Testing non-standard neutrinos in purely leptonic lepton decays

We propose a method to probe sterile neutrinos using polarization observables in the purely leptonic decays ℓ ′ − → ℓ − ν ¯ ℓ ν ℓ ′ . By analyzing angular distributions and asymmetries derived from polarized decay rates, we identify distinctive signatures of sterile neutrino mixing. In particular, we demonstrate that sterile neutrinos can induce singularities in certain asymmetry parameters as functions of the invariant mass squared of the neutrino pair. These singularities occur for sterile neutrino masses m 4 ν satisfying m 4 ν 2 < m ℓ ′ 2 / 2 , providing a clear target for experimental investigation. Our results motivate the incorporation of polarized beam sources at future colliders to enhance sensitivity to sterile neutrinos and other new physics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physics Letters B
Published
2026-02-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140233
Primary Topic
Neutrino Physics Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Testing non-standard neutrinos in purely leptonic lepton decays

H. Zhang, B. C. Ke, Yao Yu
Physics Letters B
Neutrino Physics Research
article

Testing non-standard neutrinos in purely leptonic lepton decays

H. Zhang, B. C. Ke, Yao Yu
article en

Abstract

We propose a method to probe sterile neutrinos using polarization observables in the purely leptonic decays ℓ ′ − → ℓ − ν ¯ ℓ ν ℓ ′ . By analyzing angular distributions and asymmetries derived from polarized decay rates, we identify distinctive signatures of sterile neutrino mixing. In particular, we demonstrate that sterile neutrinos can induce singularities in certain asymmetry parameters as functions of the invariant mass squared of the neutrino pair. These singularities occur for sterile neutrino masses m 4 ν satisfying m 4 ν 2 < m ℓ ′ 2 / 2 , providing a clear target for experimental investigation. Our results motivate the incorporation of polarized beam sources at future colliders to enhance sensitivity to sterile neutrinos and other new physics.

Physics Letters BVol. 874
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN), Chongqing University (CN), Zhengzhou University (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 98%
Neutrino Physics Research
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Testing non-standard neutrinos in purely leptonic lepton decays — H. Zhang, B. C. Ke, et al. · Physics Letters B (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS