arXiv subjects

Sofiane M. Boucenna

Publications and source records attributed to Sofiane M. Boucenna.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

A minimal non-supersymmetric SO(10) model with Peccei--Quinn symmetry

We present a minimal non-supersymmetric SO(10) GUT breaking directly to the Standard Model gauge group. Precise gauge coupling unification is achieved due to the presence of two color-octet scalars, one of which is accessible to LHC searches. Proton lifetime is predicted to be below $4.5\times 10^{34}$ years, which is within the projected five-year sensitivity of the proposed Hyper-Kamiokande experiment. We find that the Standard Model observables are reproduced to a reasonable accuracy in a numerical fit, which also predicts the unknown neutrino parameters. Finally, the two scalar representations stabilize the electroweak vacuum and the dark matter is comprised of axions.

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arXiv2018

Novel Constraints on Mixed Dark-Matter Scenarios of Primordial Black Holes and WIMPs

We derive constraints on mixed dark-matter scenarios consisting of primordial black holes (PBHs) and weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). In these scenarios, we expect a density spike of the WIMPs that are gravitationally bound to the PBHs, which results in an enhanced annihilation rate and increased indirect detection prospects. We show that such scenarios provide strong constraints on the allowed fraction of PBHs that constitutes the dark matter, depending on the WIMP mass $m_χ$ and the velocity-averaged annihilation cross-section $\langle σv \rangle$. For the standard scenario with $m_χ = 100\,{\rm GeV}$ and $\langle σv \rangle = 3 \times 10^{-26}\,{\rm cm}^{3} / {\rm s}$, we derive bounds that are stronger than all existing bounds for PBHs with masses $10^{-12}\,M_{\odot} \lesssim M_{\rm BH} \lesssim 10^{4}\,M_{\odot}$, where $M_{\odot}$ is the solar mass, and mostly so by several orders of magnitude.

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arXiv2018

Axion Inflation, Proton Decay and Leptogenesis in $SU(5)\times U(1)_{PQ}$

We implement inflation in a non-supersymmetric SU(5) model based on a non-minimal coupling of the axion field to gravity. The isocurvature fluctuations are adequately suppressed, axions comprise the dark matter, proton lifetime estimates are of order 8e34-3e35 years, and the observed baryon asymmetry arises via non-thermal leptogenesis. The presence of low scale colored scalars ensures unification of the Standard Model gauge couplings and also helps in stabilizing the electroweak vacuum.

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arXiv2016

Phenomenology of an $SU(2) \times SU(2) \times U(1)$ model with lepton-flavour non-universality

We investigate a gauge extension of the Standard Model in light of the observed hints of lepton universality violation in $b \to c \ell ν$ and $b \to s \ell^+ \ell^-$ decays at BaBar, Belle and LHCb. The model consists of an extended gauge group $\mathrm{SU(2)}_{1} \times \mathrm{SU(2)}_{2} \times \mathrm{U(1)}_Y$ which breaks spontaneously around the TeV scale to the electroweak gauge group. Fermion mixing effects with vector-like fermions give rise to potentially large new physics contributions in flavour transitions mediated by $W^{\prime}$ and $Z^{\prime}$ bosons. This model can ease tensions in $B$-physics data while satisfying stringent bounds from flavour physics, tau decays, and electroweak precision data. Possible ways to test the proposed new physics scenario with upcoming experimental measurements are discussed. Among other predictions, the lepton flavour violating ratios $R_M$, with $M = K^*, ϕ$, are found to be reduced with respect to the Standard Model expectation $R_M \simeq 1$.

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arXiv2016

The LHC diphoton resonance from gauge symmetry

Motivated by what is possibly the first sign of new physics seen at the LHC, the diphoton excess at $750$ GeV in ATLAS and CMS, we present a model that provides naturally the necessary ingredients to explain the resonance. The simplest phenomenological explanation for the diphoton excess requires a new scalar state, $X(750)$, as well as additional vector-like (VL) fermions introduced in an ad-hoc way in order to enhance its decays into a pair of photons and/or increase its production cross-section. We show that the requiered VL quarks and their couplings can emerge naturally from a complete framework based on the $SU(3)_L \otimes U(1)_\mathcal{X}$ gauge symmetry.

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arXiv2016

Non-abelian gauge extensions for B-decay anomalies

We study the generic features of minimal gauge extensions of the Standard Model in view of recent hints of lepton-flavor non-universality in semi-leptonic $b \to s \ell^+ \ell^-$ and $b \to c \ell ν$ decays. We classify the possible models according to the symmetry-breaking pattern and the source of flavor non-universality. We find that in viable models the $\mathrm{SU(2)}_L$ factor is embedded non-trivially in the extended gauge group, and that gauge couplings should be universal, hinting to the presence of new degrees of freedom sourcing non-universality. Finally, we provide an explicit model that can explain the $B$-decay anomalies in a coherent way and confront it with the relevant phenomenological constraints.

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arXiv2016

Dark Radiative Inverse Seesaw Mechanism

We present a minimal model that simultaneously accounts for neutrino masses and the origin of dark matter (DM) and where the electroweak phase transition is strong enough to allow for electroweak baryogenesis. The Standard Model is enlarged with a Majorana fermion, three generations of chiral fermion pairs, and a single complex scalar that plays a central role in DM production and phenomenology, neutrino masses, and the strength of the phase transition. All the new fields are singlets under the SM gauge group. Neutrino masses are generated via a new variant of radiative inverse seesaw where the required small mass term is generated via loops involving DM and no large hierarchy is assumed among the mass scales. The model offers all the advantage of low-scale neutrino mass models as well as a viable dark matter candidate that is testable with direct detection experiments.

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arXiv2016

Dark Matter from the vector of SO(10)

SO(10) grand unified theories can ensure the stability of new particles in terms of the gauge group structure itself, and in this respect are well suited to accommodate dark matter (DM) candidates in the form of new stable massive particles. We introduce new fermions in two vector 10 representations. When SO(10) is broken to the standard model by a minimal 45 + 126 + 10 scalar sector with $SU(3)_C \otimes SU(2)_L \otimes SU(2)_R\otimes U(1)_{B-L}$ as intermediate symmetry group, the resulting lightest new states are two Dirac fermions corresponding to combinations of the neutral members of the $SU(2)_L$ doublets in the 10's, which get splitted in mass by loop corrections involving $W_R$. The resulting lighter mass eigenstate is stable, and has only non-diagonal $Z_{L,R}$ neutral current couplings to the heavier neutral state. Direct detection searches are evaded if the mass splitting is sufficiently large to suppress kinematically inelastic light-to-heavy scatterings. By requiring that this condition is satisfied, we obtain the upper limit $M_{W_R} \lesssim 25$ TeV.

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arXiv2016

Decaying Leptophilic Dark Matter at IceCube

We present a novel interpretation of IceCube high energy neutrino events (with energy larger than 60 TeV) in terms of an extraterrestrial flux due to two different contributions: a flux originated by known astrophysical sources and dominating IceCube observations up to few hundreds TeV, and a new flux component where the most energetic neutrinos come from the leptophilic three-body decays of dark matter particles with a mass of few PeV. Differently from other approaches, we provide two examples of elementary particle models that do not require extremely tiny coupling constants. We find the compatibility of the theoretical predictions with the IceCube results when the astrophysical flux has a cutoff of the order of 100 TeV (broken power law). In this case the most energetic part of the spectrum (PeV neutrinos) is due to an extra component such as the decay of a very massive dark matter component. Due to the low statistics at our disposal we have considered for simplicity the equivalence between deposited and neutrino energy, however such approximation does not affect dramatically the qualitative results. Of course, a purely astrophysical origin of the neutrino flux (no cutoff in energy below the PeV scale - unbroken power law) is still allowed. If future data will confirm the presence of a sharp cutoff above few PeV this would be in favor of a dark matter interpretation.

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arXiv2015

Are the B decay anomalies related to neutrino oscillations?

Neutrino oscillations are solidly established, with a hint of CP violation just emerging. Similarly, there are hints of lepton universality violation in $b \to s$ transitions at the level of $2.6 σ$. By assuming that the unitary transformation between weak and mass charged leptons equals the leptonic mixing matrix measured in neutrino oscillation experiments, we predict several lepton flavor violating (LFV) B meson decays. We are led to the tantalizing possibility that some LFV branching ratios for B decays correlate with the leptonic CP phase $δ$ characterizing neutrino oscillations. Moreover, we also consider implications for $\ell_i \to \ell_j \ell_k \ell_k$ decays.

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arXiv2015

Predicting charged lepton flavor violation from 3-3-1 gauge symmetry

The simplest realization of the inverse seesaw mechanism in a $SU(3)_C \otimes SU(3)_L \otimes U(1)_X$ gauge theory offers striking flavor correlations between rare charged lepton flavor violating decays and the measured neutrino oscillations parameters. The predictions follow from the gauge structure itself without the need for any flavor symmetry. Such tight complementarity between charged lepton flavor violation and oscillations renders the scenario strictly testable.

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arXiv2015

Minimal Asymmetric Dark Matter

In the early Universe, any particle carrying a conserved quantum number and in chemical equilibrium with the thermal bath will unavoidably inherit a particle-antiparticle asymmetry. A new particle of this type, if stable, would represent a candidate for asymmetric dark matter (DM) with an asymmetry directly related to the baryon asymmetry. We study this possibility for a minimal DM sector constituted by just one (generic) $SU(2)_L$ multiplet $χ$ carrying hypercharge, assuming that at temperatures above the electroweak phase transition an effective operator enforces chemical equilibrium between $χ$ and the Higgs boson. We argue that limits from DM direct detection searches severely constrain this scenario, leaving as the only possibilities scalar or fermion multiplets with hypercharge $y = 1$, preferentially quintuplets or larger $SU(2)$ representations, and with a mass in the few TeV range.

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arXiv2015

Small neutrino masses and gauge coupling unification

The physics responsible for gauge coupling unification may also induce small neutrino masses. We propose a novel gauge mediated radiative seesaw mechanism for calculable neutrino masses. These arise from quantum corrections mediated by new $SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L \times U(1)_X$ (3-3-1) gauge bosons and the physics driving gauge coupling unification. Gauge couplings unify for a 3-3-1 scale in the TeV range, making the model directly testable at the LHC.

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arXiv2014

Radiative neutrino mass in 331 scheme

We propose a new radiative mechanism for neutrino mass generation based on the 3-3-1 electroweak gauge group. Lepton number is a symmetry of the Yukawa sector but spontaneously broken in the gauge sector. As a result light Majorana masses arise from neutral gauge boson exchange at the one-loop level. In addition to the isosinglet neutrinos which may be produced at the LHC through the extended gauge boson "portals", the model contains new isosinglet quarks which can also lie at the TeV scale and provide a plethora of collider phenomena.

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arXiv2014

Inflation and majoron dark matter in the seesaw mechanism

We propose that inflation and dark matter have a common origin, connected to the neutrino mass generation scheme. As a model we consider spontaneous breaking of global lepton number within the seesaw mechanism. We show that it provides an acceptable inflationary scenario consistent with the recent CMB B-mode observation by the BICEP2 experiment. The scheme may also account for the baryon asymmetry of the Universe through leptogenesis for reasonable parameter choices.

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arXiv2014

The low-scale approach to neutrino masses

In this short review we revisit the broad landscape of low-scale $SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y$ models of neutrino mass generation, with view on their phenomenological potential. This includes signatures associated to direct neutrino mass messenger production at the LHC, as well as messenger-induced lepton flavor violation processes. We also briefly comment on the presence of WIMP cold dark matter candidates.

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