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model, we perform a complete one-loop computation of the short-distance Wilson coefficients \(C_{7,9,10}^{(\prime )}\), which are the most relevant ones for \(b\rightarrow s\ell ^+\ell ^-\) transitions. It is found that, when the model parameter \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \) is much smaller than \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \), the charged scalar contributes mainly to chirality-flipped \(C_{9,10}^\prime \), with the corresponding effects being proportional to \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| ^2\). Numerically, the charged-scalar effects fit into two categories: (A) \(C_{7,9,10}^\mathrm {H^\pm }\) are sizable, but \(C_{9,10}^{\prime \mathrm {H^\pm }}\simeq 0\), corresponding to the (large \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \), small \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \)) region; (B) \(C_7^\mathrm {H^\pm }\) and \(C_{9,10}^{\prime \mathrm {H^\pm }}\) are sizable, but \(C_{9,10}^\mathrm {H^\pm }\simeq 0\), corresponding to the (small \(\left| \varsigma _{u}\right| \), large \(\left| \varsigma _{d}\right| \)) region. Taking into account phenomenological constraints from the inclusive radiative decay \(B\rightarrow X_{s}{\gamma }\), as well as the latest model-independent global analysis of \(b\rightarrow s\ell ^+\ell ^-\) data, we obtain the much restricted parameter space of the model. We then study the impact of the allowed model parameters on the angular observables \(P_2\) and \(P_5'\) of \(B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-\) decay, and we find that \(P_5'\) could be increased significantly to be consistent with the experimental data in case B.     

Scattering of kinks of the sinh-deformed $$\varphi ^4$$ model

We consider the scattering of kinks of the sinh-deformed \(\varphi ^4\) model, which is obtained from the well-known \(\varphi ^4\) model by means of the deformation procedure. Depending on the initial velocity \(v_\mathrm {in}\) of the colliding kinks, different collision scenarios are realized. There is a critical value \(v_\mathrm {cr}\) of the initial velocity, which separates the regime of reflection (at \(v_\mathrm {in}>v_\mathrm {cr}\)) and that of a complicated interaction (at \(v_\mathrm {in}<v_\mathrm {cr}\)) with kinks’ capture and escape windows. Besides that, at \(v_\mathrm {in}\) below \(v_\mathrm {cr}\) we observe the formation of a bound state of two oscillons, as well as their escape at some values of \(v_\mathrm {in}\).     

Study of the weak annihilation contributions in charmless $$\varvec{B_s\rightarrow VV}$$ decays

In this paper, in order to probe the spectator-scattering and weak annihilation contributions in charmless \(B_s\rightarrow VV\) (where V stands for a light vector meson) decays, we perform the \(\chi ^2\)-analyses for the endpoint parameters within the QCD factorization framework, under the constraints from the measured \(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow \) \(\rho ^0\phi \), \(\phi K^{*0}\), \(\phi \phi \) and \(K^{*0}\bar{K}^{*0}\) decays. The fitted results indicate that the endpoint parameters in the factorizable and nonfactorizable annihilation topologies are non-universal, which is also favored by the charmless \(B\rightarrow PP\) and PV (where P stands for a light pseudo-scalar meson) decays observed in previous work. Moreover, the abnormal polarization fractions \(f_{L,\bot }(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow K^{*0}\bar{K}^{*0})=(20.1\pm 7.0)\%,(58.4\pm 8.5)\%\) measured by the LHCb collaboration can be reconciled through the weak annihilation corrections. However, the branching ratio of \(\bar{B}_{s}\rightarrow \phi K^{*0}\) decay exhibits a tension between the data and theoretical result, which dominates the contributions to \(\chi _\mathrm{min}^2\) in the fits. Using the fitted endpoint parameters, we update the theoretical results for the charmless \(B_s\rightarrow VV\) decays, which will be further tested by the LHCb and Belle-II experiments in the near future.     

Exotic tetraquark states with the $$qq\bar{Q}\bar{Q}$$ configuration

In this work, we study systematically the mass splittings of the \(qq\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) (\(q=u\), d, s and \(Q=c\), b) tetraquark states with the color-magnetic interaction by considering color mixing effects and estimate roughly their masses. We find that the color mixing effect is relatively important for the \(J^P=0^+\) states and possible stable tetraquarks exist in the \(nn\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) (\(n=u\), d) and \(ns\bar{Q}\bar{Q}\) systems either with \(J=0\) or with \(J=1\). Possible decay patterns of the tetraquarks are briefly discussed.     

Search of the neutrino-less double beta decay of $$^{}$$Se into the excited states of $$^{}$$Kr with CUPID-0

The CUPID-0 experiment searches for double beta decay using cryogenic calorimeters with double (heat and light) read-out. The detector, consisting of 24 ZnSe crystals 95\(\%\) enriched in \(^{82}\)Se and two natural ZnSe crystals, started data-taking in 2017 at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. We present the search for the neutrino-less double beta decay of \(^{82}\)Se into the 0\(_1^+\), 2\(_1^+\) and 2\(_2^+\) excited states of \(^{82}\)Kr with an exposure of 5.74 kg\(\cdot \)yr (2.24\(\times \)10\(^{25}\) emitters\(\cdot \)yr). We found no evidence of the decays and set the most stringent limits on the widths of these processes: \(\varGamma \)(\(^{82}\)Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\)Kr\(_{0_1^+}\))8.55\(\times \)10\(^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\), \(\varGamma \) (\(^{82}\) Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\) Kr \(_{2_1^+}\))\(\,{<}\,6.25 \,{\times }\,10^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\), \(\varGamma \)(\(^{82}\)Se \(\rightarrow ^{82}\)Kr\(_{2_2^+}\))8.25\(\times \)10\(^{-24}\) yr\(^{-1}\) (90\(\%\) credible interval).     

Decay widths of the spin-2 partners of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>(3872)

We consider the X(3872) resonance as a \(J^\mathrm{{PC}}=1^{++}\) \(D\bar{D}^*\) hadronic molecule. According to heavy quark spin symmetry, there will exist a partner with quantum numbers \(2^{++}\), \(X_{2}\), which would be a \(D^*\bar{D}^*\) loosely bound state. The \(X_{2}\) is expected to decay dominantly into \(D\bar{D}\), \(D\bar{D}^*\) and \(\bar{D} D^*\) in d-wave. In this work, we calculate the decay widths of the \(X_{2}\) resonance into the above channels, as well as those of its bottom partner, \(X_{b2}\), the mass of which comes from assuming heavy flavor symmetry for the contact terms. We find partial widths of the \(X_{2}\) and \(X_{b2}\) of the order of a few MeV. Finally, we also study the radiative \(X_2\rightarrow D\bar{D}^{*}\gamma \) and \(X_{b2} \rightarrow \bar{B} B^{*}\gamma \) decays. These decay modes are more sensitive to the long-distance structure of the resonances and to the \(D\bar{D}^{*}\) or \(B\bar{B}^{*}\) final state interaction.     

Revisiting radiative decays of $$1^{+-}$$ heavy quarkonia in the covariant light-front approach

We revisit the calculation of the width for the radiative decay of a \(1^{+-}\) heavy \(Q \bar{Q}\) meson via the channel \(1^{+-} \rightarrow 0^{-+} +\gamma \) in the covariant light-front quark model. We carry out the reduction of the light-front amplitude in the non-relativistic limit, explicitly computing the leading and next-to-leading order relativistic corrections. This shows the consistency of the light-front approach with the non-relativistic formula for this electric dipole transition. Furthermore, the theoretical uncertainty in the predicted width is studied as a function of the inputs for the heavy-quark mass and wave function structure parameter. We analyze the specific decays \(h_{\mathrm{c}}(1P) \rightarrow \eta _{\mathrm{c}}(1S) + \gamma \) and \(h_{\mathrm{b}}(1P) \rightarrow \eta _{\mathrm{b}}(1S) + \gamma \). We compare our results with experimental data and with other theoretical predictions from calculations based on non-relativistic models and their extensions to include relativistic effects, finding reasonable agreement.     

Virtual depth by active background suppression: revisiting the cosmic muon induced background of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">Gerda</Emphasis> Phase II

In-situ production of radioisotopes by cosmic muon interactions may generate a non-negligible background for deep underground rare event searches. Previous Monte Carlo studies for the Gerda experiment at Lngs identified the delayed decays of \(^{77}\)Ge and its metastable state \(^{77m}\)Ge as dominant cosmogenic background in the search for neutrinoless double beta decay of \(^{76}\)Ge. This might limit the sensitivity of next generation experiments aiming for increased \(^{76}\)Ge mass at background-free conditions and thereby define a minimum depth requirement. A re-evaluation of the \(^{77(m)}\)Ge background for the Gerda experiment has been carried out by a set of Monte Carlo simulations. The obtained \(^{77(m)}\)Ge production rate is (\(0.21\pm 0.01\)) nuclei/(kg\(\cdot \)year). After application of state-of-the-art active background suppression techniques and simple delayed coincidence cuts this corresponds to a background contribution of \((2.7\pm 0.3)\times 10^{-6}\) cts/(keV\(\cdot \)kg\(\cdot \)year). The suppression achieved by this strategy equals an effective muon flux reduction of more than one order of magnitude. This virtual depth increase opens the way for next generation rare event searches.     

Determinations of $$|V_{cb}|$$ and $$|V_{ub}|$$|Vub| from baryonic $$\Lambda _b$$Λb decays

We present the first attempt to extract \(|V_{cb}|\) from the \(\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda _c^+\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decay without relying on \(|V_{ub}|\) inputs from the B meson decays. Meanwhile, the hadronic \(\Lambda _b\rightarrow \Lambda _c M_{(c)}\) decays with \(M=(\pi ^-,K^-)\) and \(M_c=(D^-,D^-_s)\) measured with high precisions are involved in the extraction. Explicitly, we find that \(|V_{cb}|=(44.6\pm 3.2)\times 10^{-3}\), agreeing with the value of \((42.11\pm 0.74)\times 10^{-3}\) from the inclusive \(B\rightarrow X_c\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decays. Furthermore, based on the most recent ratio of \(|V_{ub}|/|V_{cb}|\) from the exclusive modes, we obtain \(|V_{ub}|=(4.3\pm 0.4)\times 10^{-3}\), which is close to the value of \((4.49\pm 0.24)\times 10^{-3}\) from the inclusive \(B\rightarrow X_u\ell \bar{\nu }_\ell \) decays. We conclude that our determinations of \(|V_{cb}|\) and \(|V_{ub}|\) favor the corresponding inclusive extractions in the B decays.     

Two-Higgs-doublet type-II and -III models and $$t\rightarrow c h$$ at the LHC

We study the constraints of the generic two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM) type-III and the impacts of the new Yukawa couplings. For comparisons, we revisit the analysis in the 2HDM type-II. To understand the influence of all involving free parameters and to realize their correlations, we employ a \(\chi \)-square fitting approach by including theoretical and experimental constraints, such as the S, T, and U oblique parameters, the production of standard model Higgs and its decay to \(\gamma \gamma \), \(WW^*/ZZ^*\), \(\tau ^+\tau ^-\), etc. The errors of the analysis are taken at 68, 95.5, and \(99.7~\%\) confidence levels. Due to the new Yukawa couplings being associated with \(\cos (\beta -\alpha )\) and \(\sin (\beta -\alpha )\), we find that the allowed regions for \(\sin \alpha \) and \(\tan \beta \) in the type-III model can be broader when the dictated parameter \(\chi _F\) is positive; however, for negative \(\chi _F\), the limits are stricter than those in the type-II model. By using the constrained parameters, we find that the deviation from the SM in \(h\rightarrow Z\gamma \) can be of \(\mathcal{O}(10~\%)\). Additionally, we also study the top-quark flavor-changing processes induced at the tree level in the type-III model and find that when all current experimental data are considered, we get \(Br(t\rightarrow c(h, H) )< 10^{-3}\) for \(m_h=125.36\) and \(m_H=150\) GeV, and \(Br(t\rightarrow cA)\) slightly exceeds \(10^{-3}\) for \(m_A =130\) GeV.     

New feature of low $$p_{T}$$ charm quark hadronization in pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=7$$s=7 TeV

Treating the light-flavor constituent quarks and antiquarks whose momentum information is extracted from the data of soft light-flavor hadrons in pp collisions at \(\sqrt{s}=7\) TeV as the underlying source of chromatically neutralizing the charm quarks of low transverse momenta (\(p_{T}\)), we show that the experimental data of \(p_{T}\) spectra of single-charm hadrons \(D^{0,+}\), \(D^{*+}\) \(D_{s}^{+}\), \(\varLambda _{c}^{+}\) and \(\varXi _{c}^{0}\) at mid-rapidity in the low \(p_{T}\) range (\(2\lesssim p_{T}\lesssim 7\) GeV/c) in pp collisions at \(\sqrt{s}=7\) TeV can be well understood by the equal-velocity combination of perturbatively created charm quarks and those light-flavor constituent quarks and antiquarks. This suggests a possible new scenario of low \(p_{T}\) charm quark hadronization, in contrast to the traditional fragmentation mechanism, in pp collisions at LHC energies. This is also another support for the exhibition of the soft constituent quark degrees of freedom for the small parton system created in pp collisions at LHC energies.     

Pinning down neutrino oscillation parameters in the 2–3 sector with a magnetised atmospheric neutrino detector: a new study

We determine the sensitivity to neutrino oscillation parameters from a study of atmospheric neutrinos in a magnetised detector such as the ICAL at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory. In such a detector, which can separately count \(\nu _\mu \) and \(\overline{\nu }_\mu \)-induced events, the relatively smaller (about 5%) uncertainties on the neutrino–antineutrino flux ratios translate to a constraint in the \(\chi ^2\) analysis that results in a significant improvement in the precision with which neutrino oscillation parameters such as \(\sin ^2\theta _{23}\) can be determined. Such an effect is unique to all magnetisable detectors and constitutes a great advantage in determining neutrino oscillation parameters using such detectors. Such a study has been performed for the first time here. Along with an increase in the kinematic range compared to earlier analyses, this results in sensitivities to oscillation parameters in the 2–3 sector that are comparable to or better than those from accelerator experiments where the fluxes are significantly higher. For example, the \(1\sigma \) precisions on \(\sin ^2\theta _{23}\) and \(|\Delta {m^2_{32(31)}}|\) achievable for 500 kton year exposure of ICAL are \({\sim }9\) and \({\sim }2.5\)%, respectively, for both normal and inverted hierarchies. The mass hierarchy sensitivity achievable with this combination when the true hierarchy is normal (inverted) for the same exposure is \(\Delta \chi ^2\approx 8.5\) (\(\Delta \chi ^2\approx 9.5\)).     

Lepton polarization asymmetries in rare semi-tauonic $$ b \rightarrow s $$ exclusive decays at FCC- ee

We consider measurements of exclusive rare semi-tauonic b-hadron decays, mediated by the \(b \rightarrow s \tau ^+ \tau ^-\) transition, at a future high-energy circular electron–positron collider (FCC-ee). We argue that the high boosts of b-hadrons originating from on-shell Z boson decays allow for a full reconstruction of the decay kinematics in hadronic \(\tau \) decay modes (up to discrete ambiguities). This, together with the potentially large statistics of \(Z\rightarrow b\bar{b}\), opens the door for the experimental determination of \(\tau \) polarizations in these rare b-hadron decays. In the light of the current experimental situation on lepton flavor universality in rare semileptonic B decays, we discuss the complementary short-distance physics information carried by the \(\tau \) polarizations and suggest suitable theoretically clean observables in the form of single- and double-\(\tau \) polarization asymmetries.     

Rapid communication: $$K_{S}^{0}$$ Production from beryllium target using 120 $$\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}$$GeV/c protons beam interactions at the MIPP experiment

We have measured the cross-section for the \(K_{S}^{0}\) production from beryllium target using 120 \(\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\) protons beam interactions at the main injector particle production (MIPP) experiment at Fermilab. The data were collected with target having a thickness of 0.94% of the nuclear interaction length. The \(K_{S}^{0}\) inclusive differential cross-section in bins of momenta is presented covering momentum range from \(0.4\,\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\) to \(30\,\hbox {GeV}/\hbox {c}\). The measured inclusive \(K_{S}^{0}\) production cross-section amounts to \(39.54\pm 1.46\delta _{\mathrm {stat}}\pm 6.97\delta _{\mathrm {syst}}\) mb and the value is compared with the prediction of FLUKA hadron production model.