arXiv subjects

L. Lavoura

Publications and source records attributed to L. Lavoura.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Radiative seesaw corrections and charged-lepton decays in a model with soft flavour violation

We consider the one-loop radiative corrections to the light-neutrino mass matrix and their consequences for the predicted branching ratios of the five lepton-flavour-violating decays $\ell_1^- \to \ell_2^- \ell_3^+ \ell_3^-$ in a two-Higgs-doublet model furnished with the type-I seesaw mechanism and soft lepton-flavour violation. We find that the radiative corrections are very significant; they may alter the predicted branching ratios by several orders of magnitude and, in particular, they may help explain why $\mbox{BR}(μ^- \to e^- e^+ e^-)$ is strongly suppressed relative to the branching ratios of the decays of the $τ^-$. We conclude that, in any serious numerical assessment of the predictions of this model, it is absolutely necessary to take into account the one-loop radiative corrections to the light-neutrino mass matrix.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Higgs masses and couplings in the general 2HDM with unitarity bounds

We investigate the general two Higgs doublet model imposing both the unitarity conditions and the bounded-from-below conditions. Both types of conditions restrict the ranges of the parameters of the scalar potential. We study the model in the Higgs basis, i.e. in the basis for the scalar doublets where only one doublet has vacuum expectation value. We use the experimental bounds on the oblique parameter T, to produce scalar particles with masses and cubic and quartic couplings of the Higgs in agreement with the phenomenology. The numerical calculations show that the cubic coupling may be up to 1.6 times larger than in the Standard Model, but it may also be zero or even negative. The quartic coupling is always positive and may be up to four times larger than in the Standard Model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

More models for lepton mixing with four constraints

We propose new lepton-mixing textures that may be enforced through well-defined symmetries in renormalizable models. Each of our textures has four sum rules for the neutrino mass observables. The models are based on the type-I seesaw mechanism; their charged-lepton mass matrices are diagonal because of the symmetries imposed. Each model has three versions, depending on the identification of the charged leptons. Testing all the models, we have found that five of them agree with the data at the 1 sigma level when the neutrino-mass ordering is normal, and two models agree with the data for an inverted ordering. We detail the predictions of each of those seven models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

No strong $CP$ violation up to the one-loop level in a two-Higgs-doublet model

We put forward a two-Higgs-doublet model, furnished with a $Z_3$ symmetry, wherein $CP$ is conserved in the dimension-four terms of the Lagrangian and is softly broken in the scalar potential. The new particles of our model are one neutral scalar $H$, one neutral pseudoscalar $A$, and two charged scalars $H^\pm$. In our model the only locus of $CP$ violation is the CKM matrix. Strong $CP$ violation is absent both at the tree and one-loop levels. We work out the phenomenological constraints on our model, which features flavour-changing neutral Yukawa interactions, showing that the new scalar particles may in some cases be lighter than 500\,GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

The three- and four-Higgs couplings in the general two-Higgs-doublet model

We apply the unitarity bounds and the bounded-from-below (BFB) bounds to the most general scalar potential of the two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM). We do this in the Higgs basis, i.e. in the basis for the scalar doublets where only one doublet has vacuum expectation value. In this way we obtain bounds on the scalar masses and couplings that are valid for all 2HDMs. We compare those bounds to the analogous bounds that we have obtained for other simple extensions of the Standard Model (SM), namely the 2HDM extended by one scalar singlet and the extension of the SM through two scalar singlets.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Lepton mixing and the charged-lepton mass ratios

We construct a class of renormalizable models for lepton mixing that generate predictions given in terms of the charged-lepton mass ratios. We show that one of those models leads, when one takes into account the known experimental values, to almost maximal CP-breaking phases and to almost maximal neutrinoless double-beta decay. We study in detail the scalar potential of the models, especially the bounds imposed by unitarity on the values of the quartic couplings.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Cobimaximal lepton mixing from soft symmetry breaking

Cobimaximal lepton mixing, i.e. $θ_{23} = 45^\circ$ and $δ= \pm 90^\circ$ in the lepton mixing matrix $V$, arises as a consequence of $S V = V^\ast \mathcal{P}$, where $S$ is the permutation matrix that interchanges the second and third rows of $V$ and $\mathcal{P}$ is a diagonal matrix of phase factors. We prove that any such $V$ may be written in the form $V = U R P$, where $U$ is any predefined unitary matrix satisfying $S U = U^\ast$, $R$ is an orthogonal, i.e. real, matrix, and $P$ is a diagonal matrix satisfying $P^2 = \mathcal{P}$. Using this theorem, we demonstrate the equivalence of two ways of constructing models for cobimaximal mixing---one way that uses a standard $CP$ symmetry and a different way that uses a $CP$ symmetry including $μ$--$τ$ interchange. We also present two simple seesaw models to illustrate this equivalence; those models have, in addition to the $CP$ symmetry, flavour symmetries broken softly by the Majorana mass terms of the right-handed neutrino singlets. Since each of the two models needs four scalar doublets, we investigate how to accommodate the Standard Model Higgs particle in them.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Charged-lepton decays from soft flavour violation

We consider a two-Higgs-doublet extension of the Standard Model, with three right-handed neutrino singlets and the seesaw mechanism, wherein all the Yukawa-coupling matrices are lepton flavour-diagonal and lepton flavour violation is soft, originating solely in the non-flavour-diagonal Majorana mass matrix of the right-handed neutrinos. We consider the limit $m_R \to \infty$ of this model, where $m_R$ is the seesaw scale. We demonstrate that there is a region in parameter space where the branching ratios of all five charged-lepton decays $\ell_1^- \to \ell_2^- \ell_3^+ \ell_3^-$ are close to their experimental upper bounds, while the radiative decays $\ell_1^- \to \ell_2^- γ$ are invisible because their branching ratios are suppressed by $m_R^{-4}$. We also consider the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and show that in our model the contributions from the extra scalars, both charged and neutral, can remove the discrepancy between its experimental and theoretical values.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Group-theoretical search for rows or columns of the lepton mixing matrix

We have used the SmallGroups library of groups, together with the computer algebra systems GAP and Mathematica, to search for groups with a three-dimensional irreducible representation in which one of the group generators has a twice-degenerate eigenvalue while another generator has non-degenerate eigenvalues. By assuming one of these group generators to commute with the charged-lepton mass matrix and the other one to commute with the neutrino (Dirac) mass matrix, one derives group-theoretical predictions for the moduli of the matrix elements of either a row or a column of the lepton mixing matrix. Our search has produced several realistic predictions for either the second row, or the third row, or for any of the columns of that matrix.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

GAP listing of the finite subgroups of U(3) of order smaller than 2000

We have sorted the SmallGroups library of all the finite groups of order smaller than 2000 to identify the groups that possess a faithful three-dimensional irreducible representation (`irrep') and cannot be written as the direct product of a smaller group times a cyclic group. Using the computer algebra system GAP, we have scanned all the three-dimensional irreps of each of those groups to identify those that are subgroups of SU(3); we have labelled each of those subgroups of SU(3) by using the extant complete classification of the finite subgroups of SU(3). Turning to the subgroups of U(3) that are not subgroups of SU(3), we have found the generators of all of them and classified most of them in series according to their generators and structure.

math.RT↗

arXiv2016

Scotogenic model for co-bimaximal mixing

We present a scotogenic model, i.e. a one-loop neutrino mass model with dark right-handed neutrino gauge singlets and one inert dark scalar gauge doublet $η$, which has symmetries that lead to co-bimaximal mixing, i.e. to an atmospheric mixing angle $θ_{23} = 45^\circ$ and to a $CP$-violating phase $δ= \pm π/2$, while the mixing angle $θ_{13}$ remains arbitrary. The symmetries consist of softly broken lepton numbers $L_α$ ($α= e,μ,τ$), a non-standard $CP$ symmetry, and three $Z_2$ symmetries. We indicate two possibilities for extending the model to the quark sector. Since the model has, besides $η$, three scalar gauge doublets, we perform a thorough discussion of its scalar sector. We demonstrate that it can accommodate a Standard Model-like scalar with mass $125\, \mathrm{GeV}$, with all the other charged and neutral scalars having much higher masses.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Flavour symmetries in a renormalizable SO(10) model

In the context of a renormalizable supersymmetric SO(10) Grand Unified Theory, we consider the fermion mass matrices generated by the Yukawa couplings to a $\mathbf{10} \oplus \mathbf{120} \oplus \bar{\mathbf{126}}$ representation of scalars. We perform a complete investigation of the possibilities of imposing flavour symmetries in this scenario; the purpose is to reduce the number of Yukawa coupling constants in order to identify potentially predictive models. We have found that there are only 14 inequivalent cases of Yukawa coupling matrices, out of which 13 cases are generated by $Z_n$ symmetries, with suitable $n$, and one case is generated by a $Z_2 \times Z_2$ symmetry. A numerical analysis of the 14 cases reveals that only two of them---dubbed A and B in the present paper---allow good fits to the experimentally known fermion masses and mixings.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

SO(10) models with flavour symmetries: Classification and examples

We establish the full list of flavour symmetry groups which may be enforced, without producing any further accidental symmetry, on the Yukawa-coupling matrices of an SO(10) Grand Unified Theory with arbitrary numbers of scalar multiplets in the 10, $\overline{126}$, and 120 representations of SO(10). For each of the possible discrete non-Abelian symmetry groups, we present examples of minimal models which do not run into obvious contradiction with the phenomenological fermion masses and mixings.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

New texture-zero models for lepton mixing

I systematically consider, in the context of the type-I see-saw mechanism, all the predictive cases in which both the Dirac mass matrix connecting the left-handed neutrinos to the right-handed neutrinos, and the Majorana mass matrix of the latter neutrinos, feature texture zeros, while the mass matrix of the charged leptons is diagonal. I have found a few cases which had not been discussed in the literature previously.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

New textures for the lepton mass matrices

We study predictive textures for the lepton mass matrices in which the charged-lepton mass matrix has either four or five zero matrix elements while the neutrino Majorana mass matrix has, respectively, either four or three zero matrix elements. We find that all the viable textures of these two kinds share many predictions: the neutrino mass spectrum is inverted, the sum of the light-neutrino masses is close to 0.1 eV, the Dirac phase $δ$ in the lepton mixing matrix is close to either $0$ or $π$, and the mass term responsible for neutrinoless double-beta decay lies in between 12 and 22 meV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Double seesaw mechanism and lepton mixing

We present a general framework for models in which the lepton mixing matrix is the product of the maximal mixing matrix U_ω times a matrix constrained by a well-defined Z_2 symmetry. Our framework relies on neither supersymmetry nor non-renormalizable Lagrangians nor higher dimensions; it relies instead on the double seesaw mechanism and on the soft breaking of symmetries. The framework may be used to construct models for virtually all the lepton mixing matrices of the type mentioned above which have been proposed in the literature.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Golden ratio lepton mixing and nonzero reactor angle with $A_5$

We furnish a supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model with a flavour discrete symmetry $A_5$ under which the lepton fields transform as an irreducible triplet. Additional (`flavon') superfields are used to break $A_5$ into a $\mathbb{Z}_2 \times \mathbb{Z}_2$ subgroup in the charged-lepton sector and another $\mathbb{Z}_2$ subgroup in the neutrino sector. The first column of the resulting lepton mixing matrix is predicted and has entries which are related to the golden ratio. Using the observed $θ_{13}$ as input, our model predicts a solar mixing angle $θ_{12}$ in very good agreement with experiment; it also predicts a correlation between the atmospheric mixing angle $θ_{23}$ and the $CP$-violating Dirac phase $δ$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

A new A4 model for lepton mixing

We present a new model of the lepton sector that uses a family symmetry A4 to make predictions for lepton mixing which are invariant under any permutation of the three flavours. We show that those predictions broadly agree with the experimental data, leading to a largish sin^2(theta12) >~ 0.34, to |cos(delta)| >~ 0.7, and to | 0.5 - sin^2(theta23) | >~ 0.08; cos(delta) and 0.5 - sin^2(theta23) are predicted to have identical signs.

hep-ph↗