Forbidden neutrinogenesis

The origin of neutrino masses can be simply attributed to a new scalar beyond the Standard Model. We demonstrate that leptogenesis can explain the baryon asymmetry of the universe already in such a minimal framework, where the electroweak scalar is favored to enhance the baryon asymmetry. Different from traditional leptogenesis, the realization here exploits the thermal behavior of leptons at finite temperatures, which is otherwise kinetically forbidden in vacuum. We present detailed calculations of the CP asymmetry in the Schwinger-Keldysh Closed-Time-Path formalism, and compute the asymmetry evolution via the Kadanoff-Baym equation. Such minimal forbidden neutrinogenesis establishes a direct link between the baryon asymmetry and the CP-violating phase from neutrino mixing, making the scenario a compelling target in neutrino oscillation experiments. Complementary probes from cosmology, flavor physics and colliders are also briefly discussed.