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  • Open Access

Flavor-changing axions and Dirac neutrino masses

Anirban Karan*, Julio Leite†, and José W. F. Valle‡

  • Institut de Física Corpuscular, C.S.I.C./Universitat de València, Parc Científic de Paterna, C/Catedrático José Beltrán, 2 E-46980 Paterna (Valencia), Spain

  • *Contact author: anirban1karan@gmail.com
  • †Contact author: juliorafa@gmail.com
  • ‡Contact author: valle@ific.uv.es
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Phys. Rev. D 111, 115023 – Published 24 June, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/cg5k-rcq1

Abstract

Implementing the axion concept in the context of 3-3-1 extensions of the Standard Model leads to richer properties than in the simpler axion setups, and they are related to the Dirac neutrino seesaw mechanism. In this way, the smallness of neutrino masses, the strong CP problem, the nature of dark matter, and the number of families all have a common origin. Besides having an enhanced coupling to photons, our revamped axion can also be distinguished from both Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky and Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axions through its couplings to fermions. The latter lead to interesting phenomenological consequences, including flavor-changing axion-emitting two-body K, B, and D meson decays.

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Phys. Rev. D 111, 115023– Published 24 June, 2025
  • Received 12 April 2025
  • Accepted 3 June 2025
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