Broken Z2 Symmetry Research Articles

Toward distinguishing Dirac from Majorana neutrino mass with gravitational waves

We propose a new method toward distinguishing the Dirac versus Majorana nature of neutrino masses from the spectrum of gravitational waves (GWs) associated with neutrino mass genesis. Motivated by the principle of generating small neutrino masses without tiny Yukawa couplings, we assume generic seesaw mechanisms for both Majorana and Dirac neutrino masses. For Majorana neutrinos, we further assume a spontaneously broken gauged U(1)B−L symmetry, independently of the type of Majorana seesaw mechanism, which gives a cosmic string induced GW signal flat over a wide range of frequencies. For Dirac neutrinos, we assume the spontaneous breaking of a Z2 symmetry, the minimal symmetry choice associated with all Dirac seesaw mechanisms, which is softly broken, generating a peaked GW spectrum from the annihilation of the resulting domain walls. In fact, the GW spectra for all types of Dirac seesaws with such a broken Z2 symmetry are identical, subject to a mild caveat. As an illustrative example, we study the simplest respective type-I seesaw mechanisms, and show that the striking difference in the shapes of the GW spectra can help differentiate between these Dirac and Majorana seesaws, complementing results of neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. We also discuss detailed implications of the recent NANOGrav data for Majorana and Dirac seesaw models. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Large Higgs-electron Yukawa coupling in 2HDM

The present upper bound on κe, the ratio between the electron Yukawa coupling and its Standard Model value, is of mathcal{O}(600) . We ask what would be the implications in case that κe is close to this upper bound. The simplest extension that allows for such enhancement is that of two Higgs doublet models (2HDM) without natural flavor conservation. In this framework, we find the following consequences: (i) Under certain conditions, measuring κe and κV would be enough to predict values of Yukawa couplings for other fermions and for the H and A scalars. (ii) In the case that the scalar potential has a softly broken Z2 symmetry, the second Higgs doublet must be light, but if there is hard breaking of the symmetry, the second Higgs doublet can be much heavier than the electroweak scale and still allow the electron Yukawa coupling to be very different from its SM value. (iii) CP must not be violated at a level higher than mathcal{O}left(0.01/{kappa}_eright) in both the scalar potential and the Yukawa sector. (iv) LHC searches for e+e− resonances constrain this scenario in a significant way. Finally, we study the implications for models where one of the scalar doublets couples only to the first generation, or only to the third generation.

Multistable and excitable behavior in semiconductor ring lasers with broken Z2-symmetry

We study the bifurcation scenario and the evolution of the counter-propagating modes in a semiconductor ring laser when their symmetry is broken. We show how a two-dimensional asymptotic model for this asymmetric ring laser can be used to interpret and predict regions of multistability and excitability in the laser. The theoretical predictions and insights in these different dynamical regimes of the asymmetric semiconductor ring laser are confirmed and further explored experimentally in a semiconductor ring laser set-up that allows to controllably break the Z2-symmetry of the laser.

THE GROUNDSTATES AND PHASES OF THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL FULLY FRUSTRATED XY MODEL

The 2D Fully Frustrated XY(FFXY) class of models is shown to contain a new groundstate in addition to the checkerboard groundstate of the standard 2D XY model. The spin configuration of this additional groundstate is obtained and its connection to a broken Z2-symmetry explained. This means that the class of 2D FFXY models belongs within a U(1) ⊗ Z2 ⊗ Z2-symmetry phase-transition representation. The phase diagram is reviewed and the central charges of the four multicritical points described. The implications for the standard 2D FFXY-model are discussed and elucidated, in particular with respect to the long standing controversy concerning the phase transitions of the standard 2D FFXY-model.