arXiv subjects

Pedro A. N. Machado

Publications and source records attributed to Pedro A. N. Machado.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

A Neutrinophilic 2HDM as a UV Completion for the Inverse Seesaw Mechanism

In Neutrinophilic Two Higgs Doublet Models, Dirac neutrino masses are obtained by forbidding a Majorana mass term for the right-handed neutrinos via a symmetry. We study a variation of such models in which that symmetry is taken to be a local U(1), leading naturally to the typical Lagrangian of the inverse seesaw scenario. The presence of a new gauge boson and of an extended scalar sector result in a rich phenomenology, including modifications to Z, Higgs and kaon decays as well as to electroweak precision parameters, and a pseudoscalar associated to the breaking of lepton number.

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arXiv2017

Dark Matter and the elusive $\mathbf{Z'}$ in a dynamical Inverse Seesaw scenario

The Inverse Seesaw naturally explains the smallness of neutrino masses via an approximate $B-L$ symmetry broken only by a correspondingly small parameter. In this work the possible dynamical generation of the Inverse Seesaw neutrino mass mechanism from the spontaneous breaking of a gauged $U(1)$ $B-L$ symmetry is investigated. Interestingly, the Inverse Seesaw pattern requires a chiral content such that anomaly cancellation predicts the existence of extra fermions belonging to a dark sector with large, non-trivial, charges under the $U(1)$ $B-L$. We investigate the phenomenology associated to these new states and find that one of them is a viable dark matter candidate with mass around the TeV scale, whose interaction with the Standard Model is mediated by the $Z'$ boson associated to the gauged $U(1)$ $B-L$ symmetry. Given the large charges required for anomaly cancellation in the dark sector, the $B-L$ $Z'$ interacts preferentially with this dark sector rather than with the Standard Model. This suppresses the rate at direct detection searches and thus alleviates the constraints on $Z'$-mediated dark matter relic abundance. The collider phenomenology of this elusive $Z'$ is also discussed.

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arXiv2017

Neutrinos in Large Extra Dimensions and Short-Baseline $ν_e$ Appearance

We show that, in the presence of bulk masses, sterile neutrinos propagating in large extra dimensions (LED) can induce electron-neutrino appearance effects. This is in contrast to what happens in the standard LED scenario and hence LED models with explicit bulk masses have the potential to address the MiniBooNE and LSND appearance results, as well as the reactor and Gallium anomalies. A special feature in our scenario is that the mixing of the first KK modes to active neutrinos can be suppressed, making the contribution of heavier sterile neutrinos to oscillations relatively more important. We study the implications of this neutrino mass generation mechanism for current and future neutrino oscillation experiments, and show that the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermilab will be able to efficiently probe such a scenario. In addition, this framework leads to massive Dirac neutrinos and thus precludes any signal in neutrinoless double beta decay experiments.

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arXiv2017

Constraints from Triple Gauge Couplings on Vectorlike Leptons

We study the contributions of colorless vectorlike fermions to the triple gauge couplings $W^+ W^- γ$ and $W^+ W^- Z^0$. We consider models in which their coupling to the Standard Model Higgs boson is allowed or forbidden by quantum numbers. We assess the sensitivity of the future accelerators FCC-ee, ILC and CLIC to the parameters of these models, assuming they will be able to constrain the anomalous triple gauge couplings with a precision $δκ_V \sim \mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$, $V=γ,Z^0$. We show that the combination of measurements at different center-of-mass energies helps to improve the sensitivity to the contribution of vectorlike fermions, in particular when they couple to the Higgs. In fact, the measurements at the FCC-ee and, especially, the ILC and the CLIC, may turn the triple gauge couplings into a new set of precision parameters able to constrain the models better than the oblique parameters or the $H \to γγ$ decay, even assuming the considerable improvement of the latter measurements achievable at the new machines.

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arXiv2017

Double Bangs from New Physics in IceCube

A variety of new physics models allows for neutrinos to up-scatter into heavier states. If the incident neutrino is energetic enough, the heavy neutrino may travel some distance before decaying. In this work, we consider the atmospheric neutrino flux as a source of such events. At IceCube, this would lead to a "double-bang" (DB) event topology, similar to what is predicted to occur for tau neutrinos at ultra-high energies. The DB event topology has an extremely low background rate from coincident atmospheric cascades, making this a distinctive signature of new physics. Our results indicate that IceCube should already be able to derive new competitive constraints on models with GeV-scale sterile neutrinos using existing data.

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arXiv2017

Distorted Neutrino Oscillations From Ultralight Scalar Dark Matter

Cold, ultralight ($\ll$ eV) bosonic dark matter with a misalignment abundance can induce temporal variation in the masses and couplings of Standard Model particles. We find that fast variations in neutrino oscillation parameters can lead to significantly distorted neutrino oscillations (DiNOs) and yield striking signatures at long baseline experiments. We study several representative observables to demonstrate this effect and find that current and future experiments including DUNE and JUNO are sensitive to a wide range of viable scalar parameters over many decades in mass reach.

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arXiv2016

Simplified Models for Dark Matter Face their Consistent Completions

Simplified dark matter models have been recently advocated as a powerful tool to exploit the complementarity between dark matter direct detection, indirect detection and LHC experimental probes. Focusing on pseudoscalar mediators between the dark and visible sectors, we show that the simplified dark matter model phenomenology departs significantly from that of consistent ${SU(2)_{\mathrm{L}} \times U(1)_{\mathrm{Y}}}$ gauge invariant completions. We discuss the key physics simplified models fail to capture, and its impact on LHC searches. Notably, we show that resonant mono-Z searches provide competitive sensitivities to standard mono-jet analyses at $13$ TeV LHC.

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arXiv2016

Physics from solar neutrinos in dark matter direct detection experiments

The next generation of dark matter direct detection experiments will be sensitive to both coherent neutrino-nucleus and neutrino-electron scattering. This will enable them to explore aspects of solar physics, perform the lowest energy measurement of the weak angle to date, and probe contributions from new theories with light mediators. In this article, we compute the projected nuclear and electron recoil rates expected in several dark matter direct detection experiments due to solar neutrinos, and use these estimates to quantify errors on future measurements of the neutrino fluxes, weak mixing angle and solar observables, as well as to constrain new physics in the neutrino sector. Our analysis shows that the combined rates of solar neutrino events in second generation experiments (SuperCDMS and LZ) can yield a measurement of the $pp$ flux to 2.5% accuracy via electron recoil, and slightly improve the $^8$B flux determination. Assuming a low-mass argon phase, projected tonne-scale experiments like DARWIN can reduce the uncertainty on both the $pp$ and boron-8 neutrino fluxes to below 1%. Finally, we use current results from LUX, SuperCDMS and CDMSlite to set bounds on new interactions between neutrinos and electrons or nuclei, and show that future direct detection experiments can be used to set complementary constraints on the parameter space associated with light mediators.

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arXiv2016

Global constraints on vector-like WIMP effective interactions

In this work we combine information from relic abundance, direct detection, cosmic microwave background, positron fraction, gamma rays, and colliders to explore the existing constraints on couplings between Dark Matter and Standard Model constituents when no underlying model or correlation is assumed. For definiteness, we include independent vector-like effective interactions for each Standard Model fermion. Our results show that low Dark Matter masses below 20 GeV are disfavoured at the $3 σ$ level with respect to higher masses, due to the tension between the relic abundance requirement and upper constraints on the Dark Matter couplings. Furthermore, large couplings are typically only allowed in combinations which avoid effective couplings to the nuclei used in direct detection experiments.

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arXiv2016

Di-Photon excess in the 2HDM: hasting towards the instability and the non-perturbative regime

We challenge the interpretation of the di-photon excess recently observed by both ATLAS and CMS in a two Higgs doublet framework. Due to the large enhancement necessary to obtain the observed di-photon signal, a large number of colored and charged vector-like fermions are called for. We find that even before the hypercharge gauge coupling becomes non perturbative, the one loop effects of these fermions abruptly drive the scalar potential to instability.

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arXiv2015

Exploring nu signals in dark matter detectors

We investigate standard and non-standard solar neutrino signals in direct dark matter detection experiments. It is well known that even without new physics, scattering of solar neutrinos on nuclei or electrons is an irreducible background for direct dark matter searches, once these experiments each the ton scale. Here, we entertain the possibility that neutrino interactions are enhanced by new physics, such as new light force carriers (for instance a "dark photon") or neutrino magnetic moments. We consider models with only the three standard neutrino flavors, as well as scenarios with extra sterile neutrinos. We find that low-energy neutrino--electron and neutrino--nucleus scattering rates can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude, potentially enough to explain the event excesses observed in CoGeNT and CRESST. We also investigate temporal modulation in these neutrino signals, which can arise from geometric effects, oscillation physics, non-standard neutrino energy loss, and direction-dependent detection efficiencies. We emphasize that, in addition to providing potential explanations for existing signals, models featuring new physics in the neutrino sector can also be very relevant to future dark matter searches, where, on the one hand, they can be probed and constrained, but on the other hand, their signatures could also be confused with dark matter signals.

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arXiv2015

Lepton Jets from Radiating Dark Matter

The idea that dark matter forms part of a larger dark sector is very intriguing, given the high degree of complexity of the visible sector. In this paper, we discuss lepton jets as a promising signature of an extended dark sector. As a simple toy model, we consider an $\mathcal{O}(\text{GeV})$ DM fermion coupled to a new $U(1)'$ gauge boson (dark photon) with a mass of order GeV and kinetically mixed with the Standard Model photon. Dark matter production at the LHC in this model is typically accompanied by collinear radiation of dark photons whose decay products can form lepton jets. We analyze the dynamics of collinear dark photon emission both analytically and numerically. In particular, we derive the dark photon energy spectrum using recursive analytic expressions, using Monte Carlo simulations in Pythia, and using an inverse Mellin transform to obtain the spectrum from its moments. In the second part of the paper, we simulate the expected lepton jet signatures from radiating dark matter at the LHC, carefully taking into account the various dark photon decay modes and allowing for both prompt and displaced decays. Using these simulations, we recast two existing ATLAS lepton jet searches to significantly restrict the parameter space of extended dark sector models, and we compute the expected sensitivity of future LHC searches.

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arXiv2015

On Bimaximal Neutrino Mixing and GUT's

We briefly discuss the present status of models of neutrino mixing. Among the existing viable options we review the virtues of Bimaximal Mixing (that could be implemented by an $S_4$ discrete symmetry), corrected by terms arising from the charged lepton mass diagonalization. In particular in a GUT formulation the property of quark lepton "weak" complementarity can be naturally realized. We discuss in some detail two new versions of particular GUT models, one based on $SU(5)$ and one on $SO(10)$ and the associated phenomenology. We compare these approaches based on symmetry to models based on chance, like Anarchy or $U(1)_{FN}$.

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arXiv2015

Learning about the CP phase in the next 10 years

We assess the sensitivity to the lepton CP phase by accelerator and reactor experiments in the near future, characterizing it globally by means of the CP exclusion fraction measure. Such measure quantifies what fraction of the $δ_{\rm CP}$ space can be excluded at given input values of $θ_{23}$ and $δ_{\rm CP}$. For some region of the parameter space, we find that T2K and NO$ν$A combined can exclude about $30\%-40\%$ of the $δ_{\rm CP}$ space at $3σ$ with a 5 years running in each neutrino and antineutrino modes. A determination of the mass hierarchy would be possible for a modest portion of the parameter space at $3σ$.

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arXiv2014

Sterile Neutrino Oscillations: The Global Picture

Neutrino oscillations involving eV-scale neutrino mass states are investigated in the context of global neutrino oscillation data including short and long-baseline accelerator, reactor, and radioactive source experiments, as well as atmospheric and solar neutrinos. We consider sterile neutrino mass schemes involving one or two mass-squared differences at the eV^2 scale denoted by 3+1, 3+2, and 1+3+1. We discuss the hints for eV-scale neutrinos from nu_e disappearance (reactor and Gallium anomalies) and nu_mu->nu_e appearance (LSND and MiniBooNE) searches, and we present constraints on sterile neutrino mixing from nu_mu and neutral-current disappearance data. An explanation of all hints in terms of oscillations suffers from severe tension between appearance and disappearance data. The best compatibility is obtained in the 1+3+1 scheme with a p-value of 0.2% and exceedingly worse compatibilities in the 3+1 and 3+2 schemes.

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arXiv2012

Can New Colored Particles Illuminate the Higgs?

We analyze the behavior of Higgs to diphoton rate and Higgs gluon-gluon production cross section in minimal extensions of the Standard Model comprising new colored vector-like fermions that do not mix with the ordinary ones. We compare these information with constraints coming from electroweak precision measurements. We compute pair production cross sections for the lightest fermion and discuss the LHC bounds. Finally, we study the phenomenology of possible quarkonium states composed by these new colored fermions.

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arXiv2012

Does $H \to γγ$ Taste like vanilla New Physics?

We analyse the interplay between the Higgs to diphoton rate and electroweak precision measurements contraints in extensions of the Standard Model with new uncolored charged fermions that do not mix with the ordinary ones. We also compute the pair production cross sections for the lightest fermion and compare them with current bounds.

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arXiv2010

Interpretation of MINOS data in terms of non-standard neutrino interactions

The MINOS experiment at Fermilab has recently reported a tension between the oscillation results for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos. We show that this tension, if it persists, can be understood in the framework of non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI). While neutral current NSI (non-standard matter effects) are disfavored by atmospheric neutrinos, a new charged current coupling between tau neutrinos and nucleons can fit the MINOS data without violating other constraints. In particular, we show that loop-level contributions to flavor-violating tau decays are sufficiently suppressed. However, conflicts with existing bounds could arise once the effective theory considered here is embedded into a complete renormalizable model. We predict the future sensitivity of the T2K and NOvA experiments to the NSI parameter region favored by the MINOS fit, and show that both experiments are excellent tools to test the NSI interpretation of the MINOS data.

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