Testability of Type I Seesaw at the CERN LHC: Revealing the Existence of the B-L Symmetry

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential to detect the Type I seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses at the LHC by analyzing signals from right-handed neutrinos produced via Z' gauge bosons in B-L extended models.

Contribution

It investigates the production and decay signatures of right-handed neutrinos in B-L gauge extensions, highlighting potential LHC signals for the Type I seesaw mechanism.

Findings

Dilepton plus jets channels can reveal right-handed neutrinos at the LHC.

Secondary vertices from N decays could provide conclusive evidence.

Signals are connected to the hierarchical pattern of light neutrino masses.

Abstract

We study the possibility to test the Type I seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The inclusion of three generations of right-handed neutrinos (N_i) provides an attractive option of gauging the B-L accidental symmetry in the Standard Model (as well as an extended symmetry X=Y-5(B-L)/4). The production mechanisms for the right-handed neutrinos through the Z' gauge boson in the U(1)_{B-L} and U(1)_X extensions of the Standard Model are studied. We discuss the flavor combinations of the charged leptons from the decays of N_i in the Delta L=2 channels. We find that the clean channels with dilepton plus jets and possible secondary vertices of the N decay could provide conclusive signals at the LHC in connection with the hierarchical pattern of the light neutrino masses and mixing properties within the Type I seesaw mechanism.