XXth International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics
Y.Zdesenko (Institute for Nuclear Research, Kiev, Ukraine)
The Future of Double Beta Decay Research
The current results and future perspectives of 2beta decay research
are reviewed. Requirements for future super-sensitivity projects are
formulated and the conclusion is obtained that such a goal will
certainly be reached in the most realistic next generation experiments
(e.g., CAMEO, CUORE, MAJORANA, GEM, GENIUS), where restrictions on the
neutrino mass may be pushed down to < 0.01 eV. In addition, some
projects may advance the best current limits on the existence of
neutralinos - as dark matter candidates - by three orders of
magnitude, and at the same time may be able to identify unambiguously
the dark matter signal by detection of its seasonal modulation.
Based on a paper in Review of Modern Physics (2002) in press.