Are neutrinos Majorana particles, their own antiparticles?
This text mentions work from 2024 on. Those parts were partly written without a live literature search and have not been checked by an editor yet.
In plain words
If a neutrino is its own antiparticle, certain nuclei could undergo a double beta decay that emits no neutrinos at all. Its observation would show that lepton number is not conserved.
Precise statement
Determine whether lepton number is violated by Majorana neutrino masses via neutrinoless double beta decay, with half-life T_1/2 $\sim 10^{26}$ to $10^{28}$ yr for $m_{bb} \sim 10\ \text{to}\ 50\ \mathrm{meV}$. KamLAND-Zen (2024) gives T_1/2(Xe-136) > $3.8 \times 10^{26}$ yr, $m_{bb} < \sim 28\ \text{to}\ 122\ \mathrm{meV}$ (spread from nuclear matrix elements).
What would settle it
Ton-scale double beta decay experiments (LEGEND-1000, nEXO, CUPID, KamLAND2-Zen) covering the inverted-ordering band $m_{bb} \sim 15\text{ to }50\,\mathrm{meV}$.
Status in the literature
Unverified note: it names recent work and was partly written without a live literature search; it awaits a check by an editor.
No signal through 2025; the inverted-ordering band is partly probed.
Parent problems
- Special case of What mechanism generates neutrino masses? · open · from revision 1 The parent was revised since revision 1: it now states another question.
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