Direct generation of a Majorana mass for the Neutron from Exotic Instantons

TL;DR

This paper proposes a string theory-based mechanism where exotic instantons generate a Majorana mass for the neutron, potentially observable through neutron-antineutron oscillations, without destabilizing protons or neutralinos.

Contribution

It introduces a novel non-perturbative quantum gravity mechanism using exotic instantons to generate neutron Majorana masses within string theory models.

Findings

Neutron-antineutron oscillations could be observed in future experiments.

Models predict stable dark matter and baryogenesis via resonant RH neutrino decays.

LHC data can test parameter space of the proposed models.

Abstract

We discuss a new mechanism in which non-perturbative quantum gravity effects directly generate a Majorana mass for the neutron. In particular, in string theory, exotic instantons can generate an effective six quark operator by calculable mixed disk amplitudes. In a low string scale scenario, with $M_{S}\simeq 10\div 10^{5}\, \rm TeV$, a neutron-antineutron oscillation can be reached in the next generation of experiments. we argue that protons and neutralinos are not destabilized and that dangerous FCNCs are not generated. We show an example of quiver theories, locally free by tadpoles and anomalies, reproducing MSSM plus a Majorana neutron and a Majorana neutrino. These models naturally provide a viable baryogenesis mechanism by resonant RH neutrino decays, as well as a stable WIMP-like dark matter. We also discuss how LHC data will provide useful inputs for our model, in the immediate future, testing several different regions of the parameter space. Such a mechanism represents a simple and calculable counter-example to the Wilsonian UV completion of effective non-renormalizable operators.