Triple-leptoquark interactions for tree- and loop-level proton decays

TL;DR

This paper investigates how triple-leptoquark interactions influence proton decay, revealing that one-loop level processes are more significant than tree-level ones, with detailed analysis of specific decay channels and comprehensive interaction listings.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis showing the dominance of one-loop over tree-level proton decay signatures due to triple-leptoquark interactions.

Findings

One-loop proton decay channels are more relevant than tree-level.

Detailed decay channel analysis supports the dominance of loop processes.

Comprehensive list of leading-order decay channels involving scalar leptoquarks.

Abstract

We study the impact of triple-leptoquark interactions on matter stability for two specific proton decay topologies that arise at the tree- and one-loop level if and when they coexist. We demonstrate that the one-loop level topology is much more relevant than the tree-level one when it comes to the proton decay signatures despite the usual loop-suppression factor. We subsequently present detailed analysis of the triple-leptoquark interaction effects on the proton stability within one representative scenario to support our claim, where the scenario in question simultaneously features a tree-level topology that yields three-body proton decay $p\to e^+ e^+ e^-$ and a one-loop level topology that induces two-body proton decays $p\to \pi^0 e^+$ and $p\to \pi^+ \bar{\nu}$. We also provide a comprehensive list of the leading-order proton decay channels for all non-trivial cubic and quartic contractions involving three scalar leptoquark multiplets that generate triple-leptoquark interactions of our interest, where in the latter case one of the scalar multiplets is the Standard Model Higgs doublet.