On Lepton Flavor Violation in Tau Decays

Abstract

We study lepton flavor violation (LFV) in tau decays induced by heavy Majorana neutrinos within two models: (I) the Standard Model with additional right-handed heavy Majorana neutrinos, i.e., a typical seesaw-type model; (II) the Standard Model with left-handed and right-handed neutral singlets, which are inspired by certain scenarios of SO(10)models and heterotic superstring models with E_6 symmetry. We calculate various LFV branching ratios and a T-odd asymmetry. The seesaw Model I predicts very small branching ratios for LFV processes in most of the parameter space, although in a very restricted parameter region it can reach maximal branching ratios Br(tau to mu gamma) approx 10^-9 and Br(tau to 3mu) approx 10^-10. In contrast, Model II may show branching ratios Br(tau to e gamma) approx 10^-8 and Br(tau to 3e) < 10^-9, over a sizable region of the parameter space, large enough to be tested by experiments in the near future.

19 pages, 5 ps-figures; minor changes, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D