Sierra, D. A., De Romeri, V., Flores, L. J., & Papoulias, D. K. (2022). Impact of COHERENT measurements, cross section uncertainties and new interactions on the neutrino floor. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 01(1), 055–26pp.
Abstract: We reconsider the discovery limit of multi-ton direct detection dark matter experiments in the light of recent measurements of the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering process. Assuming the cross section to be a parameter entirely determined by data, rather than using its Standard Model prediction, we use the COHERENT CsI and LAr data sets to determine WIMP discovery limits. Being based on a data-driven approach, the results are thus free from theoretical assumptions and fall within the WIMP mass regions where XENONnT and DARWIN have best expected sensitivities. We further determine the impact of subleading nuclear form factor and weak mixing angle uncertainties effects on WIMP discovery limits. We point out that these effects, albeit small, should be taken into account. Moreover, to quantify the impact of new physics effects in the neutrino background, we revisit WIMP discovery limits assuming light vector and scalar mediators as well as neutrino magnetic moments/transitions. We stress that the presence of new interactions in the neutrino sector, in general, tend to worsen the WIMP discovery limit.
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Escribano, P., Hirsch, M., Nava, J., & Vicente, A. (2022). Observable flavor violation from spontaneous lepton number breaking. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 098–31pp.
Abstract: We propose a simple model of spontaneous lepton number violation with potentially large flavor violating decays, including the possibility that majoron emitting decays, such as μ-> e J, saturate the experimental bounds. In this model the majoron is a singlet-doublet admixture. It generates a type-I seesaw for neutrino masses and contains also a vector-like lepton. As a by-product, the model can explain the anomalous (g – 2)(mu), in parts of its parameter space, where one expects that the branching ratio of the Higgs to muons is changed with respect to Standard Model expectations. However, the explanation of the muon g – 2 anomaly would lead to tension with recent astrophysical bounds on the majoron coupling to muons.
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Beltran, R., Cottin, G., Helo, J. C., Hirsch, M., Titov, A., & Wang, Z. S. (2022). Long-lived heavy neutral leptons at the LHC: four-fermion single-N-R operators. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 044–18pp.
Abstract: Interest in searches for heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) at the LHC has increased considerably in the past few years. In the minimal scenario, HNLs are produced and decay via their mixing with active neutrinos in the Standard Model (SM) spectrum. However, many SM extensions with HNLs have been discussed in the literature, which sometimes change expectations for LHC sensitivities drastically. In the N-R SMEFT, one extends the SM effective field theory with operators including SM singlet fermions, which allows to study HNL phenomenology in a “model independent” way. In this paper, we study the sensitivity of ATLAS to HNLs in the N-R SMEFT for four-fermion operators with a single HNL. These operators might dominate both production and decay of HNLs, and we find that new physics scales in excess of 20 TeV could be probed at the high-luminosity LHC.
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Feruglio, F., Gherardi, V., Romanino, A., & Titov, A. (2021). Modular invariant dynamics and fermion mass hierarchies around tau = i. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 242–26pp.
Abstract: We discuss fermion mass hierarchies within modular invariant flavour models. We analyse the neighbourhood of the self-dual point tau = i, where modular invariant theories possess a residual Z(4) invariance. In this region the breaking of Z(4) can be fully described by the spurion epsilon approximate to tau – i, that flips its sign under Z(4). Degeneracies or vanishing eigenvalues of fermion mass matrices, forced by the Z(4) symmetry at tau = i, are removed by slightly deviating from the self-dual point. Relevant mass ratios are controlled by powers of vertical bar epsilon vertical bar. We present examples where this mechanism is a key ingredient to successfully implement an hierarchical spectrum in the lepton sector, even in the presence of a non-minimal Kahler potential.
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Miranda, O. G., Papoulias, D. K., Sanders, O., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2021). Low-energy probes of sterile neutrino transition magnetic moments. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 191–24pp.
Abstract: Sterile neutrinos with keV-MeV masses and non-zero transition magnetic moments can be probed through low-energy nuclear or electron recoil measurements. Here we determine the sensitivities of current and future searches, showing how they can probe a previously unexplored parameter region. Future coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) or elastic neutrino-electron scattering (EvES) experiments using a monochromatic 'Cr source can fully probe the region indicated by the recent XENONIT excess.
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