Ch. 1. Double beta decay - historical retrospective and perspectives. 1.1. From the early days until the gauge theory era. 1.2. The nuclear physics side - nuclear matrix elements. 1.3. Double beta decay, neutrino mass models and cosmological parameters - status and prospects. 1.4. Other beyond standard model physics : from SUSY and leptoquarks to compositeness and space time structure. 1.5. The experimental race : from the late eighties to the discovery of [symbol] decay. 1.6. The future of double beta decay. 1.7. Conclusion -- ch. 2. Original articles. 2.1. From the early days until the gauge theory era. 2.2. The nuclear physics side - nuclear matrix elements. 2.3. Double beta decay, neutrino mass models and cosmological parameters - status and prospects. 2.4. Other beyond standard model physics : from SUSY and leptoquarks to compositeness and space time structure. 2.5. The experimental race : from the late eighties to the discovery of [symbol] decay. 2.6. The future of double beta decay

Nuclear double beta decay is one of the most promising tools for probing beyond-the-standard-model physics on beyond-accelerator energy scales. It is already now probing the TeV scale, on which new physics should manifest itself according to theoretical expectations. Only in the early 1980s was it known that double beta decay yields information on the Majorana mass of the exchanged neutrino. At present, the sharpest bound for the electron neutrino mass arises from this process. It is only in the last 10 years that the much more far-reaching potential of double beta decay has been discovered. Today, the potential of double beta decay includes a broad range of topics that are equally relevant to particle physics and astrophysics, such as masses of heavy neutrinos, of sneutrinos, as SUSY models, compositeness, leptoquarks, left-right symmetric models, and tests of Lorentz symmetry and equivalence principle in the neutrino sector. Double beta decay has become indispensable nowadays for solving the problem of the neutrino mass spectrum and the structure of the neutrino mass matrix OCo together with present and future solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillation experiments. Some future double beta experiments (like GENIUS) will be capable to be simultaneously neutrino observatories for double beta decay and low-energy solar neutrinos, and observatories for cold dark matter of ultimate sensitivity. This invaluable book outlines the development of double beta research from its beginnings until its most recent achievements, and also presents the outlook for its highly exciting future. Contents: Double Beta Decay OCo Historical Retrospective and Perspectives; Original Articles: From the Early Days until the Gauge Theory Era; The Nuclear Physics Side OCo Nuclear Matrix Elements; The Nuclear Physics Side OCo Nuclear Matrix Elements; Effective Neutrino Masses from Double Beta Decay, Neutrino Mass Models and Cosmological Parameters OCo Present Status and Prospects; Other Beyond Standard Model Physics: From SUSY and Leptoquarks to Compositeness and Quantum Foam; The Experimental Race: From the Late Eighties to the Future; The Future of Double Beta Decay; Appendices: Ten Years of HeidelbergOCoMoscow Experiment; The Potential Future OCo GENIUS. Readership: Particle physicists, nuclear physicists and astrophysicists."

From 29 August to 7 September 2007, a large group of distinguished lecturers and young physicists from various countries met in Erice, Italy, at the ?Ettore Majorana? Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) to attend the 45th Course of the International School of Subnuclear Physics: ?Search for the ?Totally Unexpected? in the LHC era?.This book is a collection of lectures delivered during the course, which covered the most recent advances in theoretical physics and the latest results from the current experimental facilities. In the School's effort to encourage and promote young physicists achieve recognition at an international level, students who distinguished themselves for the excellence of their research have been given the opportunity to publish their presentation in this volume.

In the last 20 years the disciplines of particle physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics and cosmology have grown together in an unprecedented way. A brilliant example is nuclear double beta decay, an extremely rare radioactive decay mode, which is one of the most exciting and important fields of research in particle physics at present and the flagship of non-accelerator particle physics. While already discussed in the 1930s, only in the 1980s was it understood that neutrinoless double beta decay can yield information on the Majorana mass of the neutrino, which has an impact on the structure of space-time. Today, double beta decay is indispensable for solving the problem of the neutrino mass spectrum and the structure of the neutrino mass matrix. The potential of double beta decay has also been extended such that it is now one of the most promising tools for probing beyond-the-standard-model particle physics, and gives access to energy scales beyond the potential of future accelerators. This book presents the breathtaking manner in which achievements in particle physics have been made from a nuclear physics process. Consisting of a 150-page highly factual overview of the field of double beta decay and a 1200-page collection of the most important original articles, the book outlines the development of double beta decay research theoretical and experimental from its humble beginnings until its most recent achievements, with its revolutionary consequences for the theory of particle physics. It further presents an outlook on the exciting future of the field.

Neutrinos play a decisive part in nuclear and elementary particle physics, as well as in astrophysics and cosmology. Some of their most basic properties, such as their mass and charge conjugation symmetry, are largely unknown. This book focuses on what we know and may hope to know about the mass of the neutrino and its particle-antiparticle symmetry. Topics include neutrino mixing, neutrino decay, neutrino oscillations, double beta decay, solar neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and related issues. The authors stress the physical concepts, and discuss both theoretical and experimental techniques. This updated second edition differs from the first in that it contains an expanded coverage of experimental results and theoretical advances. Since publication of the first edition, many issues that were at that time unresolved, such as tritium beta decay and reactor neutrino oscillations, have been clarified and are discussed here. Also included is an expanded coverage of solar and supernova neutrinos. This book deals with one of the most intriguing issues in modern physics, and will be of value to researchers, graduate students and advanced undergraduates specializing in experimental and theoretical particle physics and nuclear physics.

Our Universe is made of a dozen fundamental building blocks. Among these, neutrinos are the most mysterious - but they are the second most abundant particles in the Universe. This book provides detailed discussions of how to describe neutrinos, their basic properties, and the roles they play in nature.

A self-contained guide to the role played by neutrinos in the Universe and how their properties influence cosmological and astrophysical observations.