Heavy Ions Double Charge Exchange reactions: towards the 0 nu beta beta Nuclear Matrix Element determination

First experimental results, obtained at the INFN-LNS laboratory in Catania, for the Ca-40(O-18,Ne-18)Ar-40 reaction at 270 MeV are shown. The data give encouraging indication on the capability to access quantitative information towards the determination of the Nuclear Matrix Elements for 0 nu beta beta decay. The idea is to use an innovative technique to access the nuclear matrix elements entering the expression of the life time of the double beta decay by cross sections measurements of double charge exchange reactions. The basic point is the coincidence of the initial and final state wave-functions in the two classes of processes and the similarity of the transition operators, which in both cases present a superposition of Fermi-like, Gamow-Teller-like and rank-two tensor components with a relevant implicit momentum available in the intermediate channel.