Hirsch, M., Morisi, S., Peinado, E., & Valle, J. W. F. (2010). Discrete dark matter. Phys. Rev. D, 82(11), 116003–5pp.
Abstract: We propose a new motivation for the stability of dark matter (DM). We suggest that the same non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetry which accounts for the observed pattern of neutrino oscillations, spontaneously breaks to a Z(2) subgroup which renders DM stable. The simplest scheme leads to a scalar doublet DM potentially detectable in nuclear recoil experiments, inverse neutrino mass hierarchy, hence a neutrinoless double beta decay rate accessible to upcoming searches, while theta(13) = 0 gives no CP violation in neutrino oscillations.
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Hirsch, M., Staub, F., & Vicente, A. (2012). Enhancing l(i) -> 3l(j) with the Z(0)-penguin. Phys. Rev. D, 85(11), 113013–5pp.
Abstract: Lepton flavor violation has been observed in neutrino oscillations. For charged lepton flavor violation decays only upper limits are known, but sizable branching ratios are expected in many neutrino mass models. High-scale models, such as the classical supersymmetric seesaw, usually predict that decays l(i) -> 3l(j) are roughly a factor alpha smaller than the corresponding decays l(i) -> l(j)gamma. Here we demonstrate that the Z(0)-penguin diagram can give an enhancement for decays l(i) -> 3l(j) in many extensions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). We first discuss why the Z(0)-penguin is not dominant in the MSSM with seesaw and show that much larger contributions from the Z(0)-penguin are expected in general. We then demonstrate the effect numerically in two example models, namely, the supersymmetric inverse seesaw and R-parity violating supersymmetry.
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Hirsch, M., Joaquim, F. R., & Vicente, A. (2012). Constrained SUSY seesaws with a 125 GeV Higgs. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 105–33pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the ATLAS and CMS discovery of a Higgs-like boson with a mass around 125 GeV, and by the need of explaining neutrino masses, we analyse the three canonical SUSY versions of the seesaw mechanism (type I, II and III) with CMSSM boundary conditions. In type II and III cases, SUSY particles are lighter than in the CMSSM (or the constrained type I seesaw), for the same set of input parameters at the universality scale. Thus, to explain m(h0) similar or equal to 125 GeV at low energies, one is forced into regions of parameter space with very large values of m(0), M-1/2 or A(0). We compare the squark and gluino masses allowed by the ATLAS and CMS ranges for m(h0) (extracted from the 2011-2012 data), and discuss the possibility of distinguishing seesaw models in view of future results on SUSY searches. In particular, we briefly comment on the discovery potential of LHC upgrades, for squark/gluino mass ranges required by present Higgs mass constraints. A discrimination between different seesaw models cannot rely on the Higgs mass data alone, therefore we also take into account the MEG upper limit on BR(mu -> e gamma) and show that, in some cases, this may help to restrict the SUSY parameter space, as well as to set complementary limits on the seesaw scale.
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Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2016). Lepton number violation in 331 models. Phys. Rev. D, 94(11), 115003–16pp.
Abstract: Different models based on the extended SU(3)(C) x SU(3)(L) x U(1)(X) (331) gauge group have been proposed over the past four decades. Yet, despite being an active research topic, the status of lepton number in 331 models has not been fully addressed in the literature, and furthermore many of the original proposals can not explain the observed neutrino masses. In this paper we review the basic features of various 331 models, focusing on potential sources of lepton number violation. We then describe different modifications which can be made to the original models in order to accommodate neutrino (and charged lepton) masses.
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Gonzalez, M., Hirsch, M., & Kovalenko, S. G. (2018). Neutrinoless double beta decay and QCD running at low energy scales. Phys. Rev. D, 97(11), 115005–6pp.
Abstract: There is a common belief that the main uncertainties in the theoretical analysis of neutrinoless double beta (0 nu beta beta) decay originate from the nuclear matrix elements. Here, we uncover another previously overlooked source of potentially large uncertainties stemming from nonperturbative QCD effects. Recently perturbative QCD corrections have been calculated for all dimension 6 and 9 effective operators describing 0 nu beta beta-decay and their importance for a reliable treatment of 0 nu beta beta-decay has been demonstrated. However, these perturbative results are valid at energy scales above similar to 1 GeV, while the typical 0 nu beta beta scale is about similar to 100 MeV. In view of this fact we examine the possibility of extrapolating the perturbative results towards sub-GeV nonperturbative scales on the basis of the QCD coupling constant “freezing” behavior using background perturbation theory. Our analysis suggests that such an infrared extrapolation does modify the perturbative results for both short-range and long-range mechanisms of 0 nu beta beta-decay in general only moderately. We also discuss that the tensor circle times tensor effective operator cannot appear alone in the low energy limit of any renormalizable high-scale model and then demonstrate that all five linearly independent combinations of the scalar and tensor operators, which can appear in renormalizable models, are infrared stable.
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