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Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2017). Gauge vectors and double beta decay. Phys. Rev. D, 95(3), 035033–14pp.
Abstract: We discuss contributions to neutrinoless double beta (0 nu beta beta) decay involving vector bosons. The starting point is a list of all possible vector representations that may contribute to 0 nu beta beta decay via d = 9 or d = 11 operators at tree level. We then identify gauge groups which contain these vectors in the adjoint representation. Even though the complete list of vector fields that can contribute to 0 nu beta beta up to d = 11 is large (a total of 46 vectors), only a few of them can be gauge bosons of phenomenologically realistic groups. These latter cases are discussed in some more detail, and lower (upper) limits on gauge boson masses (mixing angles) are derived from the absence of 0 nu beta beta decay.
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Fonseca, R. M., Hirsch, M., & Srivastava, R. (2018). Delta L=3 processes: Proton decay and the LHC. Phys. Rev. D, 97(7), 075026–7pp.
Abstract: We discuss lepton number violation in three units. From an effective field theory point of view, Delta L = 3 processes can only arise from dimension 9 or higher operators. These operators also violate baryon number, hence many of them will induce proton decay. Given the high dimensionality of these operators, in order to have a proton half-life in the observable range, the new physics associated to Delta L = 3 processes should be at a scale as low as 1 TeV. This opens up the possibility of searching for such processes not only in proton decay experiments but also at the LHC. In this work we analyze the relevant d = 9, 11, 13 operators which violate lepton number in three units. We then construct one simple concrete model with interesting low- and high-energy phenomenology.
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Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2018). Delta L >= 4 lepton number violating processes. Phys. Rev. D, 98(1), 015035–12pp.
Abstract: We discuss the experimental prospects for observing processes which violate lepton number (Delta L) in four units ( or more). First, we reconsider neutrinoless quadruple beta decay, deriving a model independent and very conservative lower limit on its half- life of the order of 10(41) ys for Nd-150. This renders quadruple beta decay unobservable for any feasible experiment. We then turn to a more general discussion of different possible low-energy processes with values Delta L >= 4. A simple operator analysis leads to rather pessimistic conclusions about the observability at low-energy experiments in all cases we study. However, the situation looks much brighter for accelerator experiments. For two example models with Delta L = 4 and another one with Delta L = 5, we show how the LHC or a hypothetical future pp collider, such as the FCC, could probe multilepton number violating operators at the TeV scale.
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Bonilla, C., Fonseca, R. M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2015). Consistency of the triplet seesaw model revisited. Phys. Rev. D, 92(7), 075028–7pp.
Abstract: Adding a scalar triplet to the Standard Model is one of the simplest ways of giving mass to neutrinos, providing at the same time a mechanism to stabilize the theory's vacuum. In this paper, we revisit these aspects of the type-II seesaw model pointing out that the bounded-from-below conditions for the scalar potential in use in the literature are not correct. We discuss some scenarios where the correction can be significant and sketch the typical scalar boson profile expected by consistency.
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Fonseca, R. M., & Grimus, W. (2014). Classification of lepton mixing matrices from finite residual symmetries. J. High Energy Phys., 09(9), 033–54pp.
Abstract: Assuming that neutrinos are Majorana particles, we perform a complete classification of all possible mixing matrices which are fully determined by residual symmetries in the charged-lepton and neutrino mass matrices. The classification is based on the assumption that the residual symmetries originate from a finite flavour symmetry group. The mathematical tools which allow us to accomplish this classification are theorems on sums of roots of unity. We find 17 sporadic cases plus one infinite series of mixing matrices associated with three-flavour mixing, all of which have already been discussed in the literature. Only the infinite series contains mixing matrices which are compatible with the data at the 3 sigma level.
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Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2016). A flipped 331 model. J. High Energy Phys., 08(8), 003–12pp.
Abstract: Models based on the extended SU(3)(C) x SU(3)(L) x U(1)(X) (331) gauge group usually follow a common pattern: two families of left-handed quarks are placed in anti triplet representations of the SU(3)(L) group; the remaining quark family, as well as the left-handed leptons, are assigned to triplets (or vice-versa). In this work we present a flipped 331 model where this scheme is reversed: all three quark families are in the same representation and it is the lepton families which are discriminated by the gauge symmetry. We discuss fermion masses and mixing, as well as Z' interactions, in a minimal model implementing this idea.
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Arbelaez, C., Cepedello, R., Fonseca, R. M., & Hirsch, M. (2020). (g-2) anomalies and neutrino mass. Phys. Rev. D, 102(7), 075005–14pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the experimentally observed deviations from standard model predictions, we calculate the anomalous magnetic moments a(alpha) = (g – 2)(alpha) for a = e, μin a neutrino mass model originally proposed by Babu, Nandi, and Tavartkiladze (BNT). We discuss two variants of the model: the original model, and a minimally extended version with an additional hypercharge-zero triplet scalar. While the original BNT model can explain a(mu), only the variant with the triplet scalar can explain both experimental anomalies. The heavy fermions of the model can be produced at the high-luminosity LHC, and in the part of parameter space where the model explains the experimental anomalies it predicts certain specific decay patterns for the exotic fermions.
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