Neutrino masses in the Standard Model effective field theory

TL;DR

This paper calculates the leading-logarithmic corrections to neutrino masses within the SMEFT framework, revealing how higher-dimensional operators influence neutrino mass predictions and their renormalization at the TeV scale.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed computation of dimension-seven operator effects on neutrino masses and explores their implications for SMEFT renormalization and lepton number violation.

Findings

Dimension-seven operators do not renormalize neutrino masses at one loop despite lepton number violation.

Dimension-six operators at TeV scale can alter neutrino mass predictions by up to 50%.

Advances towards SMEFT renormalization at order v^3/Λ^3.

Abstract

We compute the leading-logarithmic correction to the neutrino mass matrix in the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT) to dimension seven. In the limit of negligible lepton and down-type quark Yukawa couplings, it receives contributions from the Weinberg dimension-five operator as well as from 11 dimension-six and five dimension-seven independent interactions. Two of the main implications we derive from this result are the following. First, we find dimension-seven operators which, despite violating lepton number, do not renormalise neutrino masses at one loop. And second, we demonstrate that the presence of dimension-six operators around the TeV scale can modify the Standard Model prediction by up to $\mathcal{O}(50\,\%)$. Our result comprises also one step forward towards the renormalisation of the SMEFT to order $v^3/\Lambda^3$.