Spinor adjoints, gauge invariance and a new road to sterile neutrinos

Abstract

In this work, we analyze the possibilities of certain gauge transformations regarding some specific spinorial dual structures. To this end, we define a general structure, which can be expressed in terms of discrete symmetry operators associated with parity, charge conjugation, and time reversal. To this end, we consider the demand of tensor covariance of the spinor bilinears under space–time transformations and also deep algebraic considerations such as the invertibility of the dual structure which guarantee that the physical information remains unchanged (respecting the Fierz–Pauli–Kofink identities), and so on. Later, we examine the global gauge freedom implied by each choice of dual and point out the physical implications. The final goal is achieved by establishing a well-defined coupling between the Elko and standard model neutrinos in a prelude for a new formulation of the hypothetical so-called sterile neutrino.