Two-neutrino double-beta decay in pionless effective field theory from a Euclidean finite-volume correlation function

TL;DR

This paper develops a pionless effective field theory framework to connect lattice QCD calculations of finite-volume correlation functions with the nuclear matrix elements relevant for two-neutrino double-beta decay, aiding future neutrinoless decay studies.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism linking Euclidean finite-volume lattice QCD data to Minkowski amplitudes for double-beta decay processes within pionless EFT at next-to-leading order.

Findings

Demonstrates a renormalization-scale independent amplitude at NLO

Shows no new low-energy constants are needed at this order

Provides a method to constrain decay amplitudes from lattice QCD data

Abstract

Two-neutrino double-beta decay of certain nuclear isotopes is one of the rarest Standard Model processes observed in nature. Its neutrinoless counterpart is an exotic lepton-number nonconserving process that is widely searched for to determine if the neutrinos are Majorana fermions. In order to connect the rate of these processes to the Standard Model and beyond the Standard Model interactions, it is essential that the corresponding nuclear matrix elements are constrained reliably from theory. Lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) and low-energy effective field theories (EFTs) are expected to play an essential role in constraining the matrix element of the two-nucleon subprocess, which could in turn provide the input into ab initio nuclear-structure calculations in larger isotopes. Focusing on the two-neutrino process $nn \to pp \, (ee \bar{\nu}_e\bar{\nu}_e)$, the amplitude is constructed in this work in pionless EFT at next-to-leading order, demonstrating the emergence of a renormalization-scale independent amplitude and the absence of any new low-energy constant at this order beyond those present in the single-weak process. Most importantly, it is shown how a LQCD four-point correlation function in Euclidean and finite-volume spacetime can be used to constrain the Minkowski infinite-volume amplitude in the EFT. The same formalism is provided for the related single-weak process, which is an input to the double-$\beta$ decay formalism. The LQCD-EFT matching procedure outlined for the double-weak amplitude paves the road toward constraining the two-nucleon matrix element entering the neutrinoless double-beta decay amplitude with a light Majorana neutrino.