Abstract: The extraction of the neutrino mass ordering is one of the major challenges in particle physics and cosmology, not only for its implications for a fundamental theory of mass generation in nature, but also for its decisive role in the scale of future neutrinoless double beta decay experimental searches. It has been recently claimed that current oscillation, beta decay and cosmological limits on the different observables describing the neutrino mass parameter space provide robust decisive Bayesian evidence in favor of the normal ordering of the neutrino mass spectrum [1]. We further investigate these strong claims using a rich and wide phenomenology, with different sampling techniques of the neutrino parameter space. Contrary to the findings of Jimenez et al. [1], no decisive evidence for the normal mass ordering is found. Neutrino mass ordering analyses must rely on priors and parameterizations that are ordering-agnostic: robust results should be regarded as those in which the preference for the normal neutrino mass ordering is driven exclusively by the data, while we find a difference of up to a factor of 33 in the Bayes factors among the different priors and parameterizations exploited here. An ordering-agnostic prior would be represented by the case of parameterizations sampling over the two mass splittings and a mass scale, or those sampling over the individual neutrino masses via normal prior distributions only. In this regard, we show that the current significance in favor of the normal mass ordering should be taken as 2.7 sigma (i.e. moderate evidence), mostly driven by neutrino oscillation data. Let us stress that, while current data favor NO only mildly, we do not exclude the possibility that this may change in the future. Eventually, upcoming oscillation and cosmological data may (or may not) lead to a more significant exclusion of IO.

Abstract: The field of particle physics is at the crossroads. The discovery of a Higgs-like boson completed the Standard Model (SM), but the lacking observation of convincing resonances Beyond the SM (BSM) offers no guidance for the future of particle physics. On the other hand, the motivation for New Physics has not diminished and is, in fact, reinforced by several striking anomalous results in many experiments. Here we summarise the status of the most significant anomalies, including the most recent results for the flavour anomalies, the multi-lepton anomalies at the LHC, the Higgs-like excess at around 96 GeV, and anomalies in neutrino physics, astrophysics, cosmology, and cosmic rays. While the LHC promises up to 4 ab(-1) of integrated luminosity and far-reaching physics programmes to unveil BSM physics, we consider the possibility that the latter could be tested with present data, but that systemic shortcomings of the experiments and their search strategies may preclude their discovery for several reasons, including: final states consisting in soft particles only, associated production processes, QCD-like final states, close-by SM resonances, and SUSY scenarios where no missing energy is produced. New search strategies could help to unveil the hidden BSM signatures, devised by making use of the CERN open data as a new testing ground. We discuss the CERN open data with its policies, challenges, and potential usefulness for the community. We showcase the example of the CMS collaboration, which is the only collaboration regularly releasing some of its data. We find it important to stress that individuals using public data for their own research does not imply competition with experimental efforts, but rather provides unique opportunities to give guidance for further BSM searches by the collaborations. Wide access to open data is paramount to fully exploit the LHCs potential.

Abstract: The first observation of the semileptonic b-baryon decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau) with a significance of 6.1 sigma, is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV at the LHC. The tau(-) lepton is reconstructed in the hadronic decay to three charged pions. The ratio K = B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-)) is measured to be 2.46 +/- 0.27 +/- 0.40, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The branching fraction B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau)) (1.50 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.25 +/- 0.23)% is obtained, where the third uncertainty is from the external branching fraction of the normalization channel Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-). The ratio of semileptonic branching fractions R(Lambda(+)(c)) B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c) tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau))/B(Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)mu(-)(nu) over bar (tau)) is derived to be 0.242 +/- 0.026 +/- 0.040 +/- 0.059, where the external branching fraction uncertainty from the channel Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda(+)(c)mu(-)(nu) over bar (tau) contributes to the last term. This result is in agreement with the standard model prediction.