Neutrino mass constraints on $\mu$-decay and $\pi^0\to \nu \bar{\nu}$

Abstract

In this letter, we show that upper-limits on neutrino mass translate into upper-limits on the class of neutrino-matter interactions that can generate loop corrections to the neutrino mass matrix. We apply our results to $\mu$- and $\pi$-decays and derive model-independent limits on six of the ten parameters used to parametrize contributions to $\mu$-decay that do not belong to the standard model. These upper-limits provide improved constraints on the five Michel parameters, $\rho,\xi^\prime,\xi^{\prime\prime},\alpha,\alpha^\prime$, that exceed PDG constraints by at least one order of magnitude. For $\pi^0\to \nu \bar{\nu}$ we find for the branching ratio: $B(\pi^0\to\nu \bar\nu) < 10^{-10}$.