Decays Z --> g g gamma and Z-prime --> g g gamma in the minimal 331 model

Abstract

The one-loop induced Z --> g g gamma and Z-prime --> g g gamma decays are studied within the context of the minimal 331 model, which predicts the existence of new gauge bosons and three exotic quarks. It is found that the Z --> g g gamma decay is insensitive to the presence of the exotic quarks, as it is essentially governed by the first two families of known quarks. As to the Z-prime --> g g gamma decay, it is found that the exotic quark contribution dominates and that for a heavy Z-prime boson it leads to a Gamma(Z-prime --> g g gamma) that is more than one order of magnitude larger than that associated with Gamma(Z-prime --> g g g).