Search

We show how the generation of right-handed neutrino masses in Majoron models may be associated with a first-order phase transition and accompanied by the production of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs). We explore different energy scales with only renormalizable operators in the effective potential. If the phase transition occurs above the electroweak scale, the signal can be tested by future interferometers. We consider two possible energy scales for phase transitions below the electroweak scale. If the phase transition occurs at a GeV, the signal can be tested at LISA and provide a complementary cosmological probe to right-handed neutrino searches at the FASER detector. If the phase transition occurs below 100 keV, we find that the peak of the GW spectrum is two or more orders of magnitude below the putative NANOGrav GW signal at low frequencies, but well within reach of the SKA and THEIA experiments. We show how searches of very low frequency GWs are motivated by solutions to the Hubble tension in which ordinary neutrinos interact with the dark sector. We also present general calculations of the phase transition temperature and Euclidean action that apply beyond Majoron models., Comment: 37 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables. Version to appear in JHEP

We propose a $\mu-\tau$ reflection symmetric Littlest Seesaw ($\mu\tau$-LSS) model. In this model the two mass parameters of the LSS model are fixed to be in a special ratio by symmetry, so that the resulting neutrino mass matrix in the flavour basis (after the seesaw mechanism has been applied) satisfies $\mu-\tau$ reflection symmetry and has only one free adjustable parameter, namely an overall free mass scale. However the physical low energy predictions of the neutrino masses and lepton mixing angles and CP phases are subject to renormalisation group (RG) corrections, which introduces further parameters. Although the high energy model is rather complicated, involving $(S_4\times U(1))^2$ and supersymmetry, with many flavons and driving fields, the low energy neutrino mass matrix has ultimate simplicity., Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure, discussions and references added, accepted for publication in JHEP

The observed pattern of mixing in the neutrino sector may be explained by the presence of a non-Abelian, discrete flavour symmetry broken into residual subgroups at low energies. Many flavour models require the presence of Standard Model singlet scalars which can promptly decay to charged leptons in a flavour-violating manner. We constrain the model parameters of a generic $A_4$ leptonic flavour model using a synergy of experimental data including limits from charged lepton flavour conversion, an 8 TeV collider analysis and constraints from the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. The most powerful constraints derive from the MEG collaborations' limit on Br$\left(\mu\to e\gamma\right)$ and the reinterpretation of an 8 TeV ATLAS search for anomalous productions of multi-leptonic final states. We quantify the exclusionary power of each of these experiments and identify regions where the constraints from collider and MEG experimental data are complementary., Comment: v1: 28 + 9 pages, 8 figures. v2: 30 + 10 pages, 10 figures. v2 consistent with JHEP accepted version where further discussion of results and several more references were added

Proton decay is a smoking gun signature of grand unified theories (GUTs). Searches by Super-Kamiokande have resulted in stringent limits on the GUT symmetry-breaking scale. The large-scale multipurpose neutrino experiments DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO will either discover proton decay or further push the symmetry-breaking scale above 1016 GeV. Another possible observational consequence of GUTs is the formation of a cosmic string network produced during the breaking of the GUT to the standard model gauge group. The evolution of such a string network in the expanding Universe produces a stochastic background of gravitational waves which will be tested by a number of gravitational wave detectors over a wide frequency range. We demonstrate the nontrivial complementarity between the observation of proton decay and gravitational waves produced from cosmic strings in determining SO(10) GUT-breaking chains. We show that such observations could exclude SO(10) breaking via flipped SU(5)×U(1) or standard SU(5), while breaking via a Pati-Salam intermediate symmetry, or standard SU(5)×U(1), may be favored if a large separation of energy scales associated with proton decay and cosmic strings is indicated. We note that recent results by the NANOGrav experiment have been interpreted as evidence for cosmic strings at a scale of ∼1014 GeV. This would strongly point toward the existence of GUTs, with SO(10) being the prime candidate. We show that the combination with already available constraints from proton decay allows us to identify preferred symmetry-breaking routes to the standard model.

In this work we demonstrate that non-zero neutrino masses can be generated from gravitational interactions. We solve the Schwinger–Dyson equations to find a non-trivial vacuum thereby determining the neutrino condensate scale and the number of new particle degrees of freedom required for gravitationally induced dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. We show for minimal beyond the Standard Model particle content, the scale of the condensation occurs close to the Planck scale.

We discuss the $SU(5)$ grand unified extension of flavour models with multiple modular symmetries. The proposed model involves two modular $S_4$ groups, one acting in the charged fermion sector, associated with a modulus field value $\tau_T$ with residual $Z_3^T$ symmetry, and one acting in the right-handed neutrino sector, associated with another modulus field value $\tau_{SU}$ with residual $Z_2^{SU}$ symmetry. Quark and lepton mass hierarchies are naturally generated with the help of weightons, which are SM singlet fields, where their non-zero modular weights play the role of Froggatt-Nielsen charges. The model predicts TM$_1$ lepton mixing, and neutrinoless double beta decay at rates close to the sensitivity of current and future experiments, for both normal and inverted orderings, with suppressed corrections from charged lepton mixing due to the triangular form of its Yukawa matrix., Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, refs and comments added, published in JHEP

Non-Abelian discrete symmetries have been widely used to explain the patterns of lepton masses and flavor mixing. In these models, a given symmetry is assumed at a high scale and then is spontaneously broken by scalars (the flavons), which acquire vacuum expectation values. Typically, the resulting leading order predictions for the oscillation parameters require corrections in order to comply with neutrino oscillation data. We introduce such corrections through an explicit small breaking of the symmetry. This has the advantage of solving the cosmological problems of these models without resorting to inflation. The explicit breaking induces an energy difference or "bias" between different vacua and drives the evolution of the domain walls, unavoidably produced after the symmetry breaking, towards their annihilation. Importantly, the wall annihilation leads to gravitational waves which may be observed in current and/or future experiments. We show that a distinctive pattern of gravitational waves with multiple overlapped peaks is generated when walls annihilate, which is within the reach of future detectors. We also show that cosmic walls from discrete flavor symmetries can be cosmologically safe for any spontaneous breaking scale between 1 and $10^{18}$ GeV, if the bias is chosen adequately, without the need to inflate the walls away. We use as an example a particular $A_4$ model in which an explicit breaking is included in right-handed neutrino mass terms., 33 pages, 4 figures. Matches published version. Missing reference added

The $CP$ violation in the neutrino transition electromagnetic dipole moment is discussed in the context of the Standard Model with an arbitrary number of right-handed singlet neutrinos. A full one-loop calculation of the neutrino electromagnetic form factors is performed in the Feynman gauge. A non-zero $CP$ asymmetry is generated by a required threshold condition for the neutrino masses along with non-vanishing $CP$ violating phases in the lepton flavour mixing matrix. We follow the paradiagm of $CP$ violation in neutrino oscillations to parametrise the flavour mixing contribution into a series of Jarlskog-like parameters. This formalism is then applied to a minimal seesaw model with two heavy right-handed neutrinos denoted $N_1$ and $N_2$. We observe that the $CP$ asymmetries for decays into light neutrinos $N\to \nu\gamma$ are extremely suppressed, maximally around $10^{-17}$. However the $CP$ asymmetry for $N_2 \to N_1 \gamma$ can reach of order unity. Even if the Dirac $CP$ phase $\delta$ is the only source of $CP$ violation, a large $CP$ asymmetry around $10^{-5}$-$10^{-3}$ is comfortably achieved., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, title updated and refs added, published in JHEP

Nonstandard interactions (NSIs), possible subleading effects originating from new physics beyond the Standard Model, may affect the propagation of neutrinos and eventually contribute to measurements of neutrino oscillations. Besides this, $ \mu-\tau $ reflection symmetry, naturally predicted by non-Abelian discrete flavor symmetries, has been very successful in explaining the observed leptonic mixing patterns. In this work, we study the combined effect of both. We present an $S_4$ flavor model with $\mu-\tau$ reflection symmetry realized in both neutrino masses and NSIs. Under this formalism, we perform a detailed study for the upcoming neutrino experiments DUNE and T2HK. Our simulation results show that under the $\mu-\tau $ reflection symmetry, NSI parameters are further constrained and the mass ordering sensitivity is less affected by the presence of NSIs., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures. Version to appear in PRD

We discuss a minimal flavor model with twin modular symmetries, leading to trimaximal ${\mathrm{TM}}_{1}$ lepton mixing in which the first column of the tri-bimaximal lepton mixing matrix is preserved. The model involves two modular ${S}_{4}$ groups, one acting in the neutrino sector, associated with a modulus field value ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{SU}$ with residual ${Z}_{2}^{SU}$ symmetry, and one acting in the charged lepton sector, associated with a modulus field value ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{T}$ with residual ${Z}_{3}^{T}$ symmetry. Apart from the predictions of ${\mathrm{TM}}_{1}$ mixing, the model leads to a new neutrino mass sum rule which implies lower bounds on neutrino masses close to current limits from neutrinoless double beta decay experiments and cosmology.

We develop a general formalism for multiple moduli and their associated modular symmetries. We apply this formalism to an example based on three moduli with finite modular symmetries $S_4^A$, $S_4^B$ and $S_4^C$, associated with two right-handed neutrinos and the charged lepton sector, respectively. The symmetry is broken by two bi-triplet scalars to the diagonal $S_4$ subgroup. The low energy effective theory involves the three independent moduli fields $\tau_A$, $\tau_B$ and $\tau_C$, which preserve the residual modular subgroups $Z_3^A$, $Z_2^B$ and $Z_3^C$, in their respective sectors, leading to trimaximal TM$_1$ lepton mixing, consistent with current data, without flavons., Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure, 6 tables, refs and comments added

We present new results on the calculation of the dark matter relic abundance within the Higgs induced right-handed (RH) neutrino mixing model, solving the associated density matrix equation. For a benchmark value of the dark matter mass $M_{\rm DM} = 220\,{\rm TeV}$, we show the evolution of the abundance and how this depends on reheat temperature, dark matter lifetime and source RH neutrino mass $M_{\rm S}$, with the assumption $M_{\rm S} < M_{\rm DM}$. We compare the results with those obtained within the Landau-Zener approximation, showing that the latter largely overestimates the final abundance giving some analytical insight. However, we also notice that since in the density matrix formalism the production is non-resonant, this allows source RH neutrino masses below the W boson mass, making dark matter more stable at large mass values. This opens an allowed region for initial vanishing source RH neutrino abundance. For example, for $M_{\rm S} \gtrsim 1\,{\rm GeV}$, we find $M_{\rm DM}\gtrsim 20\,{\rm PeV}$. Otherwise, for $M_{\rm S} > M_W\sim 100\,{\rm GeV}$, one has to assume a thermalisation of the source RH neutrinos prior to the freeze-in of the dark matter abundance. This results into a large allowed range for $M_{\rm DM}$, depending on $M_{\rm S}$. For example, imposing $M_{\rm S} \gtrsim 300\,{\rm GeV}$, allowing also successful leptogenesis, we find $0.5 \lesssim M_{\rm DM}/{\rm TeV} \lesssim 500$. We also discuss in detail leptogenesis with two quasi-degenerate RH neutrinos, showing a case when observed dark matter abundance and matter-antimatter asymmetry are simultaneously reproduced. Finally, we comment on how an initial thermal source RH neutrino abundance can be justified and on how our results suggest that also the interesting case where $M_{\rm DM} < M_{\rm S}$, embeddable in usual high scale two RH neutrino seesaw models, might be viable., 46 pages, 7 figures; v2: appendices B and C added, it matches version to be published in JCAP

The radiative decay of neutral fermions has been studied for decades but $CP$ violation induced within such a paradigm has evaded attention. $CP$ violation in these processes can produce an asymmetry between circularly polarised directions of the radiated photons and produces an important source of net circular polarisation in particle and astroparticle physics observables. The results presented in this work outlines the general connection between $CP$ violation and circular polarisation for both Dirac and Majorana fermions and can be used for any class of models that produce such radiative decays. The total $CP$ violation is calculated based on a widely studied Yukawa interaction considered in both active and sterile neutrino radiative decay scenarios as well as searches for dark matter via direct detection and collider signatures. Finally, the phenomenological implications of the formalism on keV sterile neutrino decay, leptogenesis-induced right-handed neutrino radiative decay and IceCube-driven heavy dark matter decay are discussed., Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures, discussions added, published in JHEP

Imposing non-Abelian discrete flavour symmetries to neutrino non-standard interactions (NSIs) is discussed for the first time. For definiteness, we choose $A_4$ as the flavour symmetry, which is subsequently broken to the residual symmetry $Z_2$ in the neutrino sector. We provide a general discussion on flavour structures of NSIs from higher-dimensional operators ($d\leqslant8$) without inducing unnecessary tree-level 4-charged-fermion interactions. Both $A_4$- and $Z_2$-motivated NSI textures are obtained. UV completions of higher-dimensional operators lead to extra experimental constraints on NSI textures. We study the implementation of matter-effect NSIs in DUNE from phenomenological point of view, and discover that DUNE can test $A_4$ with a high level of statistics. We also present exclusion limits of sum rules suggested by UV-complete models. Our result shows that the NSI effects, though predicted to be small for DUNE, could provide useful information that might extend our understanding of the flavour symmetry., 41 pages, 6 figures, 13 tables, discussions and references added, published in PRD

We borrow the general idea of renormalization-group equations (RGEs) to understand how neutrino masses and flavor mixing parameters evolve when neutrinos propagate in a medium, highlighting a meaningful possibility that the genuine flavor quantities in vacuum can be extrapolated from their matter-corrected counterparts to be measured in some realistic neutrino oscillation experiments. Taking the matter parameter $a \equiv 2\sqrt{2} \ G^{}_{\rm F} N^{}_e E$ to be an arbitrary scale-like variable with $N^{}_e$ being the net electron number density and $E$ being the neutrino beam energy, we derive a complete set of differential equations for the effective neutrino mixing matrix $V$ and the effective neutrino masses $\widetilde{m}^{}_i$ (for $i = 1, 2, 3$). Given the standard parametrization of $V$, the RGEs for $\{\widetilde{\theta}^{}_{12}, \widetilde{\theta}^{}_{13}, \widetilde{\theta}^{}_{23}, \widetilde{\delta}\}$ in matter are formulated for the first time. We demonstrate some useful differential invariants which retain the same form from vacuum to matter, including the well-known Naumov and Toshev relations. The RGEs of the partial $\mu$-$\tau$ asymmetries, the off-diagonal asymmetries and the sides of unitarity triangles of $V$ are also obtained as a by-product., Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, more discussions added, to be published in JHEP

Aspects of 3-neutrino mixing and oscillations in vacuum and in matter with constant density are investigated working with a real form of the neutrino Hamiltonian. We find the (approximate) equalities $\theta^m_{23} = \theta_{23}$ and $\delta^m = \delta$, $\theta_{23}$ ($\theta^m_{23}$) and $\delta$ ($\delta^m$) being respectively the atmospheric neutrino mixing angle and the Dirac CP violation phase in vacuum (in matter) of the neutrino mixing matrix, which are shown to represent excellent approximations for the conditions of the T2K (T2HK), T2HKK, NO$\nu$A and DUNE neutrino oscillation experiments. A new derivation of the known relation $\sin2\theta^m_{23} \sin\delta^m = \sin2\theta_{23} \sin\delta$ is presented and it is used to obtain a correlation between the shifts of $\theta_{23}$ and $\delta$ due to the matter effect. A derivation of the relation between the rephasing invariants which determine the magnitude of CP and T violating effects in 3-flavour neutrino oscillations in vacuum, $J_{\rm CP}$, and of the T violating effects in matter with constant density, $J^{m}_{\rm T} \equiv J^{m}$, reported in \cite{Krastev:1988yu} without a proof, is presented. It is shown that the function $F$ which appears in this relation, $J^{m} = J_{\rm CP}\,F$, and whose explicit form was given in \cite{Krastev:1988yu}, coincides with the function $\tilde{F}$ in the similar relation $J^{m} = J_{\rm CP}\tilde{F}$ derived in \cite{Naumov:1991ju}, although $F$ and $\tilde{F}$ are expressed in terms of different sets of neutrino mass and mixing parameters and have completely different forms., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, refs added, published in PLB

The Weinberg operator is a well-known solution to explain light neutrino masses. This operator violates lepton number and can provide non-equilibrium dynamics in the early Universe due to the suppression of tiny neutrino masses. A lot of underlying symmetries proposed in the lepton sector strongly motivate the existence of phase transitions at high scale. During the phase transition, the coupling of the Weinberg operator may be time-dependent, and the lepton asymmetry is generated by the interference of Weinberg operators at different times. This mechanism does not require any explicit new particles beyond the standard model or seesaw models.

We develop an economical approach to connect flavon cross couplings with flavour mixing. A non-zero reactor mixing angle and almost maximal CP violation arise from cross couplings between flavons in the charged lepton and neutrino sectors. Within this approach, we analyze how cross couplings contribute to charged lepton-flavour-violating decays. We find branching ratio sum rules of these processes and observe that the electroweak-scale flavour symmetry is consistent with current experimental data.

We discuss reactor antineutrino oscillations with non-standard interactions (NSIs) at the neutrino production and detection processes. The neutrino oscillation probability is calculated with a parametrization of the NSI parameters by splitting them into the averages and differences of the production and detection processes respectively. The average parts induce constant shifts of the neutrino mixing angles from their true values, and the difference parts can generate the energy (and baseline) dependent corrections to the initial mass-squared differences. We stress that only the shifts of mass-squared differences are measurable in reactor antineutrino experiments. Taking Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) as an example, we analyze how NSIs influence the standard neutrino measurements and to what extent we can constrain the NSI parameters., Comment: a typo in Eq.(25) fixed after published version, discussion and conclusion unchanged

We present a warped extra dimension model with the custodial symmetry SU(2)(L) x SU(2)(R) x U(1)(X) x P-LR based on the flavor symmetry S-4 X Z(2) x Z(2)', and the neutrinos are taken to be Dirac particles. At leading order, the democratic lepton mixing is derived exactly, and the high-dimensional operators introduce corrections of order lambda(c) to all the three lepton mixing angles such that agreement with the experimental data can be achieved. The neutrino mass spectrum is predicted to be of the inverted hierarchy and the second octant of theta(23) is preferred. We suggest the modified democratic mixing, which is obtained by permuting the second and the third rows of the democratic mixing matrix, should be a good first order approximation to understanding sizable theta(13) and the first octant of theta(23). The constraints on the model from the electroweak precision measurements are discussed. Furthermore, we investigate the lepton mixing patterns for all the possible residual symmetries G(nu) and G(l) in the neutrino and charged lepton sectors, respectively. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purpose underground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determination of the neutrino mass hierarchy as a primary physics goal. It is also capable of observing neutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, including supernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos, atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, as well as exotic searches such as nucleon decays, dark matter, sterile neutrinos, etc. We present the physics motivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for various proposed measurements. By detecting reactor antineutrinos from two power plants at 53-km distance, JUNO will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a 3-4 sigma significance with six years of running. The measurement of antineutrino spectrum will also lead to the precise determination of three out of the six oscillation parameters to an accuracy of better than 1\%. Neutrino burst from a typical core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000 inverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino-proton elastic scattering events in JUNO. Detection of DSNB would provide valuable information on the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapsed neutrino energy spectrum. Geo-neutrinos can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400 events per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrino samples. The JUNO detector is sensitive to several exotic searches, e.g. proton decay via the $p\to K^++\bar\nu$ decay channel. The JUNO detector will provide a unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle and astrophysics. It holds the great potential for further advancing our quest to understanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the building blocks of our Universe., Comment: Version submitted to Journal of Physics G, with minor typo corrections. 222 Pages, 147 figures

We propose a new mechanism to generate a lepton asymmetry based on the vacuum CP-violating phase transition (CPPT). This approach differs from classical thermal leptogenesis as a specific seesaw model, and its UV completion, need not be specified. The lepton asymmetry is generated via the dynamically realised coupling of the Weinberg operator during the phase transition. This mechanism provides a connection with low-energy neutrino observables., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Comments, references added. An appendix proving the irreverence of spatial contribution included. Results unchanged. Version accepted for publication in PLB

In the flavor basis where the mass eigenstates of three charged leptons are identified with their flavor eigenstates, one may diagonalize a 3 × 3 Majorana neutrino mass matrix M ν by means of the standard parametrization of the 3 × 3 neutrino mixing matrix V. In this treatment the unphysical phases of M ν have to be carefully factored out, unless a special phase convention for neutrino fields is chosen so as to simplify M ν to M ν ′ without any unphysical phases. We choose this special flavor basis and establish some exact analytical relations between the matrix elements of M ν ′ M ν ′ † and seven physical parameters — three neutrino masses ( m 1 , m 2 , m 3 ), three flavor mixing angles ( θ 12 , θ 13 , θ 23 ) and the Dirac CP-violating phase (δ). Such results allow us to derive the conditions for the μ – τ flavor symmetry with θ 23 = π / 4 and maximal CP violation with δ = ± π / 2 , which should be useful for discussing specific neutrino mass models. In particular, we show that θ 23 = π / 4 and δ = ± π / 2 keep unchanged when constant matter effects are taken into account for a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment.

The Majorana nature of massive neutrinos will be crucially probed in the next-generation experiments of the neutrinoless double-beta ($0\nu 2\beta$) decay. The effective mass term of this process, $\langle m\rangle^{}_{ee}$, may be contaminated by new physics. So how to interpret a discovery or null result of the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay in the foreseeable future is highly nontrivial. In this paper we introduce a novel three-dimensional description of $|\langle m\rangle_{ee}^{}|$, which allows us to see its sensitivity to the lightest neutrino mass and two Majorana phases in a transparent way. We take a look at to what extent the free parameters of $|\langle m\rangle_{ee}^{}|$ can be well constrained provided a signal of the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay is observed someday. To fully explore lepton number violation, all the six effective Majorana mass terms $\langle m\rangle_{\alpha\beta}^{}$ (for $\alpha, \beta = e, \mu, \tau$) are calculated and their lower bounds are illustrated with the two-dimensional contour figures. The effect of possible new physics on the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay is also discussed in a model-independent way. We find that the result of $|\langle m\rangle_{ee}^{}|$ in the normal (or inverted) neutrino mass ordering case modified by the new physics effect may somewhat mimic that in the inverted (or normal) mass ordering case in the standard three-flavor scheme. Hence a proper interpretation of a discovery or null result of the $0\nu 2\beta$ decay may demand extra information from some other measurements.

The neutrinoless double-beta (0 nu beta beta) decay is a lepton-number-violating process which is experimentally unique for identifying the Majorana nature of massive neutrinos. We give a brief overview of some theoretical aspects of this process. In particular, a novel "coupling-rod" diagram is introduced to describe the effective Majorana mass (ee) in the complex plane. Possible contributions of new physics to (ee) are also discussed.

The neutrinoless double-beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay is a unique process to identify the Majorana nature of massive neutrinos, and its rate depends on the size of the effective Majorana neutrino mass $\langle m\rangle_{ee}$. We put forward a novel "coupling-rod" diagram to describe $\langle m\rangle_{ee}$ in the complex plane, by which the effects of the neutrino mass ordering and CP-violating phases on $\langle m\rangle_{ee}$ are intuitively understood. We show that this geometric language allows us to easily obtain the maximum and minimum of $|\langle m\rangle_{ee}|$. It remains usable even if there is a kind of new physics contributing to $\langle m\rangle_{ee}$, and it can also be extended to describe the effective Majorana masses $\langle m\rangle_{e\mu}$, $\langle m\rangle_{e\tau}$, $\langle m\rangle_{\mu\mu}$, $\langle m\rangle_{\mu\tau}$ and $\langle m\rangle_{\tau\tau}$ which may appear in some other lepton-number-violating processes.

We provide a systematic and thorough exploration of the $\Delta(48)$ family symmetry and the consistent generalised CP symmetry. A model-independent analysis of the achievable lepton flavor mixing is performed by considering all the possible remnant symmetries in the neutrino and the charged lepton sectors. We find a new interesting mixing pattern in which both lepton mixing angles and CP phases are nontrivial functions of a single parameter $\theta$. The value of $\theta$ can be fixed by the measured reactor mixing angle $\theta_{13}$, and the excellent agreement with the present data can be achieved. A supersymmetric model based on $\Delta(48)$ family symmetry and generalised CP symmetry is constructed, and this new mixing pattern is exactly reproduced., Comment: 48 pages, 7 figures

A generalized inverse seesaw model, in which the 9x9 neutrino mass matrix has vanishing (1,1) and (1,3) submatrices, is proposed. This is similar to the universal two-zero texture which gives vanishing (1,1) and (1,3) elements of the 3x3 mass matrices in both the charged lepton and neutrino sectors. We consider the Z_6 x Z_6 group to realize such texture zeros. We study this generalized inverse seesaw model systematically and derive the seesaw formula for the 3x3 mass matrix of three active neutrinos. We also analyze the universal two-zero texture in the general case and propose two ansatze to reduce the number of free parameters. Taking account of the new result of \theta_{13} from the Daya Bay experiment, we constrain the parameter space of the universal two-zero texture in the general case and in the two ansatze, respectively. We find that one of the ansatze works well., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, more discussions and references added, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

In a simple extension of the standard electroweak theory where the phenomenon of lepton flavor mixing is described by a 3x3 unitary matrix V, the electric and magnetic dipole moments of three active neutrinos are suppressed not only by their tiny masses but also by the Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani (GIM) mechanism. We show that it is possible to lift the GIM suppression if the canonical seesaw mechanism of neutrino mass generation, which allows V to be slightly non-unitary, is taken into account. In view of current experimental constraints on the non-unitarity of V, we find that the effective electromagnetic transition dipole moments of three light Majorana neutrinos and the rates of their radiative decays can be maximally enhanced by a factor of O(10^2) and a factor of O(10^4), respectively. This important observation reveals an intrinsic and presumably significant correlation between the electromagnetic properties of massive neutrinos and the origin of their small masses., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, more discussions and references added, accepted for publication in PLB

The neutrinoless double-beta [Formula: see text] decay is a lepton-number-violating process which is experimentally unique for identifying the Majorana nature of massive neutrinos. We give a brief overview of some theoretical aspects of this process. In particular, a novel “coupling-rod” diagram is introduced to describe the effective Majorana mass [Formula: see text] in the complex plane. Possible contributions of new physics to [Formula: see text] are also discussed.

We show that non-Hermitian and nearest-neighbor-interacting perturbations to the Fritzsch textures of lepton and quark mass matrices can make both of them fit current experimental data very well. In particular, we obtain \theta_{23} \simeq 45^\circ for the atmospheric neutrino mixing angle and predict \theta_{13} \simeq 3^\circ to 6^\circ for the smallest neutrino mixing angle when the perturbations in the lepton sector are at the 20% level. The same level of perturbations is required in the quark sector, where the Jarlskog invariant of CP violation is about 3.7 \times 10^{-5}. In comparison, the strength of leptonic CP violation is possible to reach about 1.5 \times 10^{-2} in neutrino oscillations., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. More discussions added. Accepted for publication in PLB