Simulation of heavy neutral lepton production and decays with the Sherpa event generator
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Contributors
Abstract
The physics of neutrinos still pose some questions, particularly why they are so much lighter than other leptons. One explanation for this is the seesaw mechanism, where right-handed neutrinos are introduced to the Standard Model. This results in the Lagrangian density not only containing a Dirac but also a Majorana mass term. Because of this, there are two neutrino mass eigenstates, a light and a heavy one. The light neutrino is expected to be the one that has already been observed in numerous experiments, while the heavy one would be a new kind of particle, a heavy neutral lepton. Since the heavy neutral lepton would mostly be right-handed, it is not easily detectable as it would not be affected by any of the fundamental forces, apart from gravity. However, current research at the LHC investigate the decay products of heavy neutral leptons, in order to prove their existence. To achieve this, we are simulating the production of heavy neutral leptons in proton-proton collisions and their decay using Sherpa, a Monte Carlo event generator for the simulation of high-energy reactions.
In this study, we will especially include the hadronic decays of the heavy neutral leptons and the vertex offsets, as heavy neutral leptons are relatively long lived particles and therefore do not decay immediately. In this talk I will present the first results from these simulations in context of a typical LHC setup.
In this study, we will especially include the hadronic decays of the heavy neutral leptons and the vertex offsets, as heavy neutral leptons are relatively long lived particles and therefore do not decay immediately. In this talk I will present the first results from these simulations in context of a typical LHC setup.
Details
Symposium
| Title | DPG-Frühjahrstagung 2025 |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Sektion Materie und Kosmos |
| Abbreviated title | SMuK 2025 |
| Duration | 31 March - 4 April 2025 |
| Website | |
| Degree of recognition | National event |
| Location | Georg-August-Universität Göttingen |
| City | Göttingen |
| Country | Germany |