Phenomenological implications of sterile neutrinos in the $\mu \nu$SSM and dark matter

Abstract

We analyze the role of sterile neutrinos in the framework of the $\mu \nu$SSM, where the presence of right-handed neutrinos provides a simultaneous solution to $\mu$- and $\nu$-problems in supersymmetry. We adopt a minimalistic approach, reproducing light neutrino masses and mixing angles at tree level using just two right-handed neutrinos as part of the seesaw mechanism. A third right-handed neutrino does not contribute significantly to the mass of the three active ones, behaving as a sterile neutrino with a mass in the range keV$-$MeV. Furthermore, a sterile neutrino of about $10$ keV can be a good candidate for dark matter with a lifetime larger than the age of the Universe. In particular, the three-body decay to active neutrinos gives the dominant contribution to its lifetime. The one-loop decay to gamma and active neutrino is subdominant, but relevant for observations such as astrophysical X-rays. We find regions of the parameter space of the $\mu \nu$SSM, with different values of the sterile neutrino mass, fulfilling not only these constraints but also collider constraints from the Higgs sector.

Version published in Astroparticle Physics. Discussion improved including one figure. 24 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables

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