Photons coming from an opaque obstacle as a manifestation of heavy neutrino decays

Abstract

Within the framework of physics beyond the standard model, we study the possibility that mesons produced in the atmosphere by the cosmic-ray flux decay to heavy Majorana neutrinos and the latter, in turn, decay mostly to photons in the low-mass region. We study the photon flux produced by sterile Majorana neutrinos (N) decaying after passing through a massive and opaque object such as a mountain. To model the production of N's in the atmosphere and their decay to photons, we consider the interaction between the Majorana neutrinos and the standard matter as modeled by an effective theory. We then calculate the heavy neutrino flux originated by the decay of mesons in the atmosphere. The surviving photon flux, originated by N decays, is calculated using transport equations that include the effects of Majorana neutrino production and decay.