Abstract: We study the constraints imposed by neutrino oscillation experiments on the minimal extension of the Standard Model that can explain neutrino masses, which requires the addition of just two singlet Weyl fermions. The most general renormalizable couplings of this model imply generically four massive neutrino mass eigenstates while one remains massless: it is therefore a minimal 3+2 model. The possibility to account for the confirmed solar, atmospheric and long-baseline oscillations, together with the LSND/MiniBooNE and reactor anomalies is addressed. We find that the minimal model can fit oscillation data including the anomalies better than the standard 3 nu model and similarly to the 3 + 2 phenomenological models, even though the number of free parameters is much smaller than in the latter. Accounting for the anomalies in the minimal model favours a normal hierarchy of the light states and requires a large reactor angle, in agreement with recent measurements. Our analysis of the model employs a new parametrization of seesaw models that extends the Casas-Ibarra one to regimes where higher order corrections in the light-heavy mixings are significant.

Abstract: We perform a search for near-threshold I (b) (0) resonances decaying to I (b) (-) pi (+) in a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1) collected by the LHCb experiment. We observe one resonant state, with the following properties: m(Xi b*0) – m (Xi b-) – m (pi+) = 15.727 +/- 0.068 (stat) +/- 0.023 (syst) MeV/c2, Gamma(Xi b*0) = 0.90 +/- 0.16 (stat) +/- 0.08 (syst) MeV. This confirms the previous observation by the CMS collaboration. The state is consistent with the J (P) = 3/2(+)aEuro integral I (b) (au 0) resonance expected in the quark model. This is the most precise determination of the mass and the first measurement of the natural width of this state. We have also measured the ratio sigma(pp -> Xi b*0 X)B(Xi b*0 -> Xi b-pi+)/sigma(pp -> Xi b- X) = 0.28 +/- 0.03 (stat.) +/- 0.01 (syst).

Abstract: We revisit the case of scalar Dark Matter interacting just gravitationally with the Standard Model (SM) particles in an extra-dimensional Randall-Sundrum scenario. We assume that both, the Dark Matter and the Standard Model, are localized in the TeV brane and only interact via gravitational mediators, namely the graviton Kaluza-Klein modes and the radion. We analyze in detail the dark matter annihilation channel into two on-shell KK-gravitons, and contrary to previous studies which overlooked this process, we find that it is possible to obtain the correct relic abundance for dark matter masses in the range [1, 10] TeV even after taking into account the strong bounds from LHC Run II. We also consider the impact of the radion contribution (virtual exchange leading to SM final states as well as on-shell production), which does not significantly change our results. Quite interestingly, a sizeable part of the currently allowed parameter space could be tested by LHC Run III and by the High-Luminosity LHC.

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: The CP asymmetry in B- -> (Ds-D0) and B- -> (D-D0) decays is measured using LHCb data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb(-1), collected in pp collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8TeV. The results are A(CP) (B- -> (Ds-D0)) = (-0.4 +/- 0.5 +/- 0.5)% and A(CP) (B- -> (D-D0)) = (2.3 +/- 2.7 +/- 0.4)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. This is the first measurement of A(CP) (B- -> (Ds-D0)) and the most precise determination of A(CP) (B- -> (D-D0)). Neither result shows evidence of CP violation.