arXiv subjects

Wouter Dekens

Publications and source records attributed to Wouter Dekens.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Effective field theory interpretation of lepton magnetic and electric dipole moments

We perform a model-independent analysis of the magnetic and electric dipole moments of the muon and electron. We give expressions for the dipole moments in terms of operator coefficients of the low-energy effective field theory (LEFT) and the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT). We use one-loop renormalization group improved perturbation theory, including the one-loop matching from SMEFT onto LEFT, and one-loop lepton matrix elements of the effective-theory operators. Semileptonic four-fermion operators involving light quarks give sizable non-perturbative contributions to the dipole moments, which are included in our analysis. We find that only a very limited set of the SMEFT operators is able to generate the current deviation of the magnetic moment of the muon from its Standard Model expectation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Leptonic anomalous magnetic moments in $ν$SMEFT

We investigate contributions to the anomalous magnetic moments of charged leptons in the neutrino-extended Standard Model Effective Field Theory ($ν$SMEFT). We discuss how $ν$SMEFT operators can contribute to a lepton's magnetic moment at one- and two-loop order. We show that only one operator can account for existing electronic and muonic discrepancies, assuming new physics appears above $1$ TeV. In particular, we find that a right-handed charged current in combination with minimal sterile-active mixing can explain the discrepancy for sterile neutrino masses of $\mathcal O(100)$ GeV while avoiding direct and indirect constraints. We discuss how searches for sterile neutrino production at the (HL-)LHC, measurements of $h\rightarrow μ^+ μ^-$ and searches for $h\rightarrow e^+ e^-$, neutrinoless double beta decay experiments, and improved unitarity tests of the CKM matrix can further probe the relevant parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Determining the leading-order contact term in neutrinoless double $\boldsymbolβ$ decay

We present a method to determine the leading-order (LO) contact term contributing to the $nn \to pp e^-e^-$ amplitude through the exchange of light Majorana neutrinos. Our approach is based on the representation of the amplitude as the momentum integral of a known kernel (proportional to the neutrino propagator) times the generalized forward Compton scattering amplitude $n(p_1) n(p_2) W^+ (k) \to p(p_1^\prime) p(p_2^\prime) W^- (k)$, in analogy to the Cottingham formula for the electromagnetic contribution to hadron masses. We construct model-independent representations of the integrand in the low- and high-momentum regions, through chiral EFT and the operator product expansion, respectively. We then construct a model for the full amplitude by interpolating between these two regions, using appropriate nucleon factors for the weak currents and information on nucleon-nucleon ($N\! N$) scattering in the $^1S_0$ channel away from threshold. By matching the amplitude obtained in this way to the LO chiral EFT amplitude we obtain the relevant LO contact term and discuss various sources of uncertainty. We validate the approach by computing the analog $I = 2$ $N\! N$ contact term and by reproducing, within uncertainties, the charge-independence-breaking contribution to the $^1S_0$ $N\! N$ scattering lengths. While our analysis is performed in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme, we express our final result in terms of the scheme-independent renormalized amplitude ${\cal A}_ν(|{\bf p}|,|{\bf p}^\prime|)$ at a set of kinematic points near threshold. We illustrate for two cutoff schemes how, using our synthetic data for ${\cal A}_ν$, one can determine the contact-term contribution in any regularization scheme, in particular the ones employed in nuclear-structure calculations for isotopes of experimental interest.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2021

Towards complete leading-order predictions for neutrinoless double $β$ decay

The amplitude for the neutrinoless double $β$ ($0νββ$) decay of the two-neutron system, $nn\to ppe^-e^-$, constitutes a key building block for nuclear-structure calculations of heavy nuclei employed in large-scale $0νββ$ searches. Assuming that the $0νββ$ process is mediated by a light-Majorana-neutrino exchange, a systematic analysis in chiral effective field theory shows that already at leading order a contact operator is required to ensure renormalizability. In this work, we develop a method to estimate the numerical value of its coefficient in analogy to the Cottingham formula and validate the result by reproducing the charge-independence-breaking contribution to the nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths. Our central result, while derived in the $\overline{\text{MS}}$ scheme, is given in terms of the renormalized amplitude $\mathcal{A}_ν(|\mathbf{p}|,|\mathbf{p}^\prime|)$, matching to which will allow one to determine the contact-term contribution in regularization schemes employed in nuclear-structure calculations. Our results thus greatly reduce a crucial uncertainty in the interpretation of searches for $0νββ$ decay.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2020

Sterile neutrinos and neutrinoless double beta decay in effective field theory

We investigate neutrinoless double beta decay ($0νββ$) in the presence of sterile neutrinos with Majorana mass terms. These gauge-singlet fields are allowed to interact with Standard-Model (SM) fields via renormalizable Yukawa couplings as well as higher-dimensional gauge-invariant operators up to dimension seven in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory extended with sterile neutrinos. At the GeV scale, we use Chiral effective field theory involving sterile neutrinos to connect the operators at the level of quarks and gluons to hadronic interactions involving pions and nucleons. This allows us to derive an expression for $0νββ$ rates for various isotopes in terms of phase-space factors, hadronic low-energy constants, nuclear matrix elements, the neutrino masses, and the Wilson coefficients of higher-dimensional operators. The needed hadronic low-energy constants and nuclear matrix elements depend on the neutrino masses, for which we obtain interpolation formulae grounded in QCD and chiral perturbation theory that improve existing formulae that are only valid in a small regime of neutrino masses. The resulting framework can be used directly to assess the impact of $0νββ$ experiments on scenarios with light sterile neutrinos and should prove useful in global analyses of sterile-neutrino searches. We perform several phenomenological studies of $0νββ$ in the presence of sterile neutrinos with and without higher-dimensional operators. We find that non-standard interactions involving sterile neutrinos have a dramatic impact on $0νββ$ phenomenology, and next-generation experiments can probe such interactions up to scales of $\mathcal O(100)$ TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

$\boldsymbol{C\!P}\!$ violation in Higgs-gauge interactions: from tabletop experiments to the LHC

We investigate the interplay between the high- and low-energy phenomenology of $C\!P$-violating interactions of the Higgs boson with gauge bosons. For this purpose we use an effective field theory approach and consider all dimension-6 operators arising in so-called universal theories. We compute their loop-induced contributions to electric dipole moments and the $C\!P$ asymmetry in $B\to X_sγ$, and compare the resulting current and prospective constraints to the projected sensitivity of the LHC. Low-energy measurements are shown to generally have a far stronger constraining power, which results in highly correlated allowed regions in coupling space, a distinctive pattern that could be probed at the high-luminosity LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Non-Perturbative Effects in $μ\to e γ$

We compute the non-perturbative contribution of semileptonic tensor operators $(\bar q σ^{μν} q)(\bar \ell σ_{μν} \ell)$ to the purely leptonic process $μ\to e γ$ and to the electric and magnetic dipole moments of charged leptons by matching onto chiral perturbation theory at low energies. This matching procedure has been used extensively to study semileptonic and leptonic weak decays of hadrons. In this paper, we apply it to observables that contain no strongly interacting external particles. The non-perturbative contribution to $μ\to e $ processes is used to extract the best current bound on lepton-flavor-violating semileptonic tensor operators, $Λ_\text{BSM} \gtrsim 450$ TeV. We briefly discuss how the same method applies to dark-matter interactions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

NLO QCD corrections to SM-EFT dilepton and electroweak Higgs boson production, matched to parton shower in POWHEG

We discuss the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SM-EFT) contributions to neutral- and charge-current Drell-Yan production, associated production of the Higgs and a vector boson, and Higgs boson production via vector boson fusion. We consider all the dimension-six SM-EFT operators that contribute to these processes at leading order, include next-to-leading order QCD corrections, and interface them with parton showering and hadronization in Pythia8 according to the POWHEG method. We discuss existing constraints on the coefficients of dimension-six operators and identify differential and angular distributions that can differentiate between different effective operators, pointing to specific features of Beyond-the-Standard-Model physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Viability of minimal left-right models with discrete symmetries

We provide a systematic study of minimal left-right models that are invariant under $P$, $C$, and/or $CP$ transformations. Due to the high amount of symmetry such models are quite predictive in the amount and pattern of $CP$ violation they can produce or accommodate at lower energies. Using current experimental constraints some of the models can already be excluded. For this purpose we provide an overview of the experimental constraints on the different left-right symmetric models, considering bounds from colliders, meson-mixing and low-energy observables, such as beta decay and electric dipole moments. The features of the various Yukawa and Higgs sectors are discussed in detail. In particular, we give the Higgs potentials for each case, discuss the possible vacua and investigate the amount of fine-tuning present in these potentials. It turns out that all left-right models with $P$, $C$, and/or $CP$ symmetry have a high degree of fine-tuning, unless supplemented with mechanisms to suppress certain parameters. The models that are symmetric under both $P$ and $C$ are not in accordance with present observations, whereas the models with either $P$, $C$, or $CP$ symmetry can not be excluded by data yet. To further constrain and discriminate between the models measurements of $B$-meson observables at LHCb and $B$-factories will be especially important, while measurements of the EDMs of light nuclei in particular could provide complementary tests of the LRMs.

hep-ph↗