https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2015-15145-5
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Heavy-ion double charge exchange reactions: A tool toward 
nuclear matrix elements
1
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy
2
Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, INFN, Catania, Italy
3
Sezione di Catania, INFN, Catania, Italy
* e-mail: manuela.cavallaro@lns.infn.it
Received:
2
August
2015
Accepted:
14
October
2015
Published online:
16
November
2015
The knowledge of the nuclear matrix elements for the neutrinoless double beta decay is fundamental for neutrino physics. In this paper, an innovative technique to extract information on the nuclear matrix elements by measuring the cross section of a double charge exchange nuclear reaction is proposed. The basic point is that the initial- and final-state wave functions in the two processes are the same and the transition operators are similar. The double charge exchange cross sections can be factorized in a nuclear structure term containing the matrix elements and a nuclear reaction factor. First pioneering experimental results for the 40Ca(18O,18Ne)40Ar reaction at 270 MeV incident energy show that such cross section factorization reasonably holds for the crucial 0+
0+ transition to 40Args, at least at very forward angles.
© SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2015
