Observation of possible production and decay of short-living heavy neutral particles in the SKAT neutrino experiment

In the SKAT bubble chamber neutrino experiment production of a short-living neutral particle with mass (1.4?m?2.5) GeV/c² and lifetime τ≈6×10^?12 s has been detected. The event may be interpreted as production and decay of the heavy lepton M⁰→μ^?+e⁺+ν_e with mass (1.4?m_M⁰?2.1) GeV/c². It might also be the production of a charmed particle D⁰→e⁺+τ^?+ν_e (D⁰→e⁺+π^?+ν_e) with mass 1.4?m_D⁰?2.5) GeV/c² in a non-diagonal neutral current. The probability to interpret the event as other possible processes is very low.     

Study of the charge-exchange reactions\pi ^ - p \to (\pi ^0 ,\eta ,\eta \prime )n at 63 GeV

Muon electron pairs were detected in an Al multiplate spark chamber, exposed to a neutrino beam from the CERN PS. The leptons were not accompanied by other particles, except occasionally by protons. The background came mainly from muon associated π⁰ production, with one decay gamma lost. It was determined empirically, together with the small contribution from υ _e reactions. For electron energies above 2 GeV the background is 5.7±1.5 events, whereas 18 (μe)-candidates have been observed. Hence the effect is established, with a rate of about 10^?4 as compared to the muonic reactions above 3 GeV. Charm creation as the origin of this (μe)-production process is excluded; heavy neutral lepton production does not fit the kinematics observed. Instead the events are compatible with the two-body decay of an object with variable invariant mass of order 1 GeV, possibly resulting from axion interactions.     

Properties of anomalous eμ events produced in e+e− annihilation

We present the properties of 105 events of the form e⁺ + e^? → e^+- + μ^? + missing energy, in which no other charged particles or photons are detected. The simplesthypothesis compatible with all the data is that these events come from the production of a pair of heavy leptons, the mass of the lepton being in the range 1.6 to 2.0 GeV/c²     

Measurements of tau decay modes and a precise determination of the mass

The cross sections for e⁺e^? → e⁺(μ⁺ + non showering track + any photons have been measured for cm energies between 3.1 GeV and 5.2 GeV. We observe τ-pair production below the thresholdfor charm production and determine the τ mass to be 1.807 ± 0.020 GeV from a fit to the energy dependence of the cross section. The ration of the leptonic branching ratios B_μ/B_e = 0.92 ± 0.32 is consistent with eμ-universality. The following branching ratios are determined for a V-A coupling: $\text{B(τ → ν}{}_{\mathrm{\tau }}\text{e}\text{ν}\text{) = B(τ → ν}{}_{\mathrm{\tau }}\text{μ}\text{ν}\text{) = 0.182 + 0.028}$. B(τ → ν_τ + charged hadron + any photons) = 0.29 ± 0.11, B(τ → ν_τ + three or more charged hadrons + any photons) = 0.35 ± 0.11.     

Limits on neutrino oscillations from a study of νe charged current interactions

We have fully analysed all events with a single electron obtained in an exposure of BEBC to the 350 GeV wide-band neutrino beam at CERN. The data agrees well with expectations based on the calculated ν_e flux and assuming μ?e universality. Using both the rate and the kinematic distributions, improved limits are set on ν_e → ν_X, ν_μ → ν_e, ν_μ → ν_τ mixing.     

A gauge theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions with spontaneous parity breaking

We present a unified gauge theory of weak and electromagnetic interactions in which parity is spontaneously broken together with gauge invariance, by the Higgs mechanism. The gauge group is SU(2) × U(1), and a heavy neutrino is associated with every charged lepton. After the breaking of the original parity-conserving theory, both a purely vector electromagnetic current and the usual V-A charged currents are obtained. Z is coupled to a vector electron current, and the model predicts equal $\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{e}\text{and}\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{e}$ cross sections. Extension to hadrons is made by introducing three charmed quarks p′, n′ and λ′ of the same charges as p, n and λ. All the experimental results $\text{(ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{e}\text{,}\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{e}\text{,}\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>e</mtext>}}\text{e}$, ν_μ and $\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}$ hadron scatterings) are compatible with a value of sin²θ_W of order 0.4.     

Neutral heavy lepton candidate in e+e− interactions

An event of the form e⁺e^? → μ⁺μ^? + (2 jets) recently observed at √s = 43.45 GeV is interpreted as production of a pair of neutral heavy leptons N, each with mass 20.5 ± 1.0 Gev/c². Two possibilities are explored: (i) the lepton is a wak isodoublet neutrino, produced in pairs by virtual Z⁰ decay. In this case, one expects $\text{B(}\text{Z}{}^0\text{→}\text{N}\text{N}\text{) ≈ 5\%}$; (ii) the lepton is a “right-handed neutrino”, produced in pairs via a new vector boson Z_χ. In this case, in one model, the Z_χ must lie between about 50 and 67 GeV/c². More generally, it must be very weakly coupled to ordinary quarks and leptons in order not to conflict with low-q² neutral-current data. Suggestions are made for further observation of N$\text{N}$ pairs and other effects of Z_χ in forthcoming e⁺e^? and p$\text{p}$ collisions.     

Observation of charmed baryon production in νp interactions in BEBC

Two examples of charmed baryon production by neutrinos have been observed in BEBC filled with hydrogen. Both events fit uniquely the reaction νp → μ^?pK^?π⁺π⁺ and thus apparently violate the ΔS = ΔQ rule. None of the appropriate mass combinations is consistent with the mass values of the D⁰ and D⁺ mesons. However, for the mass combinations of the pK^?π⁺ systems, values of (2.285 ± 0.005) GeV and (2.280 ± 0.003) GeV are found for event 1 and 2, respectively. These values agree with the mass of (2.285 ± 0.006) GeV for the Λ_c⁺ charmed baryon determined recently in e⁺e^? collisions at SLAC.     

Study of radiative leptonic events with hard photons and search for excited charged leptons at GeV

During the last 1995 data acquisition period at LEP, the DELPHI experiment collected an integrated luminosity of 5.9 pb⁻¹ at centre-of-mass energies of 130 GeV and 136 GeV. Radiative leptonic events (e, μ, τ) with high energy photons were studied and compared to Standard Model predictions. The data were used to search for charged excited leptons decaying through an electromagnetic transition. No significant signal was found. From the search for pair produced excited leptons, the limits m_e^* > 62.5 GeV/c², m_μ^* > 62.6 GeV/c² and m_τ^* > 62.2 GeV/c² at 95% confidence level were established. For single excited lepton production, upper limits on the ratio λ/m_l^* of the coupling of the excited charged lepton to its mass were derived.     

Search for charged Higgs,scalar tau's and a test of technicolor models

We have used our measurements of final states from e⁺e^? containing an isolated muon and a hadronic or electron shower to search for new spin 0 charged particles. We exclude (95% CL) a supersymmetric partner of the τ with a mass less than 14 GeV/c². We obtain upper limits on the branching ratio to τv_τ for charged Higgs particles or technipions with masses up to 14 GeV/c². This disagrees with some technicolor model predictions.     

Phenomenology of the hierarchical lepton mass spectrum in the flipped SU(5)×U(1) string model

A detailed phenomenological analysis of the lepton mass matrices and their implications in the low energy theory are discussed, within the recently proposed SU(5)×U(1) string model. The unification scale is highly constrained while the Yukawa couplings lie in a natural region. The flavour changing decays μ→eγ, μ→3e, μ→e are highly suppressed while the depletion in the in the flux of muon neutrinos reported by the Kamiokande is explained through ν_μ↔ν_τ oscillations.     

Current algebra calculation of e+e-→4π± and determination of ϱ′(1600) parameters

A current algebra calculation of e⁺e^-→4π^± cross section is carried out using the axial current matrix element obtained from τ→π?ν. Assuming ?′→?+2π(I=0, l=0), the following results are obtained: for the A₁ resonance, 1.05?m_A ?1.15 GeV; for ?′, Γ?′(total)≈0.23 GeV, M_?′≈1.5 GeV, Γ(?′→e⁺e^-)≈0.4 keV×B^?1(?′→?′ →?π⁺π).     

Liberated color in leptoproduction

Within a spontaneously broken color gauge theory of integer charge quarks (icq) one expects standard “confined” QCD predictions for leptoproduction experiments (e.g.,μN→μX) to hold for energies below the threshold for color production; above such a threshold, however, the color degree of freedom must be excited leading to a threshold rise in structure functions. We predict the expected rises for μN and charged current (cc) νN and $\text{ν}\text{N}$ scattering within the “naive” parton model. Comparing these predictions with the available data on μN, cc νN and $\text{ν}\text{N}$ as well as e^?e⁺ experiments, we deduce that the lightest spin-parity 1^? color octet meson (like the gluon) as well as the lightest color octet (8, 8) baryon must lie above 7–8 GeV. This in turn closes the only window in the light mass region <3.1 GeV (i.e., the 1.1 to 1.8 GeVregion), whichhadsofarbeenleftopenasapossiblevalueforthephysicalmassofthegluon. Wenextobservethatthetrendofthemostrecent high-Q² high-W Michigan State-Fermilab experiment on μN scattering exhibiting a relatively sharp rise in F₂ above the expectations of confined QCD of order 15% at low x agrees very well with our predictions based on the gauge model of icq. This rise, if confirmed, would favor the hypothesis of gauge icq, and simultaneously imply a threshold for the liberated color octet (8, 8) state at nearly (9±0.6) GeV and a mass for the liberated gluon in the region 8 to 9.5 GeV. We remark that within a left-right symmetric gauge structure leading to icq, charged current scattering of laboratory neutrinos (νN→μ^?X) will excite color only provided that the charged gluons V⁺ mix with V-A gauge particles W_L⁺mrather then with the V+A gauge particles W_R⁺. Thus it is possible that the μN, e^?e⁺ and neutral current scattering of neutrinos (i.e., νN→νX) show signs of color excitation, while the charged current scattering of neutrinos does not. We discuss briefly the implications of the threshold for liberated color octet states possibly lying around 8–10 GeV or higher on future e^?e⁺ experiments as well as $\text{ν}\text{N}\text{,}\text{ν}\text{N}\text{,}\text{p}\text{p}\text{-}\text{and}\text{p}\text{p}\text{-}\text{produced}$ dilepton-search experiments.     

Neutrino masses as a second-order effect in Higgs coupling

It is suggested that in the usual type of gauge theory all fermions, including neutrinos, have right-handed components. The smallness or vanishing of the observed neutrino masses is explained by the fact that the appropriate neutral Higgs boson does not develop a non-zero vacuum expectation value. In the case when the neutrino masses do not vanish they are finite, of order G_Fm³, where m is the mass of the charged lepton. Non-conservation of lepton flavor gives rise to an instability of all neutrinos except v_e and to μ→e+γ decay, but at a very low level.     

Systematic analysis of lepton family number violating processes in the framework of local gauge theories

General unified electroweak gauge theories with neutral lepton mixing are reexamined with regard to processes that change lepton family numbers L_f. The most general allowed mass sectors of models based on SU(2) × U(1) and SU(2)_L × SU(2)_R × U(1) are studied and the consequences for L_f changing processes such as μ → eγ, ν_f′ → ν_f + γ are worked out. We discuss models that break individual lepton family numbers but still conserve total lepton number L, as well as models in which L is broken too.     

Realizing tri-bimaximal mixing in minimal seesaw model with S4 family symmetry

In this Letter, we realize the tri-bimaximal mixing in the lepton sector in the context of minimal seesaw in which only two right-handed neutrinos are introduced, with the discrete group S4 as the family symmetry. In order to constrain the form of superpotential, a Z3 symmetry is also introduced. In the model, the mass matrices for charged leptons and right-handed neutrinos are diagonal. The unitary matrix that diagonalizes the light Majorana neutrino mass matrix is exact tri-bimaximal at LO, and is corrected by small quantities of O(0.01) at NLO. The mechanism to get the particular scalar VEV alignments used is also presented. Phenomenologically, the mass spectrum is of normal hierarchy with m₁=0, and ∑mi and |mee| are about 0.058 eV and 0.003 eV respectively.     

Finite modular groups and lepton mixing

We study lepton mixing patterns which are derived from finite modular groups ΓN, requiring subgroups Gν and Ge to be preserved in the neutrino and charged lepton sectors, respectively. We show that only six groups ΓN with N=3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 16 are relevant. A comprehensive analysis is presented for Ge arbitrary and Gν=Z₂×Z₂, as demanded if neutrinos are Majorana particles. We discuss interesting patterns arising from both groups Ge and Gν being arbitrary. Several of the most promising patterns are specific deviations from tri-bimaximal mixing, all predicting θ₁₃ non-zero as favoured by the latest experimental data. We also comment on prospects to extend this idea to the quark sector.     

Ultra-high energy neutrino-nucleon and neutrino-electron cross-sections in the standard model,in supersymmetric and superstring models

The neutrino-nucleon cross-section is calculated for energies up to 10¹⁵ GeV in the framework of the standard model assuming that the nucleon structure functionF ₂(x, Q ²) goes like ln²(a/x) asx→0. The cross-sections forv _μ e ^?(v _e e ^?)-interactions rise linearly with energy up toE _ν～10⁷ GeV and amount at this energy to ～10% of the neutrino-nucleon cross-section. The νN-cross-sections with production of supersymmetric particles in the framework of a supersymmetric model with minimal particle content are estimated. Photino-nucleon and photino-electron interactions are considered for masses of the squarks and sleptons in the range of 80–300 GeV. In superstring inspired unified models an estimation is made of the νN-interaction with an exchange of light leptoquarks.