Non-Canonical Nucleon Decays as Window into Light New Physics

TL;DR

This paper explores how non-canonical nucleon decays can serve as a powerful probe for light new particles beyond the Standard Model, proposing a momentum-based detection strategy for current and future experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to detect light new physics via non-canonical nucleon decays using momentum analysis of decay products, expanding the search beyond traditional methods.

Findings

Identifies a broad mass range for light new particles accessible through nucleon decays.

Proposes a momentum-based detection strategy applicable to multiple large-scale experiments.

Highlights potential to discover or constrain light particles like axion-like particles and dark photons.

Abstract

Nucleon decays are generic predictions of motivated theories, including those based on the unification of forces and supersymmetry. We demonstrate that non-canonical nucleon decays offer a unique opportunity to broadly probe light new particles beyond the Standard Model with masses below $\sim$few GeV over decades in mass range, including axion-like particles, dark photons, sterile neutrinos, and scalar dark matter. Conventional searches can misinterpret and even completely miss such new physics. We propose a general strategy based on momenta of visible decay final states to probe these processes, offering a rich physics program for existing and upcoming experiments such as Super-Kamiokande, Hyper-Kamiokande, DUNE, and JUNO.