Neutrinoless double beta decay and chiral $SU(3)$

Abstract

TeV-scale lepton number violation can affect neutrinoless double beta decay through dimension-9 $ΔL= ΔI = 2$ operators involving two electrons and four quarks. Since the dominant effects within a nucleus are expected to arise from pion exchange, the $ π^- \to π^+ e e$ matrix elements of the dimension-9 operators are a key hadronic input. In this letter we provide estimates for the $π^- \to π^+ $ matrix elements of all Lorentz scalar $ΔI = 2$ four-quark operators relevant to the study of TeV-scale lepton number violation. The analysis is based on chiral $SU(3)$ symmetry, which relates the $π^- \to π^+$ matrix elements of the $ΔI = 2$ operators to the $K^0 \to \bar{K}^0$ and $K \to ππ$ matrix elements of their $ΔS = 2$ and $ΔS = 1$ chiral partners, for which lattice QCD input is available. The inclusion of next-to-leading order chiral loop corrections to all symmetry relations used in the analysis makes our results robust at the $30\%$ level or better, depending on the operator.