Abstract: We propose a dynamical scoto-seesaw mechanism using a gauged B – L symmetry. Dark matter is reconciled with neutrino mass generation, in such a way that the atmospheric scale arises a la seesaw, while the solar scale is scotogenic, arising radiatively from the exchange of “dark” states. This way we “explain” the solar-to-atmospheric scale ratio. The TeV-scale seesaw mediator and the two dark fermions carry different B – L charges. Dark matter stability follows from the residual matter parity that survives B – L breaking. Besides having collider tests, the model implies sizable charged lepton flavor violating (cLFV) phenomena, including Goldstone boson emission processes.

Abstract: A search for rare B. D mu+ mu- decays is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb-1. No significant signals are observed in the non-resonant mu+ mu- modes, and upper limits of B -> B0. D0 mu+ mu- < 5.1 x 10-8, B B+. D+ s mu+ mu- -> < 3.2 x 10-8, B -> B0 s. D0 mu+ mu--> < 1.6 x 10-7 and fc/fu center dot B B+ c. D+ s mu+ mu--> < 9.6 x 10-8 are set at the 95% confidence level, where fc and fu are the fragmentation fractions of a B meson with a c and u quark respectively in proton-proton collisions. Each result is either the first such measurement or an improvement by three orders of magnitude on an existing limit. Separate upper limits are calculated when the muon pair originates from a J/.. mu+ mu- decay. The branching fraction of B+ c. D+ s J/. multiplied by the fragmentation-fraction ratio is measured to be fc fu center dot B -> B+ c. D+ s J/.-> = (1.63 +/- 0.15 +/- 0.13) x 10-5, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.

Abstract: Heavy-ion collisions, such as Pb-Pb or p-Pb, produce extreme conditions in temperature and density that make the hadronic matter transition to a new state, called quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Simulations of heavy-ion collisions provide a way to improve our understanding of the QGP's properties. These simulations are composed of a hybrid description that results in final observables in agreement with accelerators like LHC and RHIC. However, recent works pointed out that these hydrodynamic simulations can display acausal behavior during the evolution in certain regions, indicating a deviation from a faithful representation of the underlying QCD dynamics. To pursue a better understanding of this problem and its consequences, this work simulated two different collision systems, Pb-Pb and p-Pb at root sNN = 5.02 TeV. In this context, our results show that causality violation, even though always present, typically occurs on a small part of the system, quantified by the total energy fraction residing in the acausal region. In addition, the acausal behavior can be reduced with changes in the prehydrodynamic factors and the definition of the bulk-viscous relaxation time. Since these aspects are fairly arbitrary in current simulation models, without solid guidance from the underlying theory, it is reasonable to use the disturbing presence of acausal behavior in current simulations to guide improvements towards more realistic modeling. While this work does not solve the acausality problem, it sheds more light on this issue and also proposes a way to solve this problem in simulations of heavy-ion collisions.