Abstract:
Assuming 3-$\nu$ mixing, massive Majorana neutrinos and neutrinoless double-beta (\betabeta-) decay generated only by the (V-A) charged current weak interaction via the exchange of the three Majorana neutrinos, we briefly review the predictions for the effective Majorana mass $\meff$ in \betabeta-decay and reanalyse the physics potential of future \betabeta-decay experiments to provide information on the type of neutrino mass spectrum, the absolute scale of neutrino masses, and Majorana CP-violation in the lepton sector. Using as input the most recent experimental results on neutrino oscillation parameters and the prospective precision that can be achieved in future measurements of the latter, we perform a statistical analysis of a \betabeta-decay half-life measurement taking into account experimental and theoretical errors, as well as the uncertainty implied by the imprecise knowledge of the corresponding nuclear matrix element (NME). We show, in particular, how the possibility to dis...
