Abstract: We present a detailed, all-order study of gluon mass generation within the massless bound-state formalism, which constitutes the general framework for the systematic implementation of the Schwinger mechanism in non-Abelian gauge theories. The main ingredient of this formalism is the dynamical formation of bound states with vanishing mass, which give rise to effective vertices containing massless poles; these latter vertices, in turn, trigger the Schwinger mechanism, and allow for the gauge-invariant generation of an effective gluon mass. This particular approach has the conceptual advantage of relating the gluon mass directly to quantities that are intrinsic to the bound-state formation itself, such as the “transition amplitude'' and the corresponding ”bound-state wave function.'' As a result, the dynamical evolution of the gluon mass is largely determined by a Bethe-Salpeter equation that controls the dynamics of the relevant wave function, rather than the Schwinger-Dyson equation of the gluon propagator, as happens in the standard treatment. The precise structure and field-theoretic properties of the transition amplitude are scrutinized in a variety of independent ways. In particular, a parallel study within the linear-covariant (Landau) gauge and the background-field method reveals that a powerful identity, known to be valid at the level of conventional Green's functions, also relates the background and quantum transition amplitudes. Despite the differences in the ingredients and terminology employed, the massless bound-state formalism is absolutely equivalent to the standard approach based on Schwinger-Dyson equations. In fact, a set of powerful relations allows one to demonstrate the exact coincidence of the integral equations governing the momentum evolution of the gluon mass in both frameworks.

Abstract: The LHCb Collaboration has recently observed two narrow baryon resonances with beauty. Their masses and decay modes look consistent with the quark model orbitally excited states Lambda(b)(5912) and Lambda(b)*(5920), with quantum numbers J(P) = 1/2(-) and 3/2(-), respectively. We predict the existence of these states within a unitarized meson-baryon coupled-channel dynamical model, which implements heavy-quark spin symmetry. Masses, quantum numbers and couplings of these resonances to the different meson-baryon channels are obtained. We find that the resonances Lambda(0)(b)(5912) and Lambda(0)(b)(5920) are heavy-quark spin symmetry partners, which naturally explains their approximate mass degeneracy. Corresponding bottom-strange baryon resonances are predicted at Xi(b)(6035.4) (J(P) = 1/2(-)) and Xi(b)(6043.3) (J(P) = 3/2(-)). The two Lambda(b) and two Xi(b) resonances complete a multiplet of the combined symmetry SU(3)-flavor times heavy-quark spin.

Abstract: We present a measurement of the B+ -> omega l(+)nu branching fraction based on a sample of 467 million B (B) over bar pairs recorded by the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e(+)e(-) collider. We observe 1125 +/- 131 signal decays, corresponding to a branching fraction of B(B+ -> omega l(+)nu) = (1.21 +/- 0.14 +/- 0.08) x 10(-4), where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The dependence of the decay rate on q(2), the invariant mass squared of the leptons, is compared to QCD predictions of the form factors based on a quark model and light-cone sum rules.

Abstract: An extra dark radiation component can be present in the universe in the form of sterile neutrinos, axions or other very light degrees of freedom which may interact with the dark matter sector. We derive here the cosmological constraints on the dark radiation abundance, on its effective velocity and on its viscosity parameter from current data in dark radiation-dark matter coupled models. The cosmological bounds on the number of extra dark radiation species do not change significantly when considering interacting schemes. We also find that the constraints on the dark radiation effective velocity are degraded by an order of magnitude while the errors on the viscosity parameter are a factor of two larger when considering interacting scenarios. If future Cosmic Microwave Background data are analyzed assuming a noninteracting model but the dark radiation and the dark matter sectors interact in nature, the reconstructed values for the effective velocity and for the viscosity parameter will be shifted from their standard 1/3 expectation, namely c(eff)(2) = 0.34(-0.003)(+0.006) and c(vis)(2) = 0.29(-0.001)(+0.002) at 95% C.L. for the future COrE mission data.

Abstract: We present improved measurements of CP-violation parameters in the decays B-0 -> pi(+)pi(-), B-0 -> K+pi(-), and B-0 -> pi(0)pi(0), and of the branching fractions for B-0 -> pi(0)pi(0) and B-0 -> K-0 pi(0). The results are obtained with the full data set collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, corresponding to (467 +/- 5) x 10(6) B (B) over bar pairs. We find the CP-violation parameter values and branching fractions: S pi+pi- = -0.68 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.03, C-pi+pi(-) = -0.25 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.02, A(K+pi-) = -0.107 +/- 0.016(-0.004)(+0.006), C pi(0)pi(0) = -0.43 +/- 0.26 +/- 0.05, B(B-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)) = (1.83 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.13) x 10(-6), B(B-0 -> pi(0)pi(0)) = (10.1 +/- 0.6 +/- 0.4) x 10(-6), where in each case, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. We observe CP violation with a significance of 6.7 standard deviations for B-0 -> pi(+)pi(-) and 6.1 standard deviations for B-0 -> K+pi(-), including systematic uncertainties. Constraints on the unitarity triangle angle alpha are determined from the isospin relations among the B -> pi pi rates and asymmetries. Considering only the solution preferred by the Standard Model, we find alpha to be in the range [71 degrees,109 degrees] at the 68% confidence level.