Neutrinoless double beta decay and neutrino mass hierarchies

Abstract

In the framework of the see-saw mechanism the normal hierarchy is favorable for the neutrino mass spectrum. For this spectrum we present a detailed calculation of the half-lives of neutrinoless double beta decay for several nuclei of experimental interest. The half-lives are evaluated by considering the most comprehensive nuclear matrix elements, which were obtained within the renormalized QRPA by the Bratislava-Caltech-Tuebingen group. The dependence of the half-lives on sin^2 theta_{13}$ and the lightest neutrino mass is studied. We present also the results of the calculations of the half-lives of neutrinoless double beta decay in the case of the inverted hierarchy of neutrino masses.