Spontaneous proton decay and the origin of Peccei-Quinn symmetry

Abstract

We propose a new interpretation of Peccei-Quinn symmetry within the Standard Model, identifying it with the axial $B+L$ symmetry i.e. $U(1{)}_{PQ}\equiv U(1{)}_{{\gamma }_5(B+L)}$. This new interpretation retains all the attractive features of Peccei-Quinn solution to strong CP problem but in addition also leads to several other new and interesting consequences. Owing to the identification $U(1{)}_{PQ}\equiv U(1{)}_{{\gamma }_5(B+L)}$ the axion also behaves like Majoron inducing small seesaw masses for neutrinos after spontaneous symmetry breaking. Another novel feature of this identification is the phenomenon of spontaneous (and also chiral) proton decay with its decay rate associated with the axion decay constant. Low energy processes which can be used to test this interpretation are pointed out.

8 pages, 1 figure, a brief section on axial Baryon number as PQ symmetry added, additional refs added, conclusions unchanged, published version

References in corpus (26)

• New experimental approaches in the search for axion-like particles
• Resonant detection of axion mediated forces with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
• Flaxion: a minimal extension to solve puzzles in the standard model
• Redefining the Axion Window
• Search for Proton Decay via $p\to e^{+}{\pi }^0$ and $p\to {\mu }^{+}{\pi }^0$ in 0.31 megaton$\cdot$years exposure of the Super-Kamiokande Water Cherenkov Detector
• Stellar Recipes for Axion Hunters
• Unifying inflation with the axion, dark matter, baryogenesis and the seesaw mechanism
• A Simple Motivated Completion of the Standard Model below the Planck Scale: Axions and Right-Handed Neutrinos
• Flavourful Axion Phenomenology
• Axion Predictions in $SO(10)\times U(1{)}_{\mathrm{PQ}}$ Models
• A Realistic U(2) Model of Flavor
• Neutrinophilic Axion-Like Dark Matter
• Can one ever prove that neutrinos are Dirac particles?
• SO(3) family symmetry and axions
• Axion mass prediction from minimal grand unification
• Accidental Peccei-Quinn Symmetry from Discrete Flavour Symmetry and Pati-Salam
• Axion Inflation, Proton Decay and Leptogenesis in $SU(5)\times U(1{)}_{PQ}$
• A class of invisible axion models with FCNCs at tree level
• Ma-xion: Majoron as QCD axion in a radiative seesaw model
• A Common Source for Scalars: Axiflavon-Higgs Unification
• SU(3) Family Gauge Symmetry and the Axion
• Anomalous leptonic U(1) symmetry: Syndetic origin of the QCD axion, weak-scale dark matter, and radiative neutrino mass
• An extension of the SM based on effective Peccei-Quinn Symmetry
• Coherent axion-photon transformations in the forward scattering on atoms
• Syndetic Extension of Baryon and Lepton Numbers: Proton Decay and Long-Lived Dark Matter
• Low-scale Leptogenesis and Dark Matter

Cited by in corpus (10)

• One-loop Dirac neutrino mass and mixed axion/WIMP dark matter
• Precision calculation of the axion-nucleon coupling in chiral perturbation theory
• Dirac neutrinos from Peccei-Quinn symmetry: a fresh look at the axion
• Dirac neutrino from the breaking of Peccei-Quinn symmetry
• Dirac neutrinos from Peccei-Quinn symmetry: two examples
• A connection between flavour anomaly, neutrino mass, and axion
• Leptoquarks, axions and the unification of B, L, and Peccei-Quinn symmetries
• The role of residual symmetries in dark matter stability and the neutrino nature
• Singlet fermion dark matter and Dirac neutrinos from Peccei-Quinn symmetry
• One-loop proton decay from Peccei-Quinn symmetry