0000000000147676
AUTHOR
Oscar Vives
Tree-level flavor-changing neutral currents in theBsystem: FromCPasymmetries to rare decays
corresponding to 0.59 ≤ sin(2�) ≤ 0.82, which is cer- tainly outside the 1� Babar range but not outside the world average. This potential discrepancy is at the ori- gin of several papers (6) studying the implications of a small aJ/ in the search of new physics. In this paper, we analyze the implications of this situ- ation for a realistic model, obtained with the only addi- tion of an isosinglet down vector-like quark (7) to the SM spectrum. This model naturally arises, for instance, as the low-energy limit of an E6 grand unified theory. At a more phenomenological level, models with isosinglet quarks provide the simplest self-consistent framework to study deviations of 3 ×3 unitarity of the…
Spontaneous CP violation and Non-Abelian Family Symmetry in SUSY
We analyse the properties of generic models based on an SU(3) family symmetry providing a full description of quark charged lepton and neutrino masses and mixing angles. We show that a precise fit of the resulting fermion textures is consistent with CP being spontaneously broken in the flavour sector. The CP violating phases are determined by the scalar potential and we discuss how symmetries readily lead to a maximal phase controlling CP violation in the quark sector. In a specific model the CP violation to be expected in the neutrino sector is related to that in the quark sector and we determine this relation for two viable models. In addition to giving rise to the observed structure of q…
Long-Lived Slepton in the Coannihilation Region and Measurement of Lepton Flavour Violation at LHC
When the mass difference between the lightest slepton and the lightest neutralino is smaller than the tau mass, the lifetime of the lightest slepton in the constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) increases in many orders of magnitude with respect to typical lifetimes of other supersymmetric particles. In a general MSSM, the lifetime of the lightest slepton is inversely proportional to the square of the intergenerational mixing in the slepton mass matrices. Such a long-lived slepton would produce a distinctive signature at LHC and a measurement of its lifetime would be relatively simple. Therefore, the long-lived slepton scenario offers an excellent opportunity to study lept…
Light charged Higgs at the beginning of the LHC era
The terascale will be explored with the start of the LHC. One of the most fundamental questions which we expect to be answered is the root of electroweak symmetry breaking and whether the Higgs mechanism is realized in nature or not. In this context we pose the question if existing experimental data still allow for a light non-minimal Higgs sector. We tackle this question first in the context of the two Higgs doublet model and then we concentrate in two supersymmetric models, the constrained MSSM and the MSSM with non-universal Higgs masses. In both supersymmetric scearios, light pseudoscalar and light charged-Higgs bosons are still viable provided tan beta is large. In this regime, we emph…
Improved tau-lepton tools for Higgs boson hunting
In this work, we use the results from Higgs searches in the $\gamma\gamma$ and $\tau\tau$ decay channels at LHC and indirect bounds as BR$(B \to X_s \gamma)$ to constrain the parameter space of a generic MSSM Higgs sector. In particular, we include the latest CMS results that look for additional Higgs states with masses up to 1 TeV. We show that the $\tau \tau$ channel is the best and most accurate weapon in the hunt for new Higgs states beyond the Standard Model. We obtain that present experimental results rule out additional neutral Higgs bosons in a generic MSSM below 300 GeV for any value of $\tan \beta$ and, for instance, values of $\tan \beta$ above 30 are only possible for Higgs mass…
Supersymmetric origin of a lowaJ/ψCPasymmetry
We show that general minimal supersymmetric extensions of the standard model (MSSM) allow for a $\mathrm{CP}$ asymmetry in $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{B}J/\ensuremath{\psi}{K}_{S}$ well below the SM expectations with dominant supersymmetric contributions to ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{K}$ and ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}^{\ensuremath{'}}/\ensuremath{\varepsilon}.$ Indeed, we provide an explicit example of an MSSM with nonuniversal soft breaking terms fully consistent with the low results of this asymmetry recently announced by BaBar and Belle Collaborations.
Correlation between flavour violating decay of long-lived slepton and tau in the coannihilation scenario with Seesaw mechanism
We investigate flavour violating decays of the long-lived lightest slepton and the tau lepton in the coannihilation region of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with a Seesaw mechanism to generate neutrino masses. We consider a situation where the mass difference between the lightest neutralino, as the Lightest Supersymmetric particle (LSP), and the lightest slepton, as the Next-to-LSP, is smaller than the mass of tau lepton. In this situation, the lifetime of the lightest slepton is very long and it is determined by lepton flavour violating (LFV) couplings because the slepton mainly consists of the lighter stau and the flavour conserving 2-body decay is kinematically forbidden. We s…
General flavor blind minimal supersymmetric standard model andCPviolation
We study the implications on flavor changing neutral current and $\mathrm{CP}$ violating processes in the context of supersymmetric theories without a new flavor structure (flavor blind supersymmetry). The low-energy parameters are determined by the running of the soft breaking terms from the grand unified scale with supersymmetric (SUSY) phases consistent with the electric dipole moment constraints. We find that the $\mathrm{CP}$ asymmetry in $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{b}s\ensuremath{\gamma}$ can reach large values potentially measurable at B factories, especially in the low $BR(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{b}s\ensuremath{\gamma})$ region, while the contributions to electr…
(Standard model) universe dominated by the right matter
14 pages, 3 figures. References on late time enthropy release included, several points clarified. PACS numbers: 14.60.Pq, 98.80.Cq. ArXiv pre-print available at http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.4389
Flavor-changing Higgs boson decays into bottom and strange quarks in supersymmetric models
In this work, we explore the flavor-changing decays ${H}_{i}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}bs$ in a general supersymmetric scenario. In these models the flavor-changing decays arise at loop level, but---because they originate from a dimension-four operator---they do not decouple and may provide a first sign of new physics for heavy masses beyond the reach of colliders. In the framework of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model, we find that the largest branching ratio of the lightest Higgs (${H}_{1}$) is $\mathcal{O}(1{0}^{\ensuremath{-}6})$ after imposing present experimental constraints, while heavy Higgs states may still present branching ratios $\mathcal{O}(1{0}^{\ensuremat…
General Flavor Blind MSSM and CP Violation
We study the implications on flavor changing neutral current and CP violating processes in the context of supersymmetric theories without a new flavor structure (flavor blind supersymmetry). The low energy parameters are determined by the running of the soft breaking terms from the grand unified scale with SUSY phases consistent with the EDM constraints. We find that the CP asymmetry in b --> s gamma can reach large values potentially measurable at B factories, especially in the low BR(b --> s gamma) region. We perform a fit of the unitarity triangle including all the relevant observables. In this case, no sizeable deviations from the SM expectations are found. Finally we analyze the …
Soft SUSY breaking grand unification: Leptons vs quarks on the flavor playground
We systematically analyze the correlations between the various leptonic and hadronic flavor violating processes arising in SUSY Grand Unified Theories. Using the GUT-symmetric relations between the soft SUSY breaking parameters, we assess the impact of hadronic and leptonic flavor observables on the SUSY sources of flavor violation.
P-odd observables at the upsilon peak
We study the $\gamma$-Z interference in the process $e^+ e^-\to \Upsilon \to \tau^+ \tau^-$ as a means to measure the neutral current coupling of the b-quark. The helicity amplitudes are calculated from resonant and background diagrams and the spin density matrix of the final state is discussed. The spin analyzer of the $\tau$'s is illustrated with the decays $\pi \nu$ and $\rho \nu \to (\pi \pi) \nu$. With $10^8 \Upsilon$ a sensitivity to $g_V^b$ of a few per cent could be reachable.
Transplanckian masses in inflation
AbstractWe explore the possibility that the transplanckian field values needed to accommodate the experimental results in minimally coupled single-field inflation models are only due to our insistence of imposing a minimal coupling of the inflaton field to gravity. A simple conformal transformation can bring the field values below the Planck mass without changing the physics at the expense of having a richer gravitational sector. Transplanckian field values may be the signal that we are (miss)interpreting phenomena due to gravity as being originated exclusively in the scalar sector.
Effective theories of flavor and the nonuniversal MSSM
Flavor symmetries \`{a} la Froggatt-Nielsen~(FN) provide a compelling way to explain the hierarchies of fermionic masses and mixing angles in the Yukawa sector. In Supersymmetric~(SUSY) extensions of the Standard Model where the mediation of SUSY breaking occurs at scales larger than the breaking of flavor, this symmetry must be respected not only by the Yukawas of the superpotential, but by the soft-breaking masses and trilinear terms as well. In this work we show that contrary to naive expectations, even starting with completely flavor blind soft-breaking in the full theory at high scales, the low-energy sfermion mass matrices and trilinear terms of the effective theory, obtained upon int…
Eviction of a 125 GeV “heavy”-Higgs from the MSSM
We prove that the present experimental constraints are already enough to rule out the possibility of the similar to 125 GeV Higgs found at LHC being the second lightest Higgs in a general MSSM context, even with explicit CP violation in the Higgs potential. Contrary to previous studies, we are able to eliminate this possibility analytically, using simple expressions for a relatively small number of observables. We show that the present LHC constraints on the diphoton signal strength, tau tau production through Higgs and BR(B -> X-s gamma) are enough to preclude the possibility of H-2 being the observed Higgs with m(H) similar or equal to 125 GeV within an MSSM context, without leaving room …
Invariant approach to flavor-dependent CP-violating phases in the MSSM
We use a new weak basis invariant approach to classify all the observable phases in any extension of the Standard Model (SM). We apply this formalism to determine the invariant CP phases in a simplified version of the Minimal Supersymmetric SM with only three non-trivial flavour structures. We propose four experimental measures to fix completely all the observable phases in the model. After these phases have been determined from experiment, we are able to make predictions on any other CP-violating observable in the theory, much in the same way as in the Standard Model all CP-violation observables are proportional to the Jarlskog invariant.
Analysis of enhancedβeffects in minimal flavor violation GUT scenarios
Long-range forces between macroscopic objects are mediated by light particles that interact with the electrons or nucleons, and include spin-dependent static components as well as spin- and velocity-dependent components. We parametrize the long-range potential between two fermions assuming rotational invariance, and find 16 different components. Applying this result to electrically neutral objects, we show that the macroscopic potential depends on 72 measurable parameters. We then derive the potential induced by the exchange of a new gauge boson or spinless particle, and compare the limits set by measurements of macroscopic forces to the astrophysical limits on the couplings of these partic…
FCNC and CP violation observables in an SU(3)-flavoured MSSM
A non-Abelian flavour symmetry in a minimal supersymmetric standard model can explain the flavour structures in the Yukawa couplings and simultaneously solve the SUSY flavour problem. Similarly the SUSY CP problem can be solved if CP is spontaneously broken in the flavour sector. In this work, we present an explicit example of these statements with a SU(3) flavour symmetry and spontaneous CP violation. In addition, we show that it is still possible to find some significant deviation from the SM expectations as far as FCNC and CP violation are concerned. We find that large contributions can be expected in lepton flavour violating decays, as � ! e and � ! � , electric dipole moments, de and d…
Flavour and Collider Interplay for SUSY at LHC7
The current 7 TeV run of the LHC experiment shall be able to probe gluino and squark masses up to values larger than 1 TeV. Assuming that hints for SUSY are found in the jets plus missing energy channel by the end of a 5 fb$^{-1}$ run, we explore the flavour constraints on three models with a CMSSM-like spectrum: the CMSSM itself, a Seesaw extension of the CMSSM, and Flavoured CMSSM. In particular, we focus on decays that might have been measured by the time the run is concluded, such as $B_s\to\mu\mu$ and $\mu\to e\gamma$. We also analyse constraints imposed by neutral meson bounds and electric dipole moments. The interplay between collider and flavour experiments is explored through the u…
Restricted flavor structure of soft SUSY breaking trilinear couplings
We analyze the flavor structure of the trilinear couplings in the different theoretical models of SUSY breaking. We generically obtain A_{ij}= A^L_i + A^R_j in all the models examined. In fact, this is the rigorous form when SUSY breaking effects appear through the Kahler metric of chiral fields or through wave-function renormalization. Indeed, the low-energy phenomenological requirements from the absence of charge and color breaking minima and the measurements in flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) observables strongly favor this restricted form of the trilinear matrices. As a straightforward consequence, the number of unknown parameters associated with the trilinear couplings is decrea…
Left-handed neutrino disappearance probe of neutrino mass and character
We explore the sensitivity to a non vanishing neutrino mass offered by dynamical observables, i.e., branching ratios and polarizations. The longitudinal polarization in the C.M. frame decreases by a 4% for $D^+ \rightarrow \tau^+ \nu_\tau$ and $m_{\nu_\tau}=24$ MeV. Taking advantage of the fact that the polarization is a Lorentz variant quantity, we study the polarization effects in a boosted frame. By means of a neutrino beam, produced by a high velocity boosted parent able to flip the neutrino helicity, we find that an enhanced left-handed neutrino deficit, induced by a Wigner rotation, appears.
Motion of an electric charge in a terrestrial laboratory.
The equation of motion for a charge in an electromagnetic field is written in the Fermi coordinates of an observer moving with a constant acceleration g=9.8 m/${\mathrm{s}}^{2}$ (${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}18}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ in units such that c=1). This is involved in the equation of motion not only as a Newtonian term g\ensuremath{\rightarrow}, but also as a relativistic correction of the form ``-2(g\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\cdot}v\ensuremath{\rightarrow})v\ensuremath{\rightarrow}.'' We have studied the effect of this term under the conditions of an accelerator of particles. To this end, we have considered a constant and uniform magnetic field, a…
Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL forward trapping detector in 2.11 fb −1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collisions at the LHC
We update our previous search for trapped magnetic monopoles in LHC Run 2 using nearly six times more integrated luminosity and including additional models for the interpretation of the data. The MoEDAL forward trapping detector, comprising 222 kg of aluminium samples, was exposed to 2.11 fb−1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collisions near the LHCb interaction point and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges equal to the Dirac charge or above are excluded in all samples. The results are interpreted in Drell–Yan production models for monopoles with spins 0, 1/2 and 1: in addition to standard point-like couplings, …
Can measurements of 2HDM parameters provide hints for high scale supersymmetry?
Two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs) are minimal extensions of the Standard Model (SM) that may still be discovered at the LHC. The quartic couplings of their potentials can be determined from the measurement of the masses and branching ratios of their extended scalar sectors. We show that the evolution of these couplings through renormalization group equations can determine whether the observed 2HDM is a low energy manifestation of a more fundamental theory, as for instance, supersymmetry, which fixes the quartic couplings in terms of the gauge couplings. At leading order, the minimal supersymmetric extension of the SM (MSSM) dictates all the quartic couplings, which can be translated into a p…
Cold positrons from decaying dark matter
Many models of dark matter contain more than one new particle beyond those in the Standard Model. Often heavier particles decay into the lightest dark matter particle as the Universe evolves. Here we explore the possibilities that arise if one of the products in a (Heavy Particle) $\rightarrow$ (Dark Matter) decay is a positron, and the lifetime is shorter than the age of the Universe. The positrons cool down by scattering off the cosmic microwave background and eventually annihilate when they fall into Galactic potential wells. The resulting 511 keV flux not only places constraints on this class of models but might even be consistent with that observed by the INTEGRAL satellite.
Measuring lepton flavor violation at LHC with a long-lived slepton in the coannihilation region
When the mass difference between the lightest slepton, the NLSP, and the lightest neutralino, the LSP, is smaller than the tau mass, the lifetime of the lightest slepton increases in many orders of magnitude with respect to typical lifetimes of other supersymmetric particles. These small mass differences are possible in the MSSM and, for instance, they correspond to the coannihilation region of the CMSSM for $M_{1/2} \gsim 700$ GeV. In a general gravity-mediated MSSM, where the lightest supersymmetric particle is the neutralino, the lifetime of the lightest slepton is inversely proportional to the square of the intergenerational mixing in the slepton mass matrices. Such a long-lived slepton…
The degenerate gravitino scenario
In this work, we explore the "degenerate gravitino" scenario where the mass difference between the gravitino and the lightest MSSM particle is much smaller than the gravitino mass itself. In this case, the energy released in the decay of the next to lightest sypersymmetric particle (NLSP) is reduced. Consequently the cosmological and astrophysical constraints on the gravitino abundance, and hence on the reheating temperature, become softer than in the usual case. On the other hand, such small mass splittings generically imply a much longer lifetime for the NLSP. We find that, in the constrained MSSM (CMSSM), for neutralino LSP or NLSP, reheating temperatures compatible with thermal leptogen…
Constraining models with vector-like fermions from FCNC in K and B physics
In this work, we update the constraints on tree level FCNC couplings in the framework of a theory with n isosinglet vector-like down quarks. In this context, we emphasize the sensitivity of the B -> J/psi K_S CP asymmetry to the presence of new vector-like down quarks. This CP asymmetry, together with the rare decays B -> X_{s,d} l bar{l} and K -> pi nu bar{nu} are the best options to further constrain the FCNC tree level couplings or even to point out, in the near future, the possible presence of vector-like quarks in the low energy spectrum, as suggested by GUT theories or models of large extra dimensions at the TeV scale.
How sensitive to FCNC can $B^0$ CP asymmetries be?
We show that the study of CP asymmetries in neutral B-meson decays provides a very sensitive probe of flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNC). We introduce two new angles, $\alpha_{SM}$ and $\beta_{SM}$, whose main feature is that they can be readily obtained from the measurement of the CP asymmetries $a_{J/\psi K_s}$, $a_{\pi^+ \pi^-}$ and the ratio $R_u \equiv|V_{ud}V_{ub}^*|/|V_{cd}V_{cb}^*|$, providing a quantitative test of the presence of new physics in a model-independent way. Assuming that new physics is due to the presence of an isosinglet down-type quark, we indicate how to reconstruct the unitarity quadrangles and point out that the measurements of the above asymmetries, within …
The physics programme of the MoEDAL experiment at the LHC
The MoEDAL experiment at Point 8 of the LHC ring is the seventh and newest LHC experiment. It is dedicated to the search for highly ionizing particle avatars of physics beyond the Standard Model, extending significantly the discovery horizon of the LHC. A MoEDAL discovery would have revolutionary implications for our fundamental understanding of the Microcosm. MoEDAL is an unconventional and largely passive LHC detector comprised of the largest array of Nuclear Track Detector stacks ever deployed at an accelerator, surrounding the intersection region at Point 8 on the LHC ring. Another novel feature is the use of paramagnetic trapping volumes to capture both electrically and magnetically ch…
Electric dipole moments from flavoredCPviolation in supersymmetry
The so-called supersymmetric flavor and $CP$ problems are deeply related to the origin of flavor and hence to the origin of the standard model Yukawa couplings themselves. We show that realistic $SU(3)$ flavor symmetries with spontaneous $CP$ violation reproducing correctly the standard model Yukawa matrices can simultaneously solve both problems without ad hoc modifications of the supersymmetric model. We analyze the leptonic electric dipole moments and lepton flavor violation processes in these models. We show that the electron electric dipole moment and the decay $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}e\ensuremath{\gamma}$ are naturally within reach of the proposed experiments if the s…
Search for Magnetic Monopoles with the MoEDAL Forward Trapping Detector in 13 TeV Proton-Proton Collisions at the LHC
MoEDAL is designed to identify new physics in the form of long-lived highly-ionising particles produced in high-energy LHC collisions. Its arrays of plastic nuclear-track detectors and aluminium trapping volumes provide two independent passive detection techniques. We present here the results of a first search for magnetic monopole production in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the trapping technique, extending a previous publication with 8 TeV data during LHC run-1. A total of 222 kg of MoEDAL trapping detector samples was exposed in the forward region and analysed by searching for induced persistent currents after passage through a superconducting magnetometer. Magnetic charges excee…
Anomaly-free leptophilic axionlike particle and its flavor violating tests
Motivated by the recent Xenon1T result, we study a leptophilic flavor-dependent anomaly-free axionlike particle (ALP) and its effects on charged-lepton flavor violation. We present two representative models. The first one considers that the ALP origins from the flavon that generates the charged-lepton masses. The second model assumes a larger flavor symmetry such that more general mixings in the charged-lepton are possible, while maintaining flavor-dependent ALP couplings. We find that a keV ALP explaining the Xenon1T result is still viable for lepton flavor violation and stellar cooling astrophysical limits. On the other hand, if the Xenon1T result is confirmed, future charged-lepton flavo…
Transplanckian inflation as gravity echoes
In this work, we show that, in the presence of non-minimal coupling to gravity, it is possible to generate sizeable tensor modes in single-field models without transplanckian field values. These transplanckian field values apparently needed in Einstein gravity to accommodate the experimental results may only be due to our insistence of imposing a minimal coupling of the inflaton field to gravity in a model with non-minimal couplings. We present three simple single-field models that prove that it is possible accommodate a large tensor-to-scalar ratio without requiring transplanckian field values within the slow-roll regime.
First search for dyons with the full MoEDAL trapping detector in 13 TeV pp collisions
The MoEDAL trapping detector, consists of approximately 800 kg of aluminium volumes. It was exposed during Run-2 of the LHC program to 6.46 fb^-1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHCb interaction point. Evidence for dyons (particles with electric and magnetic charge) captured in the trapping detector was sought by passing the aluminium volumes comprising the detector through a SQUID magnetometer. The presence of a trapped dyon would be signalled by a persistent current induced in the SQUID magnetometer. On the basis of a Drell-Yan production model, we exclude dyons with a magnetic charge ranging up to 5 Dirac charges, and an electric charge up to 200 times the fundamental electric …
Flavoured leptogenesis: A successful thermal leptogenesis withN1mass below 108GeV
We prove that taking correctly into account the lepton flavour dependence of the CP asymmetries and washout processes, it is possible to obtain successful thermal leptogenesis from the decays of the second right-handed neutrino. The asymmetries in the muon and tau-flavour channels are then not erased by the inverse decays of the lightest right-handed neutrino, N1. In this way, we reopen the possibility of 'thermal leptogenesis' in models with a strong hierarchy in the right-handed Majorana masses that is typically the case in models with up-quark–neutrino Yukawa unification.
Flavour Symmetries and SUSY Soft Breaking in the LHC Era
The so-called supersymmetric flavour problem does not exist in isolation to the Standard Model flavour problem. We show that a realistic flavour symmetry can simultaneously solve both problems without ad hoc modifications of the SUSY model. Furthermore, departures from the SM expectations in these models can be used to discriminate among different possibilities. In particular we present the expected values for the electron EDM in a flavour model solving the supersymmetric flavour and CP problems.