Heavy neutral leptons - theoretical motivations and experimental overview

by Dr Margaret Lutz

Tuesday 1 Jul 2025, 12:00 → 13:00 Europe/Madrid

 

Neutrino mass and the oscillation between different neutrino flavors, as well as the lack of a right-handed neutrino, are some of the open questions motivating many searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. Postulated heavy right-handed neutrinos, or heavy natural leptons, can provide right-handed partners to their left-handed standard model counterparts.  Heavy neutral leptons can provide an explanation for the standard model neutrino masses, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and can be a dark matter candidate. Many searches have been performed over several decades for heavy neutral leptons of various lifetimes, masses, and flavors, and while no evidence of the particles has been found thus far, they remain as compelling as they are elusive.