Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: We discuss the experimental prospects for observing processes which violate lepton number ($\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}L$) in four units (or more). First, we reconsider neutrinoless quadruple beta decay, deriving a model independent and very conservative lower limit on its half-life of the order of ${10}^{41}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{ys}$ for $^{150}\mathrm{Nd}$. This renders quadruple beta decay unobservable for any feasible experiment. We then turn to a more general discussion of different possible low-energy processes with values of $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}L\ensuremath{\ge}4$. A simple operator analysis leads to rather pessimistic conclusions about the observability at low-energy experiments in all cases we study. However, the situation looks much brighter for accelerator experiments. For two example models with $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}L=4$ and another one with $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}L=5$, we show how the LHC or a hypothetical future pp collider, such as the FCC, could probe multilepton number violating operators at the TeV scale.
Authors: Renato M. Fonseca, Martin Hirsch
Institutions: Universitat de València, Instituto de Física Corpuscular
Language: Latvian
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2798346497