Search

The subtitle of my talk is ``The quest for understanding the origin of neutrino masses''. After reviewing why the discovery of neutrino masses is also the discovery of New Physics, the substance of the talk details mechanisms for generating Majorana neutrino masses and implications for experimental searches and/or cosmology. I review high-scale seesaw, low-scale seesaw and radiative mechanisms, asking at every turn how testable the scenario is. While it is clear that determining the origin of neutrino masses -- knowing what Lagrangian to put into textbooks -- is a distant and ambitious goal, I end with experimental advances that we can reasonably hope for that would constitute progress., Comment: 10+'a bit' pages, 1 figure. Invited plenary talk at ICHEP 2024, 17-24 July, Prague, Czech Republic. To be submitted to the Proceedings

To properly solve the coincidence problem ($\Omega_\mathrm{DM} \simeq 5\Omega_\mathrm{VM}$) in a model of asymmetric dark matter, one cannot simply relate the number densities of visible and dark matter without also relating their particle masses. Following previous work, we consider a framework where the dark matter is a confined state of a dark QCD gauge group whose confinement scale is dynamically related to the QCD confinement scale by a mechanism utilising infrared fixed points of the two gauge couplings. In this work we present a new, `zero-coupling infrared fixed point' approach, which allows a larger proportion of models in this framework to generically relate the masses of the visible and dark matter particles. Due to the heavy mass scale required for the new field content, we introduce supersymmetry to the theory. We consider how these models may be incorporated in a full theory of asymmetric dark matter, presenting some example leptogenesis-like models. We also discuss the phenomenology of these models; in particular, there are gravitational wave signals which, while weak, may be measurable at future mHz and $\mu$Hz detectors., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, 8 tables

Recently Belle II reported the first measurement of $B^+\to K^++{\rm invisible (inv)}$, which is $2.7\sigma$ above the standard model (SM) prediction. If confirmed, this calls for new physics beyond SM. In the SM, the invisible particles are neutrino-anti-neutrino pairs. There are more possibilities when going beyond the SM. In this work, we focus on decays to dark matter (DM) and show that the $B\to K +\mathrm{inv}$ excess from Belle II and DM relic density can be simultaneously explained in a simple extension of the SM. The model introduces a real scalar singlet $\phi$ acting as a DM candidate, and two heavy vector-like quarks $Q,D$ with the same quantum numbers as the SM left-handed quark doublet and right-handed down-type quark singlet, respectively. All these new particles are odd under a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry while the SM particles are even. The model can successfully explain the Belle II anomaly and DM relic density for TeV-scale heavy quarks with hierarchical Yukawa couplings involving $b$ and $s$ quarks. At the same time, it can easily satisfy other flavour physics constraints. Direct detection searches utilizing the Migdal effect constrain some of the parameter space., Comment: v2: add the dark matter direct detection constraints due to the Migdal effect. To appear in JHEP

Discrete family symmetry models based on the $Z_3$ symmetry of ``lepton triality'' were recently studied in the context of charged-lepton flavour-violating processes at Belle II and the proposed $\mu^+ \mu^+$ and $\mu^+ e^-$ collider known as $\mu$TRISTAN. In this paper we augment these phenomenological analyses to include the $Z$ and Higgs boson decays $Z \to \ell^+ \ell^-$ ($\ell = e, \mu, \tau$), $H \to \gamma \gamma$ and $H \to Z \gamma$ that are induced at the $1$-loop level in these models. We also derive the parameter space that will be probed by the HL-LHC and the possible future colliders the ILC, CEPC and FCC., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures

We provide an exhaustive classification of three-family DFSZ axion models that have no cosmological domain wall problem. This result is obtained by making the Peccei-Quinn symmetry flavour dependent in certain specific ways, thus reinforcing a possible connection between the strong CP problem and the flavour puzzle. Known DFSZ flavour variants such as the top-specific model emerge as special cases. Key features of the phenomenology of these models are briefly discussed., Comment: 20 pages, 3 tables, v2: references added, journal version

We analyse the potential of the proposed $\mu^+ \mu^+$ and $\mu^+ e^-$ collider $\mu$TRISTAN to complement the searches for charged-lepton flavour-violation (CLFV) that can be carried out by Belle II. $\mu$TRISTAN offers the possibility of directly producing and studying new resonances that could mediate CLFV for a certain range of masses. In addition, we find that it can produce competitive bounds to those from Belle II for cases where the new resonance lies beyond direct reach. We illustrate these points with three $Z_3$ "lepton triality" models, where we also find an example that can only be probed by $\mu$TRISTAN. These three models feature doubly-charged scalars, denoted $k_{1,2,3}$ respectively, that induce both CLFV and flavour-conserving processes. Tree-level $k_1$ exchange induces the CLFV scattering process $\mu^+ e^- \to e^+ \tau^-$, while $k_2$ interactions induce $\mu^+ \mu^+ \to \tau^+ e^+$, $\mu^+ e^- \to \tau^+ \mu^-$ and make a non-SM contribution to the flavour-conserving scattering $\mu^+ \mu^+ \to \mu^+ \mu^+$. The $k_3$ model has a non-SM contribution to the flavour-conserving process $\mu^+ e^- \to \mu^+ e^-$. Other scattering processes involving $k_1$, $k_2$ or $k_3$ are not relevant for $\mu$TRISTAN and outside the scope of our analysis. We quantify the sensitivity of $\mu$TRISTAN for each of these processes. For the $k_1$ and $k_2$ cases we compare the $\mu$TRISTAN reach to the expected sensitivity of Belle II to the crossing symmetry related CLFV $\tau$ decays.

We revisit stellar constraints on dark photons. We undertake dynamical stellar evolution simulations which incorporate the resonant and off-resonant production of transverse and longitudinal dark photons. We compare our results with observables derived from measurements of globular cluster populations, obtaining new constraints based on the luminosity of the tip of the red-giant branch (RGB), the ratio of populations of RGB to horizontal branch (HB) stars (the $R$-parameter), and the ratio of asymptotic giant branch to HB stars (the $R_2$-parameter). We find that previous bounds derived from static stellar models do not capture the effects of the resonant production of light dark photons leading to overly conservative constraints, and that they over-estimate the effects of heavier dark photons on the RGB-tip luminosity. This leads to differences in the constraints of up to an order of magnitude in the kinetic mixing parameter., Comment: 15+7 pages, 11+2 figures, 0+4 tables

The asymmetric dark matter (ADM) paradigm is motivated by the apparent coincidence between the cosmological mass densities of visible and dark matter, $\Omega_\mathrm{DM} \simeq 5\Omega_\mathrm{VM}$. However, most ADM models only relate the number densities of visible and dark matter, and do not motivate the similarity in their particle masses. One exception is a framework introduced by Bai and Schwaller, where the dark matter is a confined state of a dark QCD-like gauge group, and the confinement scales of visible and dark QCD are related by a dynamical mechanism utilising infrared fixed points of the two gauge couplings. We build upon this framework by properly implementing the dependence of the results on the initial conditions for the gauge couplings in the UV. We then reassess the ability of this framework to naturally explain the cosmological mass density coincidence, and find a reduced number of viable models. We identify features of the viable models that allow them to naturally relate the masses of the dark baryon and the proton while also avoiding collider constraints on the new particle content introduced., Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables

We improve the current upper bound on the axion-photon coupling derived from stellar evolution using the $R_2$ parameter, the ratio of stellar populations on the Asymptotic Giant Branch to Horizontal Branch in Globular Clusters. We compare this with data from simulations using the stellar evolution code MESA which include the effects of axion production. Particular attention is given to quantifying in detail the effects of uncertainties on the $R$ and $R_2$ parameters due to the modelling of convective core boundaries. Using a semiconvective mixing scheme we constrain the axion-photon coupling to be $g_{a\gamma\gamma} < 0.47 \times 10^{-10}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$. This rules out new regions of QCD axion and axion-like particle parameter space. Complementary evidence from asteroseismology suggests that this could improve to as much as $g_{a\gamma\gamma} < 0.34 \times 10^{-10}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$ as the uncertainties surrounding mixing across convective boundaries are better understood., Comment: 11+13 pages, 3+1 figures, 1+2 tables. Matches published version. Minor changes in Sections 1, 2 and 3

We propose a Standard Model extension, coined VISH$\nu$ (Variant-axIon Seesaw Higgs $\nu$-trino), that is an $N_{\text{DW}} = 1$ variation of its predecessor, the $\nu$DFSZ model. In accounting for the origin of neutrino masses, dark matter and the baryon asymmetry of the universe, VISH$\nu$ inherits the explanatory power of $\nu$DFSZ while, of course, resolving the strong $CP$ problem. In both models, the electroweak scale is naturally protected from a high seesaw scale that is identified with the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) spontaneous symmetry breaking scale. Through a flavour variant coupling structure, VISH$\nu$ evades a domain wall problem, extending the cosmological reach of the $\nu$DFSZ to include a viable period of inflation. The primary focus of this paper is on the inflationary dynamics of VISH$\nu$ and their naturalness in the sense of radiative stability. We find that non-minimal gravitational couplings, generically developed by the VISH$\nu$ scalar fields, naturally support a viable inflaton field which typically has both a PQ scalar and Higgs component. An axion mass window [$40\mu\text{eV}, \sim 2\text{meV}$] accessible to forthcoming searches, results for the case where PQ symmetry is restored during the (p)reheating phase., Comment: 19pp main text + 10pp (appendices + references) = 29pp, 2 figures. Major revision. Inflation discussion significantly expanded and made more precise. Other changes sprinkled throughout

We study the two scalar leptoquarks capable of generating chirally-enhanced, sign-dependent contributions to lepton magnetic dipole moments (MDMs) and electric dipole moments (EDMs), $R_2\sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{2}, 7/6)$ and $S_1\sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{1}, -1/3)$. We consider the case in which the electron and muon sectors are decoupled, and leptoquark couplings are assigned complex values. Adopting the coupling ansatz that the electron dipole operator is generated by charm-containing loops, and muon dipole operator by top-containing loops, we find that both minimal leptoquark models remain viable solutions for reconciling anomalies in the muon and electron MDMs, accounting for either of the two current (disparate) electron MDM results from Cs and Rb interferometry experiments. We also examine the correlated corrections to the muon and electron masses generated by these models, and argue that to minimise fine-tuning this introduces an upper bound on viable leptoquark ($\phi$) masses, $m_{\phi}<\mathcal{O}(4)$ TeV. Similar arguments allow us to make a prediction for the upper bound of the muon EDM generated by these models, $|d_\mu|< \mathcal{O}(10^{-22})\; e$ cm, which could be within reach of upcoming experimental programs, including Muon g$-$2 at Fermilab (FNAL), and muEDM at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, minor typographical changes and additional references added. Matches published version

Recent measurements of the Higgs-muon coupling are directly probing muon mass generation for the first time. We classify minimal models with a one-loop radiative mass mechanism and show that benchmark models are consistent with current experimental results. We find that these models are best probed by measurements of $(g-2)_\mu$, even when taking into account the precision of Higgs measurements expected at future colliders. The current $(g-2)_\mu$ anomaly, if confirmed, could therefore be a first hint that the muon mass has a radiative origin., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures; v2: references added, updated experimental g-2 measurement, matches published version

Axion-like particles (ALPs), a class of pseudoscalars common to many extensions of the Standard Model, have the capacity to drain energy from the interiors of stars. Consequently, stellar evolution can be used to derive many constraints on ALPs. We study the influence that keV-MeV scale ALPs which interact exclusively with photons can exert on the helium-burning shells of asymptotic giant branch stars, the late-life evolutionary phase of stars with initial masses less than $8M_{\odot}$. We establish the sensitivity of the final stellar mass to such energy-loss for ALPs with masses currently permitted by stellar evolution bounds. A semi-empirical constraint on the white dwarf initial-final mass relation (IFMR) derived from observation of double white dwarf binaries is then used to exclude part of a currently unconstrained region of ALP parameter space, the cosmological triangle. The derived constraint relaxes when the ALP decay length becomes shorter than the width of the helium-burning shell. Other potential sources for stellar constraints on ALPs are also discussed., Comment: 40 pages, 20 figures. Matches published version. New content added, primarily in Section 4.2, 4.5

Models of asymmetric dark matter (ADM) seek to explain the apparent coincidence between the present-day mass densities of visible and dark matter, $\Omega_{\mathrm{DM}} \simeq 5\Omega_{\mathrm{VM}}$. However, most ADM models only relate the number densities of visible and dark matter without motivating the similar particle masses. We expand upon a recent work that obtained a natural mass relationship in a mirror matter ADM model with two Higgs doublets in each sector, by looking to implement dark electroweak baryogenesis as the means of asymmetry generation. We explore two aspects of the mechanism: the nature of the dark electroweak phase transition, and the transfer of particle asymmetries between the sectors by the use of portal interactions. We find that both aspects can be implemented successfully for various regions of the parameter space. We also analyse one portal interaction -- the neutron portal -- in greater detail, in order to satisfy the observational constraints on dark radiation., Comment: 58 pages, 6 figures. Matches published version. New content added, primarily in Sec.IV.A

Precision measurements of the Higgs couplings are, for the first time, directly probing the mechanism of fermion mass generation. The purpose of this work is to determine to what extent these measurements can distinguish between the tree-level mechanism of the Standard Model and the theoretically motivated alternative of radiative mass generation. Focusing on the third-family, we classify the minimal one-loop models and find that they fall into two general classes. By exploring several benchmark models in detail, we demonstrate that a radiative origin for the tau-lepton and bottom-quark masses is consistent with current observations. While future colliders will not be able to rule out a radiative origin, they can probe interesting regions of parameter space., Comment: 39 pages, 15 figures; v2: references updated, published version

We analyse the experimental limits on the breaking scale of Pati-Salam extensions of the Standard Model. These arise from the experimental limits on rare-meson decay processes mediated at tree-level by the vector leptoquark in the model. This leptoquark ordinarily couples to to both left- and right-handed SM fermions and therefore the meson decays do not experience a helicity suppression. We find that the current limits vary from $\mathcal{O}(80-2500)$ TeV depending on the choice of matrix structure appearing in the relevant three-generational charged-current interactions. We extensively analyse scenarios where additional fermionic degrees of freedom are introduced, transforming as complete Pati-Salam multiplets. These can lower the scales of Pati-Salam breaking through mass-mixing within the charged-lepton and down-quark sectors, leading to a helicity suppression of the meson decay widths which constrain Pati-Salam breaking. We find four multiplets with varying degrees of viability for this purpose: an $SU(2)_{L/R}$ bidoublet, a pair of $SU(4)$ decuplets and either a $SU(2)_L$ or $SU(2)_R$ triplet all of which contain heavy exotic versions of the SM charged leptons. We find that the Pati-Salam limits can be as low as $\mathcal{O}(5-150)$ TeV with the addition of these four multiplets. We also identify an interesting possible connection between the smallness of the neutrino masses and a helicity suppression of the Pati-Salam limits for three of the four multiplets., Comment: 92 pages, 12 figures; v2: Matches version to be published by JHEP. Some sections moved from the main text to appendices. Section 5.3 on the fermion decuplet case rewritten to correct an error. Section added commenting on existing literature. Minor changes to Sec. 4.1.3 and the conclusion

We examine the collider and dark matter phenomenology of the Standard Model extended by a hypercharge-zero SU(2) triplet scalar and gauge singlet scalar. In particular, we study the scenario where the singlet and triplet are both charged under a single $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. We find that such an extension is capable of generating the observed dark matter density, while also modifying the collider phenomenology such that the lower bound on the mass of the triplet is smaller than in minimal triplet scalar extensions to the Standard Model. A high triplet mass is in tension with the parameter space that leads to novel electroweak phase transitions in the early universe. Therefore, the lower triplet masses that are permitted in this extended model are of particular importance for the prospects of successful electroweak baryogenesis and the generation of gravitational waves from early universe phase transitions., Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures. Updated to match version published in JHEP

Building UV completions of lepton-number-violating effective operators has proved to be a useful way of studying and classifying models of Majorana neutrino mass. In this paper we describe and implement an algorithm that systematises this model-building procedure. We use the algorithm to generate computational representations of all of the tree-level completions of the operators up to and including mass-dimension 11. Almost all of these correspond to models of radiative neutrino mass. Our work includes operators involving derivatives, updated estimates for the bounds on the new-physics scale associated with each operator, an analysis of various features of the models, and a look at some examples. We find that a number of operators do not admit any completions not also generating lower-dimensional operators or larger contributions to the neutrino mass, ruling them out as playing a dominant role in the neutrino-mass generation. Additionally, we show that there are at most five models containing three or fewer exotic multiplets that predict new physics that must lie below 100 TeV. Accompanying this work we also make available a searchable database containing all of our results and the code used to find the completions. We emphasise that our methods extend beyond the study of neutrino-mass models, and may be useful for generating completions of high-dimensional operators in other effective field theories., Comment: 75 pages, 19 figures, 8 tables. Minor changes, typos corrected, references added. Code: https://github.com/johngarg/neutrinomass, database: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4054618

We identify the two scalar leptoquarks capable of generating sign-dependent contributions to leptonic magnetic moments, $R_2\sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{2}, 7/6)$ and $S_1\sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{1}, -1/3)$, as favoured by current measurements. We consider the case in which the electron and muon sectors are decoupled, and real-valued Yukawa couplings are specified using an up-type quark mass-diagonal basis. Contributions to $\Delta a_e$ arise from charm-containing loops and $\Delta a_\mu$ from top-containing loops -- hence avoiding dangerous LFV constraints, particularly from $\mu \to e \gamma$. The strongest constraints on these models arise from contributions to the Z leptonic decay widths, high-$p_T$ leptonic tails at the LHC, and from (semi)leptonic kaon decays. To be a comprehensive solution to the $(g-2)_{e/\mu}$ puzzle we find that the mass of either leptoquark must be $\lesssim 65$ TeV. This analysis can be embedded within broader flavour anomaly studies, including those of hierarchical leptoquark coupling structures. It can also be straightforwardly adapted to accommodate future measurements of leptonic magnetic moments, such as those expected from the Muon $g-2$ collaboration in the near future., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, matches published version. Error identified in initial calculation of $\mu \to e \gamma$ which, when corrected, invalidated the top-philic coupling ansatz. Models revised to represent texture with dominant charm-loop NP contribution to $\Delta a_e$, and top-loop to $\Delta a_\mu$

We study the phenomenology of a hypercharge-zero SU(2) triplet scalar whose existence is motivated by two-step electroweak symmetry-breaking. We consider both the possibility that the triplets are stable and contribute to the dark matter density, or that they decay via mixing with the standard model Higgs boson. The former is constrained by disappearing charged track searches at the LHC and by dark matter direct detection experiments, while the latter is constrained by existing multilepton collider searches. We find that a two-step electroweak phase transition involving a stable triplet with a negative quadratic term is ruled out by direct detection searches, while an unstable triplet with a mass less than $230\ \mathrm{GeV}$ is excluded at $95\%$ confidence level., Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures. Updated to match version published in JHEP

We present the first detailed phenomenological analysis of a radiative Majorana neutrino mass model constructed from opening up a $\Delta L = 2$ mass-dimension-11 effective operator constructed out of standard model fields. While three such operators are generated, only one dominates neutrino mass generation, namely $O_{47} = \overline{L^C} L \overline{Q^C} Q \overline{Q} Q^C H H$, where $L$ denotes lepton doublet, $Q$ quark doublet and $H$ Higgs doublet. The underlying renormalisable theory contains the scalars $S_1 \sim (\bar{3},1,1/3)$ coupling as a diquark, $S_3 \sim (\bar{3},3,1/3)$ coupling as a leptoquark, and $\Phi_3 \sim (3,3,2/3)$, which has no Yukawa couplings but does couple to $S_1$ and $S_3$ in addition to the gauge fields. Neutrino masses and mixings are generated at two-loop order. A feature of this model that is different from many other radiative models is the lack of proportionality to any quark and charged-lepton masses of the neutrino mass matrix. One consequence is that the scale of new physics can be as high as $10^7$ TeV, despite the operator having a high mass dimension. This raises the prospect that $\Delta L = 2$ effective operators at even higher mass dimensions may, when opened up, produce phenomenologically-viable radiative neutrino mass models. The parameter space of the model is explored through benchmark slices that are subject to experimental constraints from charged lepton flavour-violating decays, rare meson decays and neutral-meson mixing. The acceptable parameter space can accommodate the anomalies in $R_{K^{(*)}}$ and the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon., Comment: 52 pages, 22 figures, 4 tables

We introduce two scalar leptoquarks, the SU$(2)_L$ isosinglet denoted $\phi\sim(\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{1}, -1/3)$ and the isotriplet $\varphi\sim(\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{3}, -1/3)$, to explain observed deviations from the standard model in semi-leptonic $B$-meson decays. We explore the regions of parameter space in which this model accommodates the persistent tensions in the decay observables $R_{D^{(*)}}$, $R_{K^{(*)}}$, and angular observables in $b\to s \mu\mu$ transitions. Additionally, we exploit the role of these exotics in existing models for one-loop neutrino mass generation derived from $\Delta L=2$ effective operators. Introducing the vector-like quark $\chi \sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{2}, -5/6)$ necessary for lepton-number violation, we consider the contribution of both leptoquarks to the generation of radiative neutrino mass. We find that constraints permit simultaneously accommodating the flavour anomalies while also explaining the relative smallness of neutrino mass without the need for cancellation between leptoquark contributions. A characteristic prediction of our model is a rate of muon--electron conversion in nuclei fixed by the anomalies in $b \to s \mu \mu$ and neutrino mass; the COMET experiment will thus test and potentially falsify our scenario. The model also predicts signatures that will be tested at the LHC and Belle II., Comment: 47 pages, 18 figures, 7 tables. Matches published version

We investigate the viability of electroweak baryogenesis in a model with a first order electroweak phase transition induced by the addition of two gauge singlet scalars. A vector-like lepton doublet is introduced in order to provide CP violating interactions with the singlets and Standard Model leptons, and the asymmetry generation dynamics are examined using the vacuum expectation value insertion approximation. We find that such a model is readily capable of generating sufficient baryon asymmetry while satisfying electron electric dipole moment and collider phenomenology constraints., Comment: 38 pages, 8 figures. Citations added. Benchmarks, figures and tables updated, error fixed in calculations. Matches version published in JHEP

We analyse the feasibility of low-scale leptogenesis where the inverse seesaw (ISS) and linear seesaw (LSS) terms are not simultaneously present. In order to generate the necessary mass splittings, we adopt a Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation (MLFV) hypothesis where a sterile neutrino mass degeneracy is broken by flavour effects. We find that resonant leptogenesis is feasible in both scenarios. However, because of a flavour alignment issue, MLFV-ISS leptogenesis succeeds only with a highly tuned choice of Majorana masses. For MLFV-LSS, on the other hand, a large portion of parameter space is able to generate sufficient asymmetry. In both scenarios we find that the lightest neutrino mass must be of order $10^{-2}\text{ eV}$ or below for successful leptogenesis. We briefly explore implications for low-energy flavour violation experiments, in particular $\mu \rightarrow e\,\gamma$. We find that the future MEG-II experiment, while sensitive to MLFV in our setup, will not be sensitive to the specific regions required for resonant leptogenesis., Comment: 60 pages, 20 figures; v2: Added discussion and figures on the contribution of coherent sterile neutrino oscillations to asymmetry generation; other, minor changes and added references. Conclusions unchanged. Matches version to be published by PRD

Motivated by the fact that the Dirac phase in the PMNS matrix is the only CP-violating parameter in the leptonic sector that can be measured in neutrino oscillation experiments, we examine the possibility that it is the dominant source of CP violation for leptogenesis caused by the out-of-equilibrium decays of heavy singlet fermions. We do so within a low-scale extended type-I seesaw model, featuring two Standard Model singlet fermions per family, in which lepton number is approximately conserved such that the heavy singlet neutrinos are pseudo-Dirac. We find that this produces a predictive model of leptogenesis. Our results show that for low-scale thermal leptogenesis, a pure inverse-seesaw scenario fails to produce the required asymmetry, even accounting for resonance effects, because wash-out processes are too efficient. Dirac-phase leptogenesis is, however, possible when the linear seesaw term is switched on, with the aid of the resonance contributions naturally present in the model. Degenerate and hierarchical spectra are considered -- both can achieve Dirac-phase leptogenesis, although the latter is more constrained. Finally, although unable to probe the parameter space of Dirac-phase leptogenesis, the contributions to unitarity violation of the PMNS matrix, collider constraints and charged-lepton flavour-violating processes are calculated and we further estimate the impact of the future experiments MEG-II and COMET for such models., Comment: v3: Minor corrections and citations added to match published version

Asymmetric dark matter (ADM) is motivated by the similar cosmological mass densities measured for ordinary and dark matter. We present a comprehensive theory for ADM that addresses the mass density similarity, going beyond the usual ADM explanations of similar number densities. It features an explicit matter-antimatter asymmetry generation mechanism, has one fully worked out thermal history and suggestions for other possibilities, and meets all phenomenological, cosmological and astrophysical constraints. Importantly, it incorporates a deep reason for why the dark matter mass scale is related to the proton mass, a key consideration in ADM models. Our starting point is the idea of mirror matter, which offers an explanation for dark matter by duplicating the standard model with a dark sector related by a $Z_2$ parity symmetry. However, the dark sector need not manifest as a symmetric copy of the standard model in the present day. By utilising the mechanism of "asymmetric symmetry breaking" with two Higgs doublets in each sector, we develop a model of ADM where the mirror symmetry is spontaneously broken, leading to an electroweak scale in the dark sector that is significantly larger than that of the visible sector. The weak sensitivity of the ordinary and dark QCD confinement scales to their respective electroweak scales leads to the necessary connection between the dark matter and proton masses. The dark matter is composed of either dark neutrons or a mixture of dark neutrons and metastable dark hydrogen atoms. Lepton asymmetries are generated by the $CP$-violating decays of heavy Majorana neutrinos in both sectors. These are then converted by sphaleron processes to produce the observed ratio of visible to dark matter in the universe. The dynamics responsible for the kinetic decoupling of the two sectors emerges as an important issue that we only partially solve., Comment: 45 pages, 11 figures. Matches published version

We analyse the phenomenology of a model of neutrino masses inspired by $\mathrm{E}_{6}$ GUT unification in which the exotic neutrinos can be present at low scales. The model introduces vector-like isosinglet down-type quarks, vector-like isodoublet leptons, neutrino singlets and two $Z'$ bosons. The seesaw mechanism can be achieved with exotic neutrino masses as low as 100 GeV and Yukawa couplings of order $10^{-3}$. We find that the lightest $Z'$ boson mass is required to be above 2.8 TeV, the exotic quark masses are required to be above 1.3 TeV (810 GeV) if they are collider stable (promptly decaying), and the exotic lepton mass bounds remain at the LEP value of 102 GeV. The model also presents a type-II two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM) along with two heavy singlet scalars. The 2HDM naturally has the alignment limit enforced thanks to the large VEVs of the exotic scalars, thereby avoiding most constraints., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures. Updated to reflected changes in publication

A plausible explanation for the lightness of neutrino masses is that neutrinos are massless at tree level, with their mass (typically Majorana) being generated radiatively at one or more loops. The new couplings, together with the suppression coming from the loop factors, imply that the new degrees of freedom cannot be too heavy (they are typically at the TeV scale). Therefore, in these models there are no large mass hierarchies and they can be tested using different searches, making their detailed phenomenological study very appealing. In particular, the new particles can be searched for at colliders and generically induce signals in lepton-flavor and lepton-number violating processes (in the case of Majorana neutrinos), which are not independent from reproducing correctly the neutrino masses and mixings. The main focus of the review is on Majorana neutrinos. We order the allowed theory space from three different perspectives: (i) using an effective operator approach to lepton number violation, (ii) by the number of loops at which the Weinberg operator is generated, (iii) within a given loop order, by the possible irreducible topologies. We also discuss in more detail some popular radiative models which involve qualitatively different features, revisiting their most important phenomenological implications. Finally, we list some promising avenues to pursue., Comment: 90 pages, 23 figures and 11 tables. Minor changes, references and one figure added, matches published version in Frontiers in Physics

We reconsider a model introducing a scalar leptoquark $\phi \sim (\mathbf{3}, \mathbf{1}, -1/3)$ to explain recent deviations from the standard model in semileptonic $B$ decays. The leptoquark can accommodate the persistent tension in the decays $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^{(*)}\tau \bar{\nu}$ as long as its mass is lower than approximately $10 \text{ TeV}$, and we show that a sizeable Yukawa coupling to the right-chiral tau lepton is necessary for an acceptable explanation. Agreement with the measured $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^{(*)}\tau \bar{\nu}$ rates is mildly compromised for parameter choices addressing the tensions in $b \to s \mu \mu$, where the model can significantly reduce the discrepancies in angular observables, branching ratios and the lepton-flavor-universality observables $R_K$ and $R_{K^*}$. The leptoquark can also reconcile the predicted and measured value of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and appears naturally in models of radiative neutrino mass derived from lepton-number violating effective operators. As a representative example, we incorporate the particle into an existing two-loop neutrino mass scenario derived from a dimension-nine operator. In this specific model, the structure of the neutrino mass matrix provides enough freedom to explain the small masses of the neutrinos in the region of parameter space dictated by agreement with the anomalies in $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^{(*)}\tau \bar{\nu}$, but not the $b \to s$ transition. This is achieved without excessive fine-tuning in the parameters important for neutrino mass., Comment: 43 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables; corrected fit contours in fig. 12

The idea that dark matter may be a composite state of a hidden nonabelian gauge sector has received great attention in recent years. Frameworks such as asymmetric dark matter motivate the idea that dark matter may have similar mass to the proton, while mirror matter and $G \times G$ grand unified theories provide rationales for additional gauge sectors which may have minimal interactions with standard model particles. In this work we explore the hadronic spectra that these dark QCD models can allow. The effects of the number of light colored particles and the value of the confinement scale on the lightest stable state, the dark matter candidate, are examined in the hyperspherical constituent quark model for baryonic and mesonic states., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures. Additional discussion, matches published version

TeV-scale seesaw mechanisms are interesting due to their potential testability at existing collider experiments. Herein we propose an E$_6$-inspired model allowing a TeV-scale pseudo-Dirac singlet neutrino seesaw mechanism with naturally sizeable Yukawa couplings of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$. The model also contains new U(1) gauge interactions (and associated $Z^\prime$ bosons with which the singlet neutrinos can be produced at colliders), typically long-lived colour triplet fermions, SU(2) doublet fermions, and a complex scalar - potentially all at the TeV-scale. Additionally we identify three possible explanations for the 750 GeV di-photon excess., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

We describe a minimal extension of the standard model by three right-handed neutrinos, a scalar doublet, and a scalar singlet (the "$\nu$DFSZ") which serves as an existence proof that weakly coupled high-scale physics can naturally explain phenomenological shortcomings of the SM. The $\nu$DFSZ can explain neutrino masses, baryogenesis, the strong CP problem, and dark matter, and remains calculably natural despite a hierarchy of scales up to $\sim 10^{11}$ GeV. It predicts a SM-like Higgs boson, (maximally) TeV-scale scalar states, intermediate-scale hierarchical leptogenesis ($10^5\text{ GeV}\lesssim M_{N}\lesssim 10^7\text{ GeV}$), and axionic dark matter., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; [v2] minor changes and added reference; [v3] fixed typo in Eq. (6), conclusions unchanged, otherwise matches published version

We explore possible asymmetric dark matter models using CP violating scatterings to generate an asymmetry. In particular, we introduce a new model, based on DM fields coupling to the SM Higgs and lepton doublets, a neutrino portal, and explore its UV completions. We study the CP violation and asymmetry formation of this model, to demonstrate that it is capable of producing the correct abundance of dark matter and the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry. Crucial to achieving this is the introduction of interactions which violate CP with a $T^{2}$ dependence., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures

The minimal Type I see-saw model cannot explain the observed neutrino masses and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe via hierarchical thermal leptogenesis without ceding naturalness. We show that this conclusion can be avoided by adding a second Higgs doublet with $\tan\beta\gtrsim 4$. The models considered naturally accommodate a SM-like Higgs boson, and predict TeV-scale scalar states and low- to intermediate-scale hierarchical leptogenesis with $10^3\text{ GeV}\lesssim M_{N_1}\lesssim 10^8\text{ GeV}$., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, v2 minor changes plus updated references

In this talk, I describe the general characteristics of radiative neutrino mass models that can be probed at the LHC. I then cover the constraints on a new, explicit model of this type., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Invited talk at "International Conference on Massive Neutrinos", Singapore, 9-13 Feb. 2015. v2: Figure formatting problem partially fixed -- at least it is readable now

In the Type I see-saw model, the naturalness requirement that corrections to the electroweak $\mu$ parameter not exceed 1 TeV results in a rough bound on the lightest right-handed neutrino mass, $M_{N_1}\lesssim 3\times 10^7$ GeV. In this letter we derive generic bounds applicable in any three-flavour Type I see-saw model. We find $M_{N_1}\lesssim 4\times 10^7$ GeV and $M_{N_2}\lesssim 7\times 10^7$ GeV. In the limit of one massless neutrino, there is no naturalness bound on $M_{N_3}$ in the Poincare protected decoupling limit. Our results confirm that no Type I see-saw model can explain the observed neutrino masses and baryogenesis via hierarchical ($N_1$-, $N_2$-, or $N_3$-dominated) thermal leptogenesis while remaining completely natural., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, v2 minor changes

The Large Hadron Collider provides us new opportunities to search for the origin of neutrino mass. Beyond the minimal see-saw models a plethora of models exist which realise neutrino mass at tree- or loop-level, and it is important to be sure that these possibilities are satisfactorily covered by searches. The purpose of this paper is to advance a systematic approach to this problem. Majorana neutrino mass models can be organised by SM-gauge-invariant operators which violate lepton number by two units. In this paper we write down the minimal ultraviolet completions for all of the mass-dimension 7 operators. We predict vector-like quarks, vector-like leptons, scalar leptoquarks, a charged scalar, and a scalar doublet, whose properties are constrained by neutrino oscillation data. A detailed collider study is presented for $O_3=LLQ\bar dH$ and $O_8 = L\bar d\bar e^\dagger \bar u^\dagger H$ completions with a vector-like quark $\chi\sim(3, 2, -\frac{5}{6})$ and a leptoquark $\phi\sim(\bar 3,1,\frac{1}{3})$. The existing LHC limits extracted from searches for vector-like fermions and sbottoms/stops are $m_\chi \gtrsim 620$ GeV and $m_\phi\gtrsim 600$ GeV., Comment: 40 pages, 13 figures; references added, minor changes, matches JHEP version

Many baryogenesis scenarios invoke the charge parity (CP) violating out-of-equilibrium decay of a heavy particle in order to explain the baryon asymmetry. Such scenarios will in general also allow CP violating scatterings. We study the effect of these CP violating scatterings on the final asymmetry in a neutron portal scenario. We solve the Boltzmann equations governing the evolution of the baryon number numerically and show that the CP violating scatterings play a dominant role in a significant portion of the parameter space., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures. V2: typos corrected. V3: small changes in text and title

An extensively studied mechanism to create particle-antiparticle asymmetries is the out-of-equilibrium and CP violating decay of a heavy particle. Here we instead examine how asymmetries can arise purely from 2 <-> 2 annihilations rather than from the usual 1 <-> 2 decays and inverse decays. We review the general conditions on the reaction rates that arise from S-matrix unitarity and CPT invariance, and show how these are implemented in the context of a simple toy model. We formulate the Boltzmann equations for this model, and present an example solution., Comment: 5 pages, v2: added reference, v3: some changes to text in response to comments

We explore GxG unified theories with the visible and the hidden or dark sectors paired under a Z2 symmetry. Developing a system of 'asymmetric symmetry breaking' we motivate such models on the basis of their ability to generate dark baryons that are confined with a mass scale just above that of the proton, as motivated by asymmetric dark matter. This difference is achieved from the distinct but related confinement scales that develop in unified theories that have the two factors of $G$ spontaneously breaking in an asymmetric manner. We show how Higgs potentials that admit different gauge group breaking chains in each sector can be constructed, and demonstrate the capacity for generating different fermion mass scales. Lastly we discuss supersymmetric extensions of such schemes., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, Revised version to match published version in Phys. Rev. D. Corrected figures 3-6

In this paper we investigate the phenomenology of a very light scalar, $h$, with mass 100 MeV $

We present a new Clash-of-Symmetries mechanism in the context of an intersecting domain-wall brane model in 5+1-dimensional Minkowskian spacetime recently proposed by the authors. This new application of the Dvali-Shifman idea is designed for localizing gauge fields on a domain-wall intersection and we employ it by adding a gauge group $G$ and giving the scalar fields which form lump-like profiles gauge charges. These fields in turn break $G$ to two different subgroups $H_{1}$ and $H_{2}$ on each domain wall, and the gauge fields of these subgroups are taken to be localized to the respective walls by the confinement dynamics of $G$. There is then a further breaking on the domain-wall intersection to $H_{1}\cap{}H_{2}$ and gauge fields of this overlap group can then be localized to the intersection if they belong inside non-Abelian subgroups of both $H_{1}$ and $H_{2}$ which are spontaneously broken on the intersection and confining in the 4+1D bulks of the respective domain-wall branes. This mechanism has some similarities to the Clash-of-Symmetries mechanism on a single domain wall except that in this case $H_{1}$ and $H_{2}$ need not be isomorphic. We then give some interesting examples of the mechanism in an SU(7) gauge theory, several of which result in the localization of the Standard Model gauge group., Comment: 36 pages, 2 figures, one reference added. This version has been accepted for publication in Physical Review D

We discuss a class of technically-natural UV extensions of the Standard Model in which the electroweak scale is shielded from large radiative corrections from heavy UV physics due to an enhanced Poincare symmetry. Such heavy sectors can be invoked to provide solutions to known shortcomings of the Standard Model, such the strong-CP problem, the absence of dark matter, and the lack of neutrino masses. We discuss the relationship to scale-invariant models., Comment: 14 pages

A new two-loop radiative Majorana neutrino mass model is constructed from the gauge-invariant effective operator $L^i L^j Q^k d^c Q^l d^c \epsilon_{ik} \epsilon_{jl}$ that violates lepton number conservation by two units. The ultraviolet completion features two scalar leptoquark flavors and a color-octet Majorana fermion. We show that there exists a region of parameter space where the neutrino oscillation data can be fitted while simultaneously meeting flavor-violation and collider bounds. The model is testable through lepton flavor-violating processes such as ${\mu} \to e{\gamma}$, $\mu \to eee$, and $\mu N \to eN$ conversion, as well as collider searches for the scalar leptoquarks and color-octet fermion. We computed and compiled a list of necessary Passarino-Veltman integrals up to boxes in the approximation of vanishing external momenta and made them available as a Mathematica package, denoted as ANT., Comment: 42 pages, 11 figures, typo in Eq. (4.9) as well as wrong chirality structures in Secs. 4.5 and 5.2 corrected, final results unchanged

Asymmetric dark matter models are based on the hypothesis that the present-day abundance of dark matter has the same origin as the abundance of ordinary or visible matter: an asymmetry in the number densities of particles and antiparticles. They are largely motivated by the observed similarity in the mass densities of dark and visible matter, with the former observed to be about five times the latter. This review discusses the construction of asymmetric dark matter models, summarizes cosmological and astrophysical implications and bounds, and touches on direct detection prospects and collider signatures., Comment: Invited review for the International Journal of Modern Physics A. Published version, 60 pages

The inverse seesaw mechanism allows the neutrino masses to be generated by new physics at an experimentally accessible scale, even with O(1) Yukawa couplings. In the inverse seesaw scenario, the smallness of neutrino masses is linked to the smallness of a lepton number violating parameter. This parameter may arise radiatively. In this paper, we study the cosmological implications of two contrasting radiative inverse seesaw models, one due to Ma and the other to Law and McDonald. The former features spontaneous, the latter explicit lepton number violation. First, we examine the effect of the lepton-number violating interactions introduced in these models on the baryon asymmetry of the universe. We investigate under what conditions a pre-existing baryon asymmetry does not get washed out. While both models allow a baryon asymmetry to survive only once the temperature has dropped below the mass of their heaviest fields, the Ma model can create the baryon asymmetry through resonant leptogenesis. Then we investigate the viability of the dark matter candidates arising within these models, and explore the prospects for direct detection. We find that the Law/McDonald model allows a simple dark matter scenario similar to the Higgs portal, while in the Ma model the simplest cold dark matter scenario would tend to overclose the universe., Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures. V2: References added, small corrections, no change in results