arXiv subjects

Douglas Tuckler

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas Tuckler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Neutrino Electroweak Couplings and the Neutrino Fog at Belle II

The mono-photon process $e^+e^- \to \gamma+\mathrm{invisible}$ at Belle II probes both invisible new states and the electroweak couplings of neutrinos. In this work, we study the process $e^+e^- \to \gamma\nu\bar{\nu}$, finding that Belle II with the full expected dataset can determine the neutrino-sensitive effective weak mixing angle to a 3.6$\%$ relative statistical precision, competitive with existing neutrino probes at other energy scales. Polarized beams, as proposed for the Chiral Belle upgrade, separate the neutral- and charged-current contributions and provide independent access to each, giving a handle on the chiral structure of the neutrino gauge interactions. The same process is an irreducible background to dark boson searches, producing a neutrino fog once the luminosity exceeds 1 ab$^{-1}$.

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arXiv2026

Hadronic Probes of Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions

In this work, we study leptonic decays of hadrons as probes of light neutrinophilic scalars that mediate enhanced neutrino self-interactions. Such scalars can be emitted in processes involving neutrinos, turning two-body decays into three-body final states and producing characteristic spectral distortions. We compute these effects for charged pion decay and nuclear electron capture decay, including both on-shell and off-shell scalar emission, as well as the loop-induced renormalization required to cancel divergences. Using these results, we derive the projected sensitivity of PIONEER and assess the current and future reach of BeEST. The resulting low-energy spectral tails provide a characteristic signal for light neutrinophilic scalars, making upcoming hadron decay experiments powerful probes of light mediators of non-standard neutrino self-interactions.

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arXiv2025

X-rays from Inelastic Dark Matter Freeze-in

We study inelastic dark matter produced via freeze-in through a light mediator with a mass splitting below the electron-positron threshold. In this regime, the heavier dark matter state is naturally long-lived compared to the age of the Universe and decays to the lighter state in association with photons. Given a light mediator, the dark matter abundance is directly related to the decay rate of the heavier dark matter. We show that observations of photons from the galactic center can effectively probe inelastic dark matter freeze-in with mediators at the $100~\rm MeV$ scale and dark matter at the $\rm GeV$ scale.

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arXiv2025

Characterizing Dark Bosons at Chiral Belle

We explore the advantages of a polarized electron beam at Belle II, as proposed for ``Chiral Belle'', in the search for invisibly decaying (dark) bosons that weakly couple to the Standard Model. By measuring the polarization dependence of the production cross section of dark bosons in association with a photon, the dark boson's spin and Lorentz structure of its couplings can potentially be determined. We analyze the mono-photon channel, $e^+ e^- \rightarrow \gamma + \text{invisible}$, in detail, focusing on the production of an on-shell spin-1 boson. We explore this in the context of three separate scenarios for a new dark vector: a dark photon, a mass-mixed ``dark $Z$'', and a vector that couples to right-handed electrons, and estimate how well the couplings of such bosons to electrons can be constrained in the event of a positive signal.

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arXiv2024

Probing Lepton Number Violation at Same-Sign Lepton Colliders

Same-sign lepton colliders offer a promising environment to probe lepton number violation. We study processes that change lepton number by two units in the context of Majorana heavy neutral leptons and neutrinophilic scalars at $μ$TRISTAN, a proposed same-sign muon collider. Our work shows that such colliders, with modest energy and luminosity requirements, can either reveal direct evidence of lepton number violation or significantly constrain unexplored regions of parameter space, especially in the case of a neutrinophilic scalar.

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arXiv2024

The Sign of Gauge-Higgs Couplings at Future Lepton Colliders

This work investigates the capability of future lepton colliders to determine the sign of the gauge-Higgs coupling through the vector boson fusion (VBF) $Zh$ process. This channel offers a model-independent way to probe the sign of the gauge-Higgs coupling. Its sensitivity to interference effects and universal coupling with new physics makes it particularly effective. We show that a high-energy lepton collider such as CLIC can fully determine the sign of the gauge-Higgs coupling in a model-independent way and with high confidence.

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arXiv2023

Higgs Portal Interpretation of the Belle II $B^+ \to K^+ νν$ Measurement

The Belle II experiment recently observed the decay $B^+ \to K^+ νν$ for the first time, with a measured value for the branching ratio of $ (2.3 \pm 0.7) \times 10^{-5}$. This result exhibits a $\sim 3σ$ deviation from the Standard Model (SM) prediction. The observed enhancement with respect to the Standard Model could indicate the presence of invisible light new physics. In this paper, we investigate whether this result can be accommodated in a minimal Higgs portal model, where the SM is extended by a singlet Higgs scalar that decays invisibly to dark sector states. We find that current and future bounds on invisible decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson completely exclude a new scalar with a mass $\gtrsim 10$ GeV. On the other hand, the Belle II results can be successfully accommodated if the new scalar is lighter than $B$ mesons but heavier than kaons. We also investigate the cosmological implications of the new states and explore the possibility that they are part of an abelian Higgs extension of the SM. Future Higgs factories are expected to place stringent bounds on the invisible branching ratio of the 125 GeV Higgs boson, and will be able to definitively test the region of parameter space favored by the Belle II results.

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arXiv2023

Discovering the Origin of Neutrino Masses at SHiP

In $U(1)_R$ extensions of supersymmetric models, the bino and its Dirac partner, the singlino, can play the role of right-handed neutrinos. The bino and the singlino form a pseudo-dirac pair, dubbed the `bi$ν$o', which can generate Standard Model neutrino masses via the inverse seesaw mechanism. We investigate the prospects for detecting long-lived bi$ν$os at SHiP, where GeV scale bi$ν$os can be copiously produced in the decays of mesons. We show that SHiP can probe new regions of parameter space that are complementary to searches for the lepton flavor-violating decay $μ\to e γ$. This scenario provides a well-motivated benchmark for future experiments of a right-handed neutrino that mixes with all Standard Model neutrinos, and is directly related to the generation of neutrino masses.

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arXiv2022

$B$ Anomalies and Dark Matter in an $L_μ-L_τ$ Model with General Kinetic Mixing

We revisit the $L_μ- L_τ$ extension of the Standard Model that can simultaneously address anomalies in semileptonic $B$ meson decays and the nature of dark matter (DM). In the region favored by the $B$ anomalies, this scenario is excluded by a combination of low-energy flavor constraints and stringent DM direct detection constraints if the kinetic mixing between $Z^\prime$ gauge boson and the photon vanishes at high energy scales, since this leads to a sizable coupling between DM and the SM in low-momentum scattering processes. However, this is no longer the case if the kinetic mixing vanishes at low energy scales instead. In this scenario, the low-momentum DM scattering rate can be suppressed and constraints from direct detection experiments can be substantially relaxed. As a result, we find a re-opening of the region of parameter space where the $B$ anomalies and DM can be simultaneously explained.

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arXiv2022

Heavy Neutral Leptons at Beam Dump Experiments of Future Lepton Colliders

A new beam dump experiment that utilizes the beam of future high energy electron-positron colliders could be an excellent avenue to search for dark sector particles due to its unprecedented high energy and intensity. We consider heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) as a specific example to demonstrate the sensitivity of searches for dark sector particles at future electron-positron collider beam dump experiments. This includes the study of the reach at the International Linear Collider (ILC), the Cool Copper Collider ($\rm C^3$), and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC). We comprehensively examine the HNL production and detector acceptance at these electron beam dump experiments. We show that these experiments will probe a large range of HNL parameter space, not yet probed by past experiments. These experiments will be complementary to other proposed experiments such as proton beam dump experiments, neutrino experiments, and LHC auxiliary detectors. Our study also motivates a more detailed analysis of heavy meson productions in high-energy electron-nucleon collisions in thick targets.

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arXiv2022

Core-collapse Supernova Constraint on the Origin of Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter via Neutrino Self-interactions

Novel neutrino self-interaction can open up viable parameter space for the relic abundance of sterile-neutrino dark matter (S$ν$DM). In this work, we constrain the relic target using core-collapse supernova which features the same fundamental process and a similar environment to the early universe era when S$ν$DM is dominantly produced. We present a detailed calculation of the effects of a massive scalar mediated neutrino self-interaction on the supernova cooling rate, including the derivation of the thermal potential in the presence of non-zero chemical potentials from plasma species. Our results demonstrate that the supernova cooling argument can cover the neutrino self-interaction parameter space that complements terrestrial and cosmological probes.

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arXiv2022

The Forward Physics Facility: Sites, Experiments, and Physics Potential

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) is a proposal to create a cavern with the space and infrastructure to support a suite of far-forward experiments at the Large Hadron Collider during the High Luminosity era. Located along the beam collision axis and shielded from the interaction point by at least 100 m of concrete and rock, the FPF will house experiments that will detect particles outside the acceptance of the existing large LHC experiments and will observe rare and exotic processes in an extremely low-background environment. In this work, we summarize the current status of plans for the FPF, including recent progress in civil engineering in identifying promising sites for the FPF and the experiments currently envisioned to realize the FPF's physics potential. We then review the many Standard Model and new physics topics that will be advanced by the FPF, including searches for long-lived particles, probes of dark matter and dark sectors, high-statistics studies of TeV neutrinos of all three flavors, aspects of perturbative and non-perturbative QCD, and high-energy astroparticle physics.

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arXiv2021

Probing Neutrino-Portal Dark Matter at the Forward Physics Facility

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF), planned to operate near the ATLAS interaction point at the LHC, offers exciting new terrain to explore neutrino properties at TeV energy scales. It will reach an unprecedented regime for terrestrial neutrino experiments and provide the opportunity to reveal new physics of neutrinos at higher energy scales. We demonstrate that future detectors at the FPF have the potential to discover new mediators that couple predominantly to neutrinos, with masses between 0.3 and 20 GeV and small couplings not yet probed by existing searches. Such a neutrinophilic mediator is well motivated for addressing the origin of several neutrino-portal dark matter candidates, including thermal freeze-out and sterile-neutrino dark matter scenarios. Experimentally, the corresponding signatures include neutrino charged-current scattering events associated with large missing transverse momentum, and excessive apparent tau-neutrino events. We discuss the FPF detector capabilities needed for this search, most importantly the hadronic energy resolution.

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arXiv2021

General Kinetic Mixing in Gauged $U(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$ Model for Muon $g-2$ and Dark Matter

The gauged $U(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$ extension of the Standard Model is a very simple framework that can alleviate the tension in muon anomalous magnetic dipole moment, reinforced by the recent Fermilab measurement. We explore experimental probes of the $(g-2)_μ$ target with a general treatment of kinetic mixing between the $Z'$ gauge boson and the photon. The physical value of the kinetic mixing depends on a free parameter of the model and energy scale of a process. We find neutrino constraints on the $(g-2)_μ$ target including Borexino, CE$ν$NS, and white dwarfs are sensitive to this freedom and can be lifted if the kinetic mixing lies in proximity of zero at low momentum transfer. As a further step, we explore $L_μ-L_τ$ charged dark matter with a thermal origin and show that the same scenario of kinetic mixing can relax existing direct detection constraints and predict novel recoil energy dependence in the upcoming searches. Future joint effort of neutrino and dark matter experiments and precision spectral measurement will be the key to test such a theory.

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arXiv2020

Characterizing Dark Matter Signals with Missing Momentum Experiments

Fixed target missing-momentum experiments such as LDMX and M$^3$ are powerful probes of light dark matter and other light, weakly coupled particles beyond the Standard Model (SM). Such experiments involve $\sim$ 10 GeV beam particles whose energy and momentum are individually measured before and after passing through a suitably thin target. If new states are radiatively produced in the target, the recoiling beam particle loses a large fraction of its initial momentum, and no SM particles are observed in a downstream veto detector. We explore how such experiments can use kinematic variables and experimental parameters, such as beam energy and polarization, to measure properties of the radiated particles and discriminate between models if a signal is discovered. In particular, the transverse momentum of recoiling particles is shown to be a powerful tool to measure the masses of new radiated states, offering significantly better discriminating ability compared to the recoil energy alone. We further illustrate how variations in beam energy, polarization, and lepton flavor (i.e., electron or muon) can be used to disentangle the possible the Lorentz structure of the new interactions.

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arXiv2020

Implications for Electric Dipole Moments of a Leptoquark Scenario for the $B$-Physics Anomalies

Vector leptoquarks can address the lepton flavor universality anomalies in decays associated with the $b \to c \ell ν$ and $b \to s \ell \ell$ transitions, as observed in recent years. Generically, these leptoquarks yield new sources of CP violation. In this paper, we explore constraints and discovery potential for electric dipole moments (EDMs) in leptonic and hadronic systems. We provide the most generic expressions for dipole moments induced by vector leptoquarks at one loop. We find that $O(1)$ CP-violating phases in tau and muon couplings can lead to corresponding EDMs within reach of next-generation EDM experiments, and that existing bounds on the electron EDM already put stringent constraints on CP-violating electron couplings.

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arXiv2019

Rare Top Decays as Probes of Flavorful Higgs Bosons

We study a version of Two Higgs Doublet Models with non-standard flavor violation in the up quark sector. We find branching ratios for the rare top decays $t\to hc$ and $t\to hu$ that are within reach of current and future colliders, while other flavor constraints from rare $B$ decays and neutral $D$ meson mixing, as well as constraints from Higgs signal strength measurements remain under control. The most prominent collider signature of the considered setup is $pp \to t H \to tt \bar c$, providing continued motivation to search for same-sign tops at the LHC as well as a simple framework to interpret these searches. As a byproduct of our study, we provide updated SM predictions for the rare top decays BR$(t \to h c)_\text{SM} = (4.19^{+1.08}_{-0.80} \pm 0.16) \times 10^{-15}$ and BR$(t \to h u)_\text{SM} = (3.66^{+0.94}_{-0.70} \pm 0.67) \times 10^{-17}$ with the main uncertainties coming from higher order QCD and CKM matrix elements.

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arXiv2017

Collider Signatures of Flavorful Higgs Bosons

Motivated by our limited knowledge of the Higgs couplings to first two generation fermions, we analyze the collider phenomenology of a class of two Higgs doublet models (2HDMs) with a non-standard Yukawa sector. One Higgs doublet is mainly responsible for the masses of the weak gauge bosons and the third generation fermions, while the second Higgs doublet provides mass for the lighter fermion generations. The characteristic collider signatures of this setup differ significantly from well-studied 2HDMs with natural flavor conservation, flavor alignment, or minimal flavor violation. New production mechanisms for the heavy scalar, pseudoscalar, and charged Higgs involving second generation quarks can become dominant. The most interesting decay modes include H/A -> cc, tc, μμ, τμ and H+ -> cb, cs, μν. Searches for low mass di-muon resonances are currently among the best probes of the heavy Higgs bosons in this setup.

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