Light sterile neutrinos and lepton-number-violating kaon decays in effective field theory

TL;DR

This paper explores how sterile neutrinos can induce lepton-number-violating kaon decays, using effective field theory to connect neutrino properties and new physics scales, with potential experimental implications.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of lepton-number-violating kaon decays within an effective field theory framework including sterile neutrinos and higher-dimensional operators.

Findings

Decay rates are significantly enhanced when neutrinos are produced on-shell.

Higher-dimensional operators can be probed up to scales around 30 TeV.

Theoretical framework connects neutrino masses, operators, and decay observables.

Abstract

We investigate lepton-number-violating decays $K^\mp \rightarrow \pi^\pm l^\mp l^\mp$ in the presence of sterile neutrinos. We consider minimal interactions with Standard-Model fields through Yukawa couplings as well as higher-dimensional operators in the framework of the neutrino-extended Standard Model Effective Field Theory. We use $SU(3)$ chiral perturbation theory to match to mesonic interactions and compute the lepton-number-violating decay rate in terms of the neutrino masses and the Wilson coefficients of higher-dimensional operators. For neutrinos that can be produced on-shell, the decay rates are highly enhanced and higher-dimensional interactions can be probed up to very high scales around $ \mathcal{O}$(30) TeV.