CP-violating Interactions Research Articles

Domain walls in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model and their charge and CP-violating interactions with Standard Model fermions

Discrete symmetries play an important role in several extensions of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. For instance, in order to avoid flavor changing neutral currents, a discrete Z2 symmetry is imposed on the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM). This can lead to the formation of domain walls (DW) as the Z2 symmetry gets spontaneously broken during electroweak symmetry breaking in the early universe and domain walls form between regions whose vacua are related by the discrete symmetry. Due to this simultaneous spontaneous breaking of both the discrete symmetry and the electroweak symmetry, the vacuum manifold consists of two disconnected 3-spheres. Such a non-trivial disconnected vacuum manifold leads to several choices for the vacua at two adjacent regions, in contrast to models where only the discrete symmetry gets spontaneously broken and the vacuum manifold consists of several disconnected points. Due to this, we end up with several classes of DW solutions having different properties localized inside the wall, such as electric charge and/or CP violating vacua. We discuss the properties of these different classes of DW solutions as well as the interaction of SM fermions with such topological defects leading to different exotic phenomena such as, for example, the top quark being transmitted or reflected off the wall as a bottom quark.

CP-violating axion interactions II: axions as dark matter

Axions provide a solution to the strong CP problem and are excellent dark matter candidates. The presence of additional sources of CP violation, for example to account for the matter/antimatter asymmetry of the universe, can lead to CP-violating interactions between axions and Standard Model fields. In case axions form a coherent dark matter background, this leads to time-oscillating fundamental constants such as the fine-structure constant and particle masses. In this work we compare the sensitivity of various searches for CP-odd axion interactions. These include fifth-force experiments, searches for time-oscillating constants induced by axion dark matter, and direct limits from electric dipole moment experiments. We show that searches for oscillating constants can outperform fifth-force experiments in the regime of small axion masses, but, in general, do not reach the sensitivity of electric dipole moment experiments.

Wash-in leptogenesis after axion inflation

CP violation and the violation of baryon-minus-lepton number B−L do not necessarily have to occur simultaneously in order to accomplish successful leptogenesis. Instead, it suffices if new CP-violating interactions at high energies result in primordial charge asymmetries, which are then reprocessed into a nonvanishing B−L asymmetry by right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) at lower energies. In this paper, we study this novel mechanism known as wash-in leptogenesis, utilizing axion inflation as the source of high-scale CP violation. We specifically consider axion inflation coupled to the Standard Model hypercharge sector, which results in the dual production of hypermagnetic helicity and fermionic charge asymmetries. Although the survival of these charges is endangered by sphaleron processes, magnetic diffusion, and the chiral plasma instability, we find a large range of viable scenarios. We consistently account for RHN flavor effects and coherence among the Standard Model lepton flavors across a wide range of RHN masses. We find a lower bound of 105···9 GeV on the mass of the lightest RHN involved in wash-in leptogenesis, depending on the onset of turbulence in the chiral plasma and the Hubble scale of inflation. Our model is representative of a broader class of new leptogenesis scenarios and suggests interesting observational signatures with regard to intergalactic magnetic fields, primordial black holes, and gravitational waves.

CP-violating axion interactions in effective field theory

Axions are introduced to explain the observed smallness of the overline{theta} term of QCD. Standard Model extensions typically contain new sources of CP violation, for instance to account for the baryon asymmetry of the universe. In the presence of additional CP-violating sources a Peccei-Quinn mechanism does not remove all CP violation, leading to CP-odd interactions among axions and Standard Model fields. In this work, we use effective field theory to parametrize generic sources of beyond-the-Standard-Model CP violation. We systematically compute the resulting CP-odd couplings of axions to leptons and hadrons by using chiral perturbation theory. We discuss in detail the phenomenology of the CP-odd axion couplings and compare limits from axion searches, such as fifth force and monopole-dipole searches and astrophysics, to direct limits on the CP-violating operators from electric dipole moment experiments. While limits from electric dipole moment searches are tight, the proposed ARIADNE experiment can potentially improve the existing constraints in a window of axion masses.

Geometrical origins of the universe dark sector: string-inspired torsion and anomalies as seeds for inflation and dark matter.

In a modest attempt to present potentially new paradigms in cosmology, including its inflationary epoch, and initiate discussions, I review in this article some novel, string-inspired cosmological models, which entail a purely geometrical origin of the dark sector of the Universe but also of its observed matter-antimatter asymmetry. The models contain gravitational (string-model independent, Kalb-Ramond (KR)) axion fields coupled to primordial gravitational anomalies via CP-violating interactions. The anomaly terms are four-space-time-dimensional remnants of the Green-Schwarz counterterms appearing in the definition of the field strength of the spin-one antisymmetric tensor field of the (bosonic) massless gravitational string multiplet, which also plays the role of a totally antisymmetric component of torsion. I show how in such cosmologies the presence of primordial gravitational waves can lead to anomaly condensates and dynamical inflation of a 'running-vacuum-model' type, without external inflatons, but also to leptogenesis in the radiation era due to anomaly induced Lorentz and CPT violating KR axion backgrounds. I also discuss how the torsion-related KR-axion could acquire a mass during the QCD epoch, thus playing the role of (a component of) dark matter. Phenomenological considerations of the inflationary and post-inflationary (in particular, modern) eras of the model are briefly discussed, including its potential for alleviating the observed tensions in the cosmological data of the current epoch. This article is part of the theme issue 'The future of mathematical cosmology, Volume 1'.

Parity and time-reversal invariance violation in neutron-nucleus scattering

Parity violating (PV) as well as parity and time-reversal invariance violating (PTRIV) effects are enhanced a million times in neutron reactions near $p$-wave compound resonances. We present the calculation of such effects using a statistical theory based on the properties of chaotic eigenstates and discuss a possibility to extract the strength constants of PTRIV interactions from the experimental data, including nucleon-nucleon and pion-nucleon CP-violating interactions, the QCD $\ensuremath{\theta}$-term, and the quark chromo-EDM. PV effects have random signs for all target nuclei except for $^{232}\mathrm{Th}$, where PV effects of a positive sign have been observed for ten statistically significant $p$-wave resonances, with energy smaller than 250 eV. This may be an indication of a possible regular (nonchaotic) contribution to PV effects. We link this regular effect to the doublets of opposite parity states in the rotation spectra of nuclei with an octupole deformation and suggest other target nuclei where this hypothesis may be tested. We also discuss a permanent sign contribution produced by doorway states. An estimate of the ratio of PTRIV effects to PV effects is presented. Although a polarized target is not needed for the measurement of PV effects, for the interpretation of the results, it may be convenient to do both PV and PTRIV experiments with a polarized target.

Electric dipole moment of light nuclei in chiral effective field theory

CP-violating interactions at quark level generate CP-violating nuclear interactions and currents, which could be revealed by looking at the presence of a permanent nuclear electric dipole moment. Within the framework of chiral effective field theory, we discuss the derivation of the CP-violating nuclear potential up to next-to-next-to leading order (N2LO) and the preliminary results for the charge operator up to next-to leading order (NLO). Moreover, we introduce some renormalization argument which indicates that we need to promote the short-distance operator to the leading order (LO) in order to reabsorb the divergences generated by the one pion exchange. Finally, we present some selected numerical results for the electric dipole moments of 2H, 3He and 3H discussing the systematic errors introduced by the truncation of the chiral expansion.

Catalyzed baryogenesis

A novel mechanism, “catalyzed baryogenesis”, is proposed to explain the observed baryon asymmetry in our universe. In this mechanism, the motion of a ball-like catalyst provides the necessary out-of-equilibrium condition, its outer wall has CP-violating interactions with the Standard Model particles, and its interior has baryon number violating interactions. We use the electroweak-symmetric ball model as an example of such a catalyst. In this model, electroweak sphalerons inside the ball are active and convert baryons into leptons. The observed baryon number asymmetry can be produced for a light ball mass and a large ball radius. Due to direct detection constraints on relic balls, we consider a scenario in which the balls evaporate, leading to dark radiation at testable levels.

Test of CP invariance in vector-boson fusion production of the Higgs boson in the H → ττ channel in proton–proton collisions at [formula omitted] with the ATLAS detector

A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion is performed in the H→ττ decay channel. This test uses the Optimal Observable method and is carried out using 36.1fb−1 of s=13TeV proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Contributions from CP-violating interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons are described by an effective field theory, in which the parameter d˜ governs the strength of CP violation. No sign of CP violation is observed in the distributions of the Optimal Observable, and d˜ is constrained to the interval [−0.090, 0.035] at the 68% confidence level (CL), compared to an expected interval of d˜∈[−0.035,0.033] based upon the Standard Model prediction. No constraints can be set on d˜ at 95% CL, while an expected 95% CL interval of d˜∈[−0.21,0.15] for the Standard Model hypothesis was expected.

Electroweak baryogenesis and electron EDM in the B-LSSM

Electroweak baryogenesis (EWB) and electric dipole moment (EDM) have close relation with the new physics beyond the standard model (SM), because the SM CP-violating (CPV) interactions are not sufficient to provide the baryon asymmetry of the universe by many orders of magnitude, and the theoretical predictions for the EDM of electron (d_e) in the SM are too tiny to be detected in near future. In this work, we explore the CPV effects on EWB and the electron EDM in the minimal supersymmetric extension (MSSM) of the SM with local B-L gauge symmetry (B-LSSM). And the two-step transition via tree-effects in this model is discussed. Including two-loop corrections to d_e and considering the constrains from updated experimental data, the numerical results show that the B-LSSM can account for the observed baryon asymmetry. In addition, when the cancellation between different contributions to d_e takes place, the region favored by EWB can be compatible with the corresponding EDM bound.

Bounds on CP-violating Higgs-gluon interactions: the case of vanishing light-quark Yukawa couplings

We investigate CP-violating interactions involving the Higgs boson and gluons within an effective field theory approach, focusing on the specific class of new-physics scenarios where the Yukawa couplings of light quarks are zero or strongly suppressed compared to the standard-model expectations. We compute the contributions of the most relevant higher-dimensional operators of Weinberg type to the electric dipole moment of the neutron (nEDM), which are induced by Feynman diagrams that involve an effective CP-violating Higgs-gluon coupling and top-quark loops. The resulting nEDM sensitivities and prospects are discussed and compared to the existing and expected LHC bounds. We find that future nEDM searches can set non-trivial constraints on CP-violating Higgs-gluon interactions even if the Higgs only couples to the third generation of quarks.

The MORA project

The MORA (Matter's Origin from the RadioActivity of trapped and oriented ions) project aims at measuring with unprecedented precision the D correlation in the nuclear beta decay of trapped and oriented ions. The D correlation offers the possibility to search for new CP-violating interactions, complementary to searches done at the LHC and with Electric Dipole Moments. Technically, MORA uses an innovative in-trap orientation method which combines the high trapping efficiency of a transparent Paul trap with laser orientation techniques. The trapping, detection, and laser setups are under development, for first tests at the Accelerator laboratory, JYFL, in the coming years.

Approaching robust EFT limits for CP violation in the Higgs sector

Constraining CP-violating interactions in effective field theory (EFT) of dimension six faces two challenges. Firstly, degeneracies in the multi-dimensional space of Wilson coefficients have to be lifted. Secondly, quadratic contributions of CP-odd dimension six operators are difficult to disentangle from squared contributions of CP-even dimension six operators and from linear contributions of dimension eight operators. Both of these problems are present when new sources of CP-violation are present in the interactions between the Higgs boson and heavy strongly-interacting fermions. We show that degeneracies in the Wilson coefficients can be removed by combining measurements of Higgs-plus-two-jet production via gluon fusion with measurements of top-pair associated Higgs production. In addition, we demonstrate that the sensitivity of the analysis can be improved by exploiting the top-quark threshold in the gluon fusion process. Finally, we substantiate a perturbative argument about the validity of EFT by comparing the quadratic and linear contributions from CP-odd dimension six operators and use this to show explicitly that high statistics measurements at future colliders enable the extraction of perturbatively robust constraints on the associated Wilson coefficients.

Indirect signs of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism

In the Standard Model, the renormalization of the QCD vacuum angle $\theta$ is extremely tiny, and small $\theta$ is technically natural. In the general Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT), however, $\Delta\theta$ is quadratically divergent, reflecting the fact that new sources of hadronic CP-violation typically produce $\mathcal O(1)$ threshold corrections to $\theta$. The observation of such CP-violating interactions would therefore be in tension with solutions to the strong CP problem in which $\theta=0$ is an ultraviolet boundary condition, pointing to the Peccei-Quinn mechanism as the explanation for why $\theta$ is small in the infrared. We study the quadratic divergences in $\theta$ arising from dimension-6 SMEFT operators and discuss the discovery prospects for these operators at electric dipole moment experiments, the LHC, and future proton-proton colliders.

Test of CP invariance in vector-boson fusion production of the Higgs boson using the Optimal Observable method in the ditau decay channel with the ATLAS detector.

A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion using the method of the Optimal Observable is presented. The analysis exploits the decay mode of the Higgs boson into a pair of tau leptons and is based on 20.3 mathrm{fb}^{-1} of proton–proton collision data at sqrt{s} = 8 ,mathrm{TeV} collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Contributions from CP-violating interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons are described in an effective field theory framework, in which the strength of CP violation is governed by a single parameter tilde{d}. The mean values and distributions of CP-odd observables agree with the expectation in the Standard Model and show no sign of CP violation. The CP-mixing parameter tilde{d} is constrained to the interval (-0.11,0.05) at 68% confidence level, consistent with the Standard Model expectation of tilde{d}=0.

Toward verification of electroweak baryogenesis by electric dipole moments

We study general aspects of the CP-violating effects on the baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) and electric dipole moments (EDMs) in models extended by an extra Higgs doublet and a singlet, together with electroweak-interacting fermions. In particular, the emphasis is on the structure of the CP-violating interactions and dependences of the BAU and EDMs on masses of the relevant particles. In a concrete mode, we investigate a relationship between the BAU and the electron EDM for a typical parameter set. As long as the BAU-related CP violation predominantly exists, the electron EDM has a strong power in probing electroweak baryogenesis. However, once a BAU-unrelated CP violation comes into play, the direct correlation between the BAU and electron EDM can be lost. Even in such a case, we point out that verifiability of the scenario still remains with the help of Higgs physics.

Baryon mass splittings and strongCPviolation in SU(3) chiral perturbation theory

We study $SU(3)$ flavor-breaking corrections to the relation between the octet baryon masses and the nucleon-meson CP-violating interactions induced by the QCD $\bar\theta$ term. We work within the framework of $SU(3)$ chiral perturbation theory and work through next-to-next-to-leading order in the $SU(3)$ chiral expansion, which is $\mathcal{O}(m_q^2)$. At lowest order, the CP-odd couplings induced by the QCD $\bar\theta$ term are determined by mass splittings of the baryon octet, the classic result of Crewther et al. We show that for each isospin-invariant CP-violating nucleon-meson interaction there exists one relation which is respected by loop corrections up to the order we work, while other leading-order relations are violated. With these relations we extract a precise value of the pion-nucleon coupling $\bar g_0$ by using recent lattice QCD evaluations of the proton-neutron mass splitting. In addition, we derive semi-precise values for CP-violating coupling constants between heavier mesons and nucleons with $\sim 30\%$ uncertainty and discuss their phenomenological impact on electric dipole moments of nucleons and nuclei.

Erratum to: Nuclear electric dipole moments in chiral effective field theory

We provide a consistent and complete calculation of the electric dipole moments of the deuteron, helion, and triton in the framework of chiral effective field theory. The CP-conserving and CP-violating interactions are treated on equal footing and we consider CP-violating one-, two-, and three-nucleon operators up to next-to-leading-order in the chiral power counting. In particular, we calculate for the first time EDM contributions induced by the CP-violating three-pion operator. We find that effects of CP-violating nucleon-nucleon contact interactions are larger than those found in previous studies based on phenomenological models for the CP-conserving nucleon-nucleon interactions. Our results which apply to any model of CP violation in the hadronic sector can be used to test various scenarios of CP violation. As examples, we study the implications of our results on the QCD $\theta$-term and the minimal left-right symmetric model.

Electric dipole moments: A global analysis

We perform a global analysis of searches for the permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) of the neutron, neutral atoms, and molecules in terms of six leptonic, semileptonic, and nonleptonic interactions involving photons, electrons, pions, and nucleons. Translating the results into fundamental CP-violating effective interactions through dimension six involving Standard Model particles, we obtain rough lower bounds on the scale of beyond the Standard Model CP-violating interactions ranging from 1.5 TeV for the electron EDM to 1300 TeV for the nuclear spin-independent electron-quark interaction. We show that future measurements involving systems or combinations of systems with complementary sensitivities to the low-energy parameters may extend the mass reach by an order of magnitude or more.

Nuclear electric dipole moments in chiral effective field theory

We provide a consistent and complete calculation of the electric dipole moments of the deuteron, helion, and triton in the framework of chiral effective field theory. The CP-conserving and CP-violating interactions are treated on equal footing and we consider CP-violating one-, two-, and three-nucleon operators up to next-to-leading-order in the chiral power counting. In particular, we calculate for the first time EDM contributions induced by the CP-violating three-pion operator. We find that effects of CP-violating nucleon-nucleon contact interactions are larger than those found in previous studies based on phenomenological models for the CP-conserving nucleon-nucleon interactions. Our results which apply to any model of CP violation in the hadronic sector can be used to test various scenarios of CP violation. As examples, we study the implications of our results on the QCD θ-term and the minimal left-right symmetric model.