Sterile neutrinos in neutrinoless double beta decay

Abstract

We study possible contribution of the Majorana neutrino mass eigenstate ${\nu }_h$ dominated by a sterile neutrino component to neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu \beta \beta$) decay. From the current experimental lower bound on the $0\nu \beta \beta$-decay half-life of ${}^{76}$Ge we derive stringent constraints on the ${\nu }_h-{\nu }_e$ mixing in a wide region of the values of ${\nu }_h$ mass. We discuss cosmological and astrophysical status of ${\nu }_h$ in this mass region.

Comments: 6 pages, 1 figure; v2 added comments and references