Shell model studies of competing mechanisms to the neutrinoless double-beta decay in $^{124}$Sn, $^{130}$Te, and $^{136}$Xe

TL;DR

This paper investigates various mechanisms behind neutrinoless double-beta decay in certain isotopes using shell model calculations, aiming to identify dominant processes and improve understanding of neutrino properties.

Contribution

It provides detailed shell model calculations of nuclear matrix elements considering right-handed currents for isotopes relevant to experiments.

Findings

Calculated nine nuclear matrix elements for $^{124}$Sn, $^{130}$Te, and $^{136}$Xe.

Identified potential dominant mechanisms in the A~130 mass region.

Provided phase-space factors for decay analysis.

Abstract

Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a predicted beyond Standard Model process that could clarify some of the not yet known neutrino properties, such as the mass scale, the mass hierarchy, and its nature as a Dirac or Majorana fermion. Should this transition be observed, there are still challenges in understanding the underlying contributing mechanisms. We perform a detailed shell model investigation of several beyond Standard Model mechanisms that consider the existence of right-handed currents. Our analysis presents different venues that can be used to identify the dominant mechanisms for nuclei of experimental interest in the mass A$\sim$130 region ($^{124}$Sn, $^{130}$Te, and $^{136}$Xe). It requires an accurate knowledge of nine nuclear matrix elements that we calculate, in addition to the associated energy dependent phase-space factors.