A Critical Analysis of One-Loop Neutrino Mass Models with Minimal Dark Matter

Abstract

A recent paper investigated minimal R$\nu$MDM models with the type T1-iii and T3 one-loop topologies. However, the candidate most-minimal model does not possess an accidental symmetry - the scalar potential contains an explicit symmetry breaking term, rendering the dark matter unstable. We present two models that cure this problem. However, we further show that all of the proposed minimal one-loop R$\nu$MDM models suffer from a second problem - an additional source of explicit $Z_2$ symmetry breaking in the Yukawa sector. We perform a more-general analysis to show that neutrino mass models using either the type T3 or type T1-iii one-loop topologies do not give viable minimal dark matter candidates. Consequently, one-loop models of neutrino mass with minimal dark matter do not appear possible. Thus, presently there remains a single known (three-loop) model of neutrino mass that gives stable dark matter without invoking any new symmetries.