arXiv subjects

Andrew Kobach

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew Kobach.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Continuity and Semileptonic $B_{(s)}\rightarrow D_{(s)}$ Form Factors

Small changes in the masses of massive external scattering states should correspond to small changes in the non-perturbative parameterization of form factors in quantum field theory, as long as the relevant energy range is not near strong deformations. Here, the definition of ``small'' is investigated and applied to $SU(3)$ breaking in semileptonic $B_{(s)}\rightarrow D_{(s)}$ transitions. When unitarity and analyticity are imposed, the differences in the form factors for semileptonic $B\rightarrow D$ versus $B_s\rightarrow D_s$ decays are found to be within $\mathcal{O}(1\%)$ over the entire kinematic range, not just at zero recoil, which is consistent with results from lattice calculations and differs from the expectation using HQET alone.

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arXiv2019

Reparameterization Invariant Operator Basis for NRQED and HQET

We discuss how reparameterization invariance connects a rotationally-invariant heavy particle effective theory with a single fermion to a Lorentz-invariant theory. Using Hilbert-series methods, a Lorentz-invariant operator basis is tabulated, up to and including operators of order $1/M^4$, when the fermion couples to an external $U(1)$ or $SU(3)$ gauge interaction.

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arXiv2019

Baryon Number, Lepton Number, and Operator Dimension in the SMEFT with Flavor Symmetries

For a large set of flavor symmetries, the lowest-dimensional baryon- or lepton-number violating operators in the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT) with flavor symmetry are of mass dimension 9. As a consequence, baryon- and lepton-number violating processes are further suppressed with the introduction of flavor symmetries, e.g., the allowed scale associated with proton decay is typically lowered to $10^5$ GeV, which is significantly lower than the GUT scale. To illustrate these features, we discuss Minimal Flavor Violation for the Standard Model augmented by sterile neutrinos.

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arXiv2018

Neutrino Oscillation Measurements Computed in Quantum Field Theory

We perform a calculation in quantum field theory of neutrino oscillation probabilities, where we include simultaneously the source, detector, and neutrino fields in the Hamiltonian. Within the appropriate limits associated with current neutrino oscillation experiments, we recover the standard oscillation formula. On the other hand, we find that the dominant contributions to the amplitude are associated with different neutrino mass eigenstates being emitted at different times, such that they arrive at the detector at the same time. This is contrary to the neutrino wave packet picture, where they are emitted simultaneously and separate as they travel to the detector. This has direct consequences regarding the mechanisms that lead to a damping of neutrino oscillations for very long baselines. Our analysis also provides a pedagogical example of a measurement process in quantum mechanics.

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arXiv2018

Conformal Structure of the Heavy Particle EFT Operator Basis

An operator basis of an effective theory with a heavy particle, subject to external gauge fields, is spanned by a particular kind of neutral scalar primary of the nonrelativistic conformal group. We calculate the characters that can be used for generating the operators in a non-relativistic effective field theory, which accounts for redundancies from the equations of motion and integration by parts.

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arXiv2017

Hilbert Series and Operator Basis for NRQED and NRQCD/HQET

We use a Hilbert series to construct an operator basis in the $1/m$ expansion of a theory with a nonrelativistic heavy fermion in an electromagnetic (NRQED) or color gauge field (NRQCD/HQET). We present a list of effective operators with mass dimension $d\leq 8$. Comparing to the current literature, our results for NRQED agree for $d\leq 8$, but there are some discrepancies in NRQCD/HQET at $d=7$ and 8.

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arXiv2017

Model-Independent Extraction of $|V_{cb}|$ from $\bar{B}\rightarrow D^* \ell \overlineν$

We fit the unfolded data of $\bar{B}^0\rightarrow D^{*+} \ell \overlineν$ from the Belle experiment, where $\ell \equiv e, μ$, using a method independent of heavy quark symmetry to extrapolate to zero-recoil and extract the value of $|V_{cb}|$. This results in $|V_{cb}| = (41.9^{~+2.0}_{~-1.9})\times 10^{-3}$, which is robust to changes in the theoretical inputs and very consistent with the value extracted from inclusive semileptonic $B$ decays.

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arXiv2016

On Lepton-Number-Violating Searches for Muon to Positron Conversion

There is no guarantee that the violation of lepton number, assuming it exists, will primarily manifest itself in neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$). Lepton-number violation and lepton-flavor violation may be related, and much-needed information regarding the physics that violates lepton number can be learned by exploring observables that violate lepton flavors other than electron flavor. One of the most promising observables is $μ^- \rightarrow e^+$ conversion, which can be explored by experiments that are specifically designed to search for $μ^- \rightarrow e^-$ conversion. We survey lepton-number-violating dimension-five, -seven, and -nine effective operators in the standard model and discuss the relationships between Majorana neutrino masses and the rates for $0νββ$ and $μ^- \rightarrow e^+$ conversion. While $0νββ$ has the greatest sensitivity to new ultraviolet energy scales, its rate might be suppressed by the new physics relationship to lepton flavor, and $μ^- \rightarrow e^+$ conversion offers a complementary probe of lepton-number-violating physics.

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arXiv2016

New physics in the kinematic distributions of $\bar B\to D^{(*)}τ^-(\to\ell^-\barν_\ellν_τ)\barν_τ$

We investigate the experimentally-accessible kinematic distributions of the $\bar B\to D^{(*)}τ^-(\to\ell^-\barν_\ellν_τ)\barν_τ$ decays. Specifically, we study the decay rates as functions of the $B\to D^{(*)}$ transferred squared momentum, the energy of the final charged lepton and the angle of its 3-momentum relative to the 3-momentum of the recoiling $D^{(*)}$. The angular distribution allows to introduce new observables, like a forward-backward asymmetry, which are complementary to the total rates. We present analytic formulas for the observable 3-fold 5-body differential decay rates, study the predictions in the Standard Model and investigate the effects in different new-physics scenarios that we characterize using an effective field theory framework.

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arXiv2016

Baryon Number, Lepton Number, and Operator Dimension in the Standard Model

We prove that for a given operator in the Standard Model (SM) with baryon number B and lepton number L, that the operator's dimension is even (odd) if (B-L)/2 is even (odd). Consequently, this establishes the veracity of statements that were long observed or expected to be true, but not proven, e.g., operators with B-L=0 are of even dimension, B-L must be an even number, etc. These results remain true even if the SM is augmented by any number of right-handed neutrinos with L=1.

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arXiv2016

Gravitational Effects on Measurements of the Muon Dipole Moments

If the technology for muon storage rings one day permits sensitivity to precession at the order of $10^{-8}$ Hz, the local gravitational field of Earth can be a dominant contribution to the precession of the muon, which, if ignored, can fake the signal for a nonzero muon electric dipole moment (EDM). Specifically, the effects of Earth's gravity on the motion of a muon's spin is indistinguishable from it having a nonzero EDM of magnitude $d_μ\sim 10^{-29}$ e cm in a storage ring with vertical magnetic field of $\sim$ 1 T, which is significantly larger than the expected upper limit in the Standard Model, $d_μ\lesssim 10^{-36}$ e cm. As a corollary, measurements of Earth's local gravitational field using stored muons would be a unique test to distinguish classical gravity from general relativity with a bonafide quantum mechanical entity, i.e., an elementary particle's spin.

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arXiv2016

Global Constraints on a Heavy Neutrino

We estimate constraints on the existence of a heavy, mostly sterile neutrino with mass between 10 eV and 1 TeV. We improve upon previous analyses by performing a global combination and expanding the experimental inputs to simultaneously include tests for lepton universality, lepton-flavor-violating processes, electroweak precision data, dipole moments, and neutrinoless double beta decay. Assuming the heavy neutrino and its decay products are invisible to detection, we further include, in a self-consistent manner, constraints from direct kinematic searches, the kinematics of muon decay, cosmology, and neutrino oscillations, in order to estimate constraints on the values of $|U_{e4}|^2$, $|U_{\mu4}|^2$, and $|U_{\tau4}|^2$.

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arXiv2015

A Sterile Neutrino at DUNE

We investigate the potential for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to probe the existence and effects of a fourth neutrino mass-eigenstate. We study the mixing of the fourth mass-eigenstate with the three active neutrinos of the Standard Model, including the effects of new sources of CP-invariance violation, for a wide range of new mass-squared differences, from lower than 10^-5 eV^2 to higher than 1 eV^2. DUNE is sensitive to previously unexplored regions of the mixing angle - mass-squared difference parameter space. If there is a fourth neutrino, in some regions of the parameter space, DUNE is able to measure the new oscillation parameters (some very precisely) and clearly identify two independent sources of CP-invariance violation. Finally, we use the hypothesis that there are four neutrino mass-eigenstates in order to ascertain how well DUNE can test the limits of the three-massive-neutrinos paradigm. In this way, we briefly explore whether light sterile neutrinos can serve as proxies for other, in principle unknown, phenomena that might manifest themselves in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.

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arXiv2015

Lepton-Flavored Dark Matter

In this work, we address two paradoxes. The first is that the measured dark-matter relic density can be satisfied with new physics at O(100 GeV - 1 TeV), while the null results from direct-detection experiments place lower bounds of O(10 TeV) on a new-physics scale. The second puzzle is that the severe suppression of lepton-flavor-violating processes involving electrons, e.g. mu->3e, tau->e mu mu, etc., implies that generic new-physics contributions to lepton interactions cannot exist below O(10 - 100 TeV), whereas the 3.6sigma deviation of the muon g-2 from the standard model can be explained by a new-physics scale < O(1 TeV). Here, we suggest that it may not be a coincidence that both the muon g-2 and the relic density can be satisfied by a new-physics scale < 1 TeV. We consider the possibility of a gauged lepton-flavor interaction that couples at tree level only to mu- and tau-flavored leptons and the dark sector. Dark matter thus interacts appreciably only with particles of mu and tau flavor at tree level and has loop-suppressed couplings to quarks and electrons. Remarkably, if such a gauged flavor interaction exists at a scale O(100 GeV - 1 TeV), it allows for a consistent phenomenological framework, compatible with the muon g-2, the relic density, direct detection, indirect detection, charged-lepton decays, neutrino trident production, and results from hadron and e+e- colliders. We suggest experimental tests for these ideas at colliders and for low-energy observables.

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arXiv2015

CP-Invariance Violation at Short-Baseline Experiments in 3+1 Neutrino Scenarios

New neutrino degrees of freedom allow for more sources of CP-invariance violation (CPV). We explore the requirements for accessing CP-odd mixing parameters in the so-called 3+1 scenario, where one assumes the existence of one extra, mostly sterile neutrino degree of freedom, heavier than the other three mass eigenstates. As a first step, we concentrate on the nu_e to nu_mu appearance channel in a hypothetical, upgraded version of the nuSTORM proposal. We establish that the optimal baseline for CPV studies depends strongly on the value of Delta m^2_14 -- the new mass-squared difference -- and that the ability to observe CPV depends significantly on whether the experiment is performed at the optimal baseline. Even at the optimal baseline, it is very challenging to see CPV in 3+1 scenarios if one considers only one appearance channel. Full exploration of CPV in short-baseline experiments will require precision measurements of tau-appearance, a challenge significantly beyond what is currently being explored by the experimental neutrino community.

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arXiv2015

Heavy Neutrinos and the Kinematics of Tau Decays

Searches for heavy neutrinos often rely on the possibility that the heavy neutrinos will decay to detectable particles. Interpreting the results of such searches requires a particular model for the heavy-neutrino decay. We present a method for placing limits on the probability that a tau can couple to a heavy neutrino, |U_tau4|^2, using only the kinematics of semi-leptonic tau decays, instead of a specific model. Our study suggests that B factories with large datasets, such a Belle and BaBar, may be able to place stringent limits on |U_tau4|^2 as low as O(10^-7 - 10^-3) when 100 MeV < m_4 < 1.2 GeV, utilizing minimal assumptions regarding the decay modes of heavy neutrinos.

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arXiv2014

Neutrino Masses, Grand Unification, and Baryon Number Violation

If grand unification is real, searches for baryon-number violation should be included on the list of observables that may reveal information regarding the origin of neutrino masses. Making use of an effective-operator approach and assuming that nature is SU(5) invariant at very short distances, we estimate the consequences of different scenarios that lead to light Majorana neutrinos for low-energy phenomena that violate baryon number minus lepton number (B-L) by two (or more) units, including neutron-antineutron oscillations and B-L violating nucleon decays. We find that, among all possible effective theories of lepton-number violation that lead to nonzero neutrino masses, only a subset is, broadly speaking, consistent with grand unification.

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