keV Sterile Neutrino Dark Matter and Neutrino Model Building

Abstract

A sterile neutrino with a mass around the keV scale could be an interesting candidate for warm dark matter. Although there are several scenarios and production mechanisms known in which such a particle could yield the correct abundance, there are astonishingly few models around that can actually yield an explanation for the appearance of a keV-like scale. We here review three main classes of such mass models for keV sterile neutrino dark matter, based on split seesaw, on L_e - L_μ- L_τ symmetry, and on the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism, respectively.

6 pages, 1 figure; Proceedings for the TAUP 2011 conference, Munich, Germany; content matches peer-reviewed and soon-to-be-published version; v2: important reference added & typo corrected