Search

Indirect searches of Dark Matter (DM), in conjugation with `missing track searches' at the collider seem to confine SU(2)$_L$ fermion triplet DM (FTDM) mass within a narrow range around 1 TeV. The canonical picture of the pure FTDM is in tension since it is under-abundant for the said mass range. Several preceding studies have reported that an extra species ($\phi$), redshifts faster than the radiation ($\sim a^{-(4+n)}$ where $n>0$), leads to a faster expanding early Universe by dominating in the energy density with an enhanced Hubble parameter. This has the potential to revive the under-abundant FTDM ($\mathbb{Z}_2$ odd, lightest generation) by causing freeze-out earlier without modifying the interaction strength between DM and thermal bath. On the other hand, although the CP asymmetry produced due to the decay of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ even heavier generations of the triplet remains unaffected, its evolution is greatly affected by the non-standard cosmology. It has been observed through numerical estimations that the minimum mass of the triplet, required to produce sufficient baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU), can be lowered up to two orders (compared to the standard cosmology) in this fast expansion scenario. The non-standard parameters $n$ and $T_r$ (a reference temperature below which radiation dominance prevails), which simultaneously control DM abundance as well as the frozen value of BAU, are tightly constrained from the observed experimental values. We have found that $n$ is strictly bounded within the interval $0.4\lesssim n \lesssim 1.8$ where the upper bound is imposed by the BAU constraint whereas the lower bound arises to satisfy the correct DM abundance. It has been noticed that the restriction on $T_r$ is not so stringent as it can vary from sub-GeV to a few tens of GeV., Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, minor changes, version published in JCAP

The expansion rate of the Universe deviates from its standard value when the total energy density includes contribution from a new scalar field apart from the radiation energy density. The non-trivial modifications incurred in the Boltzmann equations render the well known analytical solutions unsuitable in non standard scenario. In the present study we derive analytical expressions for the efficiency factor (which is nothing but solution of set of Boltzmann equations) using certain legible approximations. A fair degree of accuracy of these formulas have been observed by juxtaposing the analytical results with that obtained through numerical solution of Boltzmann equations. Faster expansion of the Universe results in decrement of the effective decay parameter which brings down the amount of washout of asymmetry due to inverse decay. Thus in non-standard cosmology scenario, a larger fraction of the asymmetry (generated at early epoch) is expected to survive till present epoch. Alteration of the cosmology does not affect the underlying particle physics model responsible for the generation of the CP asymmetry. Therefore starting from an identical particle physics model we will end up with a larger final baryon asymmetry in the non-standard scenario. It hints towards the possible relaxation of the lower bound of the lightest right handed neutrino mass required to produce adequate asymmetry which is in agreement with current experimental data., Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures, improved version, figures modified, new discussion added in the introduction, references updated, matches with the version published in JCAP

In a novel standard model extension it has been suggested that, even in the absence of right-handed neutrinos and type-I seesaw, purely triplet leptogenesis leading to baryon asymmetry of the universe can be realised by two heavy Higgs triplets which also provide type-II seesaw ansatz for neutrino masses. In this work we discuss this model for hierarchical neutrino masses in concordance with recently determined cosmologocal bounds and oscillation data including $\theta_{23}$ in the second octant and large Dirac CP phases. We also address the issues on dark matter and vacuum stability of the scalar potential in a minimal extension of this model. We find that for both normal and inverted orderings the model fits the oscillation data with the sum of the three neutrino masses consistent with cosmological bounds determined from Planck satellite data. In addition using this model ansatz for CP-asymmetry and solutions of Boltzmann equations, we also show how successful prediction of baryon asymmetry emerges in the cases of both unflavoured and two-flavoured leptogeneses. With additional $Z_2$ discrete symmetry, a minimal extension of this model is shown to be capable of predicting a scalar singlet WIMP dark matter in agreement with direct and indirect observations. Whereas in the original model, the renormalization group running of the scalar potential renders it negatve leading to vacuum instability, the presence of the dark matter in the minimally extended model ensures stability. Although the combined constraints due to relic density and direct detection cross section allow this scalar singlet dark matter mass to be $m_{\xi}=750$ GeV, the additional vacuum stability constraint pushes this limiting value to $m_{\xi}=1.3$ TeV which is verifiable by ongoing experiments. We also dicuss constraint on the model parameters for the radiative stability of the standard Higgs mass., Comment: 39 pages, 20 figures; typo and refs. corrected, a co-author (M.C.) is added, major changes in leptogenesis and naturalness constraint, related areas hep-ex, astro-ph.CO

We use $S_4$ discrete group to construct a neutrino flavour model which leads to $TM_1$ mixing and is consistent with the neutrino oscillation data. Using the model's constrained parameter space, we predict the values of Dirac $CP$ phase and the light neutrino mass as $-1<\sin \delta <-0.9$ and $1.7

We implement type-II seesaw dominance for neutrino mass and baryogenesis through heavy scalar triplet leptogenesis in a class of minimal non-supersymmetric SO(10) models where matter parity as stabilising discrete symmetry as well as WIMP dark matter (DM) candidates are intrinsic predictions of the GUT symmetry. We also find modifications of relevant CP-asymmetry formulas in such minimal models. Baryon asymmetry of the universe as solutions of Boltzmann equations is further shown to be realized for both normal and inverted mass orderings in concordance with cosmological bound and best fit values of the neutrino oscillation data including $\theta_{23}$ in the second octant and large values of leptonic Dirac CP-phases. Type-II seesaw dominance is at first successfully implemented in two cases of spontaneous SO(10) breakings through SU(5) route where the presence of only one non-standard Higgs scalar of intermediate mass $\sim 10^9-10^{10}$ GeV achieves unification. Lower values of the SU(5) unification scales $\sim 10^{15}$ GeV are predicted to bring proton lifetimes to the accessible ranges of Super-Kamiokande and Hyper-Kamiokande experiments. Our prediction of WIMP DM relic density in each model is due to a $\sim$ TeV mass matter-parity odd real scalar singlet ($\subset {16}_H \subset$ SO(10)) verifiable by LUX and XENON1T experiments. This DM is also noted to resolve the vacuum stability issue of the standard scalar potential. When applied to the unification framework of M. Frigerio and T. Hambye, in addition to the minimal fermionic triplet DM solution of $2.7$ TeV mass, this procedure of type-II seesaw dominance and triplet leptogenesis is also found to make an alternative prediction of triplet fermion plus real scalar singlet DM at the TeV scale., Comment: 65 pages, 20 figures; version accepted by JCAP

Nonsupersymmetric minimal SU(5) with Higgs representations ${24}_H$ and $5_H$ and standard fermions in ${\bar 5}_F\oplus {10}_F$ is well known for its failure in unification of gauge couplings and lack of predicting neutrino masses. Like standard model, it is also affected by the instability of the Higgs scalar potential. We note that extending the Higgs sector by ${75}_H$ and ${15}_H$ not only leads to the popular type-II seesaw ansatz for neutrino masses with a lower bound on the triplet mass $M_{\Delta} > 2\times 10^9$ GeV, but also achieves precision unification of gauge couplings without proliferation of non-standard light Higgs scalars or fermions near the TeV scale. Consistent with recent LUX-2016 lower bound, the model easily accommodates a singlet scalar WIMP dark matter near the TeV scale which resolves the vacuum stability issue even after inclusion of heavy triplet threshold effect. We estimate proton lifetime predictions for $p\to e^+\pi^0$ including uncertainties due to input parameters and threshold effects due to superheavy Higgs scalars and superheavy $X^{\pm 4/3},Y^{\pm 1/3}$ gauge bosons. The predicted lifetime is noted to be verifiable at Super Kamiokande and Hyper Kamiokande experiments., Comment: 36 pages, 9 figures (Accepted for publication in Advances in High Energy Physics)

We present a systematic study on minimally perturbed neutrino mass matrices which at the leading order give rise to Tri-BiMaximal (TBM) mixing due to a residual $\mathbb{Z}_2\times \mathbb{Z}_2^{\mu\tau}$ Klein symmetry in the neutrino mass term of the low energy effective seesaw Lagrangian. Considering only the breaking of $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mu\tau}$ with two relevant breaking parameters ($\epsilon_{4,6}^\prime$), after a comprehensive numerical analysis, we show that the phenomenologically viable case in this scenario is a special case of TM1 mixing. For this class of models, from the phenomenological perspective, one always needs large breaking (more than $ 45\%$) in one of the breaking parameters. However, to be consistent the maximal mixing of $\theta_{23}$, while more than $ 35\%$ breaking is needed in the other, a range $49.4^\circ-53^\circ$ and $38^\circ-40^\circ$ could be probed allowing breaking up to $ 25\%$ in the same parameter. Thus though this model cannot distinguish the octant of $\theta_{23}$, non-maximal mixing is preferred from the viewpoint of small breaking. The model is also interesting from leptogenesis perspective. Unlike the standard $N_1$-leptogenesis scenario, here all the RH neutrinos contribute to lepton asymmetry due to the small mass splitting controlled by the $\mathbb{Z}_2^{\mu\tau}$ breaking parameters. Inclusion of flavour coupling effects (In general, which have been partially included in all the leptogenesis studies in perturbed TBM framework) makes our analysis and results pertaining to a successful leptogenesis more accurate than any other studies in existing literature. Finally, in the context of recent discovery of the ultra high energy (UHE) neutrino events at IceCube, assuming UHE neutrinos originate from purely astrophysical sources, we obtain prediction on the neutrino flux ratios at neutrino telescopes., Comment: 48 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, substantially revised (accepted for publication in JCAP)

In direct breaking of non-supersymmetric SO(10) to the standard model, we investigate the possibility that dark matter (DM) decaying through its mixing with right-handed neutrino (RH$\nu$) produces high energy IceCube neutrinos having type-I seesaw masses. Instead of one universal mixing and one common heavy RH$\nu$ mass proposed in a recent standard model extension, we find that underlying quark-lepton symmetry resulting in naturally hierarchical RH$\nu$ masses predict a separate mixing with each of them. We determine these mixings from the seesaw prediction of the DM decay rates into the light neutrino flavors. We further show that these mixings originate from Planck-scale assisted spontaneously broken matter parity needed to resolve the associated cosmological domain wall problem. This leads to the prediction of a new LHC accessible matter-parity odd Higgs scalar which also completes vacuum stability in the Higgs potential for its mass $M_{\chi_S}\simeq 178$ GeV. Two separate minimal SO(10) models are further noted to predict such dark matter dynamics where a single scalar submultiplet from ${126}^{\dagger}_H$ or ${210}_H$ of intermediate mass achieves precision gauge coupling unification. Despite the presence of two large Higgs representations and the fermionic dark matter host, ${45}_F$, experimentally accessible proton lifetimes are also predicted with reduced uncertainties., Comment: Matched with accepted version in Nuclear Physics B

In a residual $\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry approach, we investigate minimally perturbed Majorana neutrino mass matrices. Constraint relations among the low energy neutrino parameters are obtained. Baryogenesis is realized through flavored leptogenesis mechanism with quasi-degenerate right handed (RH) heavy neutrinos., Comment: 5 pages, Presented at the XXII DAE-BRNS HEP Symposium

Baryogenesis via leptogenesis is investigated in a specific model of light neutrino masses and mixing angles. The latter was proposed on the basis of an assumed complex-extended scaling property of the neutrino Majorana mass matrix $M_\nu$, derived with a type-1 seesaw from a Dirac mass matrix $m_D$ and a heavy singlet neutrino Majorana mass matrix $M_R$. One of its important features, highlighted here, is that there is a common source of the origin of a nonzero $\theta_{13}$ and the CP violating lepton asymmetry through the imaginary part of $m_D$. The model predicted CP violation to be maximal for the Dirac type and vanishing for the Majorana type. We assume strongly hierarchical mass eigenvalues for $M_R$. The leptonic CP asymmetry parameter $\varepsilon^\alpha_{1}\hspace{1mm}$ with lepton flavor $\alpha$, originating from the decays of the lightest of the heavy neutrinos $N_1$ (of mass $M_1$) at a temperature $T\sim M_1$, is what matters here with $\varepsilon^\alpha_{2,3}$, originating from the decays of $N_{2,3}$, being washed out. The light leptonic and heavy neutrino number densities (normalized to the entropy density) are evolved via Boltzmann equations down to electroweak temperatures to yield a baryon asymmetry through sphaleronic transitions. The effect of flavored vs. unflavored leptogenesis in the three mass regimes (1) $M_1<10^{9}$ GeV, (2) $10^9$ GeV $10^{12}$ GeV are numerically worked out for both a normal and an inverted mass ordering of the light neutrinos. Corresponding results on the baryon asymmetry of the universe are obtained, displayed and discussed., Comment: 17 pages, 19 figures, effect of $N_2$ leptogenesis is added in Sec. 6, version to appear in JCAP