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Constraining ultralight vector bosons via solar neutrino oscillations: The gauged Lμ−Lτ model and prospects for JUNO and XLZD

Ilídio Lopes*

  • *Contact author: ilidio.lopes@tecnico.ulisboa.pt
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 075018 – Published 13 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/zz7y-6cv1

Abstract

We present an extension of the Standard Model based upon the gauged U(1)Lμ−Lτ symmetry, featuring an ultralight vector boson that couples to the difference of muon and tau lepton numbers. This anomaly-free construction, whilst historically motivated by the muon’s anomalous magnetic moment, is here employed as an independent phenomenological framework for solar neutrino physics. Through kinetic mixing with the photon, the Z′ boson generates an effective matter potential within the solar interior, thereby modifying neutrino flavor oscillations via the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein mechanism. Utilizing recent solar neutrino measurements from Borexino, SNO, and Super-Kamiokande, together with an up-to-date solar standard model, we constrain the boson mass to be below 5.7×10−17  eV, positioning it as a potential ultralight dark matter candidate. The optimal model, corresponding to a coupling parameter ηo≈−2, yields χν2=2.7, which compares favorably with the standard three-flavor scenario (χν2=3.1). This best-fit configuration corresponds to an effective four-fermion coupling gZ′2ϵ/mZ′2≈6.6×10−23  eV−2, approximately 5.7 times the Fermi constant, which for ϵ≈1 and a reference mediator mass of 1 eV is equivalent to a gauge coupling gZ′≈8×10−12. We furthermore present projections for forthcoming experiments. The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which commenced operations in August 2025 and has already achieved world-leading precision in oscillation parameter measurements, together with the XLZD consortium, should substantially refine these constraints. Such ultralight particles may address long-standing discrepancies in galaxy simulations within the cold dark matter paradigm, and recent theoretical developments demonstrate their compatibility with nonthermal dark matter production mechanisms. Additionally, terrestrial long-baseline neutrino experiments provide complementary probes of this parameter space.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 075018– Published 13 October, 2026
  • Received 10 February 2026
  • Accepted 24 September 2026
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