NUCLEAR DOUBLE-BETA DECAY AND NEUTRINO MASSES.

The double-beta decay process has been widely investigated in the last two decades due to the possible lepton number nonconservation decay modes that may occur. An experimental evidence of these modes would lead to the conclusion that neutrino is a massive Majorana particle. At present, when the nonzero neutrino mass is convincingly proved by neutrino oscillation experiments, the double-beta decay investigations are the most promising for determining the absolute value of the neutrino mass. In this paper we give a brief review of some recent nuclear double-beta decay investigations in connection with neutrino mass. We discuss the potential of this process to search for beyond standard model physics, the QRPA-based methods for computing the relevant nuclear matrix elements and the derivation of neutrino masses both from double-beta decay and neutrino oscillation data and in agreement with the present cosmological constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]