Abstract: We present a new algorithm to construct a purely four dimensional representation of higher-order perturbative corrections to physical cross-sections at next-to-leading order (NLO). The algorithm is based on the loop-tree duality (LTD), and it is implemented by introducing a suitable mapping between the external and loop momenta of the virtual scattering amplitudes, and the external momenta of the real emission corrections. In this way, the sum over degenerate infrared states is performed at integrand level and the cancellation of infrared divergences occurs locally without introducing subtraction counter-terms to deal with soft and final-state collinear singularities. The dual representation of ultraviolet counter-terms is also discussed in detail, in particular for self-energy contributions. The method is first illustrated with the scalar three-point function, before proceeding with the calculation of the physical cross-section for gamma* -> q (q) over bar (g), and its generalisation to multi-leg processes. The extension to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) is briefly commented.

Abstract: We investigate lepton flavor violation (LFV) in the the singlet-triplet scotogenic model in which neutrinos acquire non-zero masses at the 1-loop level. In contrast to the most popular variant of this setup, the singlet scotogenic model, this version includes a triplet fermion as well as a triplet scalar, leading to a scenario with a richer dark matter phenomenology. Taking into account results from neutrino oscillation experiments, we explore some aspects of the LFV phenomenology of the model. In particular, we study the relative weight of the dipole operators with respect to other contributions to the LFV amplitudes and determine the most constraining observables. We show that in large portions of the parameter space, the most promising experimental perspectives are found for LFV 3-body decays and for coherent mu-e conversion in nuclei.

Abstract: In a previous work we presented a theoretical analysis of the Lambda(b) -> J/psi K- p reaction based on which a recent experiment by the LHCb collaboration at CERN claimed the existence of two hidden charm pentaquarks, P-c(4380)(+) and P-c(4450)(+). In that work we focused only on the Lambda(1405) and P-c(4450)(+) signals and discussed the possible explanation of this pentaquark state within the picture of a dynamical meson-baryon molecule made up mostly from (D) over bar*Sigma(c) and (D) over bar*Sigma(c)* components. In the present work we improve upon the previous one by considering the total K- p and J/psi p data including all the relevant resonances contributing to the spectra, and discuss the possible nature of both P-c(4380)(+) and P-c(4450)(+). We also discuss several important topics, like the effect of the contact term in the reaction, the viability of reproducing the data without the P-c(4380)(+) and the possible quantum number assignment to these pentaquarks.

Abstract: The correct description of Double Parton Scattering (DPS), which represents a background in several channels for the search of new Physics at the LHC, requires the knowledge of double parton distribution functions (dPDFs). These quantities represent also a novel tool for the study of the three-dimensional nucleon structure, complementary to the possibilities offered by electromagnetic probes. In this paper we analyze dPDFs using Poincare covariant predictions obtained by using a Light-Front constituent quark model proposed in a recent paper, and QCD evolution. We study to what extent factorized expressions for dPDFs, which neglect, at least in part, two-parton correlations, can be used. We show that they fail in reproducing the calculated dPDFs, in particular in the valence region. Actually measurable processes at existing facilities occur at low longitudinal momenta of the interacting partons; to have contact with these processes we have analyzed correlations between pairs of partons of different kind, finding that, in some cases, they are strongly suppressed at low longitudinal momenta, while for other distributions they can be sizeable. For example, the effect of gluon-gluon correlations can be as large as 20 %. We have shown that these behaviors can be understood in terms of a delicate interference of non-perturbative correlations, generated by the dynamics of the model, and perturbative ones, generated by the model independent evolution procedure. Our analysis shows that at LHC kinematics two-parton correlations can be relevant in DPS, and therefore we address the possibility to study them experimentally.

Abstract: Within the context of vector mediators, is a new signal observed in flavor changing interactions, particularly in the neutral mesons systems K-0 – (K) over bar (0), D-0 – (D) over bar (0) and B-0 – (B) over bar (0), consistent with dilepton resonance searches at the LHC? In the attempt to address this very simple question, we discuss the complementarity between flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) and dilepton resonance searches at the LHC run 2 at 13 TeV with 3.2 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, in the context of vector mediators at tree level. Vector mediators, are often studied in the flavor changing framework, specially in the light of the recent LHCb anomaly observed at the rare B decay. However, the existence of stringent dilepton bound severely constrains flavor changing interactions, due to restrictive limits on the Z' mass. We discuss this interplay explicitly in the well motivated framework of a 3-3-1 scheme, where fermions and scalars are arranged in the fundamental representation of the weak SU(3) gauge group. Due to the paucity of relevant parameters, we conclude that dilepton data leave little room for a possible new physics signal stemming from these systems, unless a very peculiar texture parametrization is used in the diagonalization of the CKM matrix. In other words, if a signal is observed in such flavor changing interactions, it unlikely comes from a 3-3-1 model.