The role of right-handed neutrinos in b → cτ (πντ, ρντ, μ$$ \overline{\nu} $$μντ)$$ \overline{\nu} $$τ from visible final-state kinematics
Neus Penalva, Eliecer Hernández, Juan Nieves
Abstract
A bstract In the context of lepton flavor universality violation (LFUV) studies, we fully derive a general tensor formalism to investigate the role that left- and right-handed neutrino new-physics (NP) terms may have in b → cτ $$ \overline{\nu} $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>ν</mml:mi> <mml:mo>¯</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> τ transitions. We present, for several extensions of the Standard Model (SM), numerical results for the Λ b → Λ c τ $$ \overline{\nu} $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>ν</mml:mi> <mml:mo>¯</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> τ semileptonic decay, which is expected to be measured with precision at the LHCb. This reaction can be a new source of experimental information that can help to confirm, or maybe rule out, LFUV presently seen in $$ \overline{B} $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>¯</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> meson decays. The present study analyzes observables that can help in distinguishing between different NP scenarios that otherwise provide very similar results for the branching ratios, which are our currently best hints for LFUV. Since the τ lepton is very short-lived, we consider three subsequent τ -decay modes, two hadronic πν τ and ρν τ and one leptonic μ $$ \overline{\nu} $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>ν</mml:mi> <mml:mo>¯</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> μ ν τ , which have been previously studied for $$ \overline{B} $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mover> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>¯</mml:mo> </mml:mover> </mml:math> → D (*) decays. Within the tensor formalism that we have developed in previous works, we re-obtain the expressions for the differential decay width written in terms of visible (experimentally accessible) variables of the massive particle created in the τ decay. There are seven different τ angular and spin asymmetries that are defined in this way and that can be extracted from experiment. Those asymmetries provide observables that can help in constraining possible SM extensions.