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arXiv · 2511.02169

Baryon-number-violating nucleon decays in SMEFT extended with a light scalar

Xiao-Dong Ma·Michael A. Schmidt·Weihang Zhang
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Abstract

New light particles have received considerable attention in recent years. Baryon-number-violating (BNV) nucleon decays involving such light particles are able to provide stringent constraints. They exhibit distinctive experimental signatures that merit thorough investigation. We systematically investigate BNV nucleon decay with a light scalar in an effective field theory framework. Within this framework, we set stringent bounds on BNV operators using available experimental data and predict the occurrence of several BNV three-body nucleon decays. We further study contributions to dinucleon to dilepton transitions in a nucleus mediated by the scalar, which complements single nucleon decay. Finally, we provide three ultraviolet-complete models that can generate different subsets of BNV operators in leading order. Our theoretical framework will facilitate experimental searches for those exotic nucleon decays.

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Xiao-Dong Ma, Michael A. Schmidt, Weihang Zhang. 2025-11-04. Baryon-number-violating nucleon decays in SMEFT extended with a light scalar. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep02(2026)175

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