New Frontiers in Lepton Flavor

Looking for an axion in a haystack of muons

16 May 2023, 16:25

15m

INFN / Dipartimento di Fisica

Young Researchers Talks

Speaker

Andrea Gurgone (University & INFN Pavia)

Description

The search for charged Lepton Flavour Violation (cLFV) in muon decays is a sensitive probe to test the Standard Model at the intensity frontier. The MEG II and Mu3e experiments at the Paul Scherrer Institut are respectively designed to detect $\mu \to e\gamma$ and $\mu \to eee$ with an unprecedented accuracy. In addition, both experiments are sensitive to cLFV decays of a muon into an invisible axion-like particle $X$. In this regard, a viable channel is given by the two-body decay $\mu \to eX$, whose signature is a monochromatic signal close to kinematic endpoint of the $\mu \to e\nu \overline{\nu }$ background. The hunt for such an elusive signal requires extremely accurate theoretical predictions for simulation and data analysis.

In this contribution, I will present a new state-of-the-art computation of $\mu \to eX$ and $\mu \to e\nu \overline{\nu }$. Both decays have been implemented in McMule, a novel Monte Carlo framework for the evaluation of higher-order radiative corrections for low-energy processes with leptons. In addition to taking into account all polarisation and mass effects, the signal $\mu \to eX$ includes next-to-leading order corrections, while the background $\mu \to e\nu \overline{\nu }$ includes next-to-next-to-leading order corrections and logarithmically enhanced terms at even higher orders. I will also discuss the impact of the results on the sensitivity of MEG II and Mu3e on the branching ratio of $\mu \to eX$.

Main reference: arXiv:2211.01040

Presentation materials

gurgone_pisa23.pdf