Published May 4, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article

Distinguishing between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos in the presence of general interactions

  • 1. Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik,Postfach 103980, D-69029 Heidelberg (Germany)
  • 2. Escuela de Física, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia,Avenida Central del Norte, Tunja (Colombia)

Description

We revisit the possibility of distinguishing between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos via neutrino-electron elastic scattering in the presence of all possible Lorentz-invariant interactions. Defining proper observables, certain regions of the parameter space can only be reached for Dirac neutrinos, but never for Majorana neutrinos, thus providing an alternative method to differentiate these two possibilities. We first derive analytically and numerically the most general conditions that would allow to distinguish Dirac from Majorana neutrinos, both in the relativistic and non-relativistic cases. Then, we apply these conditions to data on νμ-e and ν̄e-e scatterings, from the CHARM-II and TEXONO experiments, and find that they are consistent with both types of neutrinos. Finally, we comment on future prospects of this kind of tests.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2017)024; Available from http://repo.scoap3.org/record/19980

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Journal of High Energy Physics (Online)
Journal Volume
2017
Journal Issue
05
Journal Page Range
p. 24
ISSN
1029-8479

Optional Information

Copyright
Copyright (c) OPEN ACCESS, © The Authors
Notes
PUBLISHER-ID: JHEP05(2017)024; ARXIV:1702.05721; OAI: oai:repo.scoap3.org:19980
Funding organization
SCOAP3, CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)