Botella, F. J., Branco, G. C., Coutinho, A. M., Rebelo, M. N., & Silva-Marcos, J. I. (2015). Natural quasi-alignment with two Higgs doublets and RGE stability. Eur. Phys. J. C, 75(6), 286–9pp.
Abstract: In the context of two Higgs doublet models, we study the conditions required in order to have stable quasi-alignment in flavour space. We show that stability under the renormalisation group equations imposes strong constraints on the flavour structure of the Yukawa couplings associated to each one of the Higgs doublets. In particular, we find a novel solution, where all Yukawa couplings are proportional to the so-called democratic matrix. This solution is rather unique, since it is the only stable solution which is a good starting point for reproducing the observed pattern of quark masses and mixing. We also showthat this stable solution can be obtained by imposing on the Lagrangian a Z(3)xZ(3)' flavour symmetry. Quark masses of the lighter quark generations are generated through the breaking of this discrete symmetry, and, at this stage, scalar-mediated flavour-changing neutralcurrents arise, but they are naturally suppressed by the smallness of the light quark masses. In this way, we relate Higgs alignment to the hierarchy of the quark masses through a discrete family symmetry.
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Botella, F. J., Branco, G. C., Rebelo, M. N., & Silva-Marcos, J. I. (2016). What if the masses of the first two quark families are not generated by the standard model Higgs boson? Phys. Rev. D, 94(11), 115031–6pp.
Abstract: We point out that in the standard model there is meaningful quark mixing even in the extreme chiral (EC) limit, where only the third generation of quarks acquires mass. This mixing is in general expected to be of order 1 and the fact that |V-13|(2) + |V-23|(2) approximate to 1.6 x 10(-3) implies a novel fine-tuning problem in the SM which we point out for the first time. We propose a possible way of avoiding this fine-tuning by introducing a symmetry S which leads to V-CKM = 1, with only the third generation of quarks acquiring mass. We consider two scenarios for generating the mass of the first two quark generations and full quark mixing based on the assumption that the masses of the first two quark families are not generated by the standard Higgs. One consists of the introduction of a second Higgs doublet which is neutral under S. The second scenario consists of assuming new physics at a high energy scale, contributing to the masses of light quark generations, in an effective field theory approach. This last scenario leads to couplings of the Higgs particle to s (s) over bar and c (c) over tilde which are significantly enhanced with respect to those of the SM. In both schemes, one has scalar-mediated flavor-changing neutral currents which are naturally suppressed. Flavor-violating top decays are predicted in the second scenario at the level Br(t -> hc) >= 5 x 10(-5).
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Botella, F. J., Branco, G. C., Carmona, A., Nebot, M., Pedro, L., & Rebelo, M. N. (2014). Physical constraints on a class of two-Higgs doublet models with FCNC at tree level. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 078–33pp.
Abstract: We analyse the constraints and some of the phenomenological implications of a class of two Higgs doublet models where there are flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNC) at tree level but the potentially dangerous FCNC couplings are suppressed by small entries of the CKM matrix V. This class of models have the remarkable feature that, as a result of a discrete symmetry of the Lagrangian, the FCNC couplings are entirely fixed in the quark sector by V and the ratio v(2)/v(1) of the vevs of the neutral Higgs. The discrete symmetry is extended to the leptonic sector, so that there are FCNC in the leptonic sector with their flavour structure fixed by the leptonic mixing matrix. We analyse a large number of processes, including decays mediated by charged Higgs at tree level, processes involving FCNC at tree level, as well as loop induced processes. We show that in this class of models one has new physical scalars beyond the standard Higgs boson, with masses reachable at the next round of experiments.
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Botella, F. J., Branco, G. C., Nebot, M., & Sanchez, A. (2015). Mixing asymmetries in B meson systems, the D0 like-sign dimuon asymmetry, and generic new physics. Phys. Rev. D, 91(3), 035013–14pp.
Abstract: The measurement of a large like-sign dimuon asymmetry A(SL)(b) by the D0 experiment at the Tevatron departs noticeably from Standard Model (SM) expectations and it may be interpreted as a hint of physics beyond the Standard Model contributing to Delta B not equal 0 transitions. In this work we analyze how the natural suppression of A(SL)(b) in the SM can be circumvented by new physics. We consider generic Standard Model extensions where the charged current mixing matrix is enlarged with respect to the usual 3 x 3 unitary Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix, and show how, within this framework, a significant enhancement over Standard Model expectations for Ab SL is easily reachable through enhancements of the semileptonic asymmetries A(SL)(d) and A(SL)(s) of both B-d(0)- (B) over bar (0)(d) and B-s(0)- (B) over bar (0)(s) systems. Despite being insufficient to reproduce the D0 measurement, such deviations from SM expectations may be probed by the LHCb experiment.
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Botella, F. J., Branco, G. C., & Nebot, M. (2012). The hunt for New Physics in the Flavour Sector with up vector-like quarks. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 040–34pp.
Abstract: We analyse the possible presence of New Physics (NP) in the Flavour Sector and evaluate its potential for solving the tension between the experimental values of A(J/Psi KS) and Br(B+ -> tau(+)v(tau)) with respect to the Standard Model (SM) expectations. Updated model independent analyses, where NP contributions are allowed in B-d(0) – (B) over bar (0)(d) and B-s(0) – (B) over bar (0)(s) transitions, suggest the need of New Physics in the bd sector. A detailed analysis of recent Flavour data is then presented in the framework of a simple extension of the SM, where a Q = 2/3 vector-like isosinglet quark is added to the spectrum of the SM. Special emphasis is given to the implications of this model for correlations among various measurable quantities. We include constraints from all the relevant quark flavour sectors and give precise predictions for selected rare processes. We find important deviations from the SM in observables in the bd sector like the semileptonic asymmetry A(SL)(d), B-d(0) -> mu(+)mu(-) and A(SL)(s) – A(SL)(d). Other potential places where NP can show up include A(J/Psi Phi), gamma, K-L(0) -> pi(0)v (v) over bar, t -> Zq and D-0 -> mu(+)mu(-) among others. The experimental data favours in this model the existence of an up vector-like quark with a mass below 600(1000) GeV at 1(2) sigma.
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