Abstract: The adiabatic regularization method was originally proposed by Parker and Fulling to renormalize the energy-momentum tensor of scalar fields in expanding universes. It can be extended to renormalize the electric current induced by quantized scalar fields in a time-varying electric background. This can be done in a way consistent with gravity if the vector potential is considered as a variable of adiabatic order one. Assuming this, we further extend the method to deal with Dirac fields in four space-time dimensions. This requires a self-consistent ansatz for the adiabatic expansion, in presence of a prescribed time-dependent electric field, which is different from the conventional expansion used for scalar fields. Our proposal is consistent, in the massless limit, with the conformal anomaly. We also provide evidence that our proposed adiabatic expansion for the fermionic modes parallels the Schwinger-DeWitt adiabatic expansion of the two-point function. We give the renormalized expression of the electric current and analyze, using numerical and analytical tools, the pair production induced by a Sauter-type electric pulse. We also analyze the scaling properties of the current for a large field strength.

Abstract: We extend our general framework for semileptonic decay, originally introduced in N. Penalva et al. [Phys. Rev. D 100, 113007 (2019)], with the addition of new physics (NP) tensor terms. In this way, all the NP effective Hamiltonians that are considered in lepton flavor universality violation (LFUV) studies have now been included. Those are left and right vector and scalar NP Hamiltonians and the NP tensor one. Besides, we now also give general expressions that allow for complex Wilson coefficients. The scheme developed is totally general and it can be applied to any charged current semileptonic decay, involving any quark flavors or initial and final hadron states. We show that all the hadronic input, including NP effects, can be parametrized in terms of 16 Lorentz scalar structure functions, constructed out of the NP complex Wilson coefficients and the genuine hadronic responses, with the latter determined by the matrix elements of the involved hadron operators. In the second part of this work, we use this formalism to obtain the complete NP effects in the Ab Acr(/ semileptonic decay, where LFUV, if finally confirmed, is also expected to be seen. We- stress the relevance of the center of mass (CM) d2F/ (dwd cos 0i) and laboratory (LAB) d2F/(dwdE,) differential decay widths, with (o the product of the hadron four-velocities, Oe the angle made by the three -momenta of the charged lepton and the final hadron in the 11/- CM frame and the charged lepton energy in the decaying hadron rest frame. While models with very different strengths in the NP terms give the same differential d17 do) and total decay widths for this decay, they predict very different numerical results for some of the cos (.),, and E coefficient -functions that determine the above two distributions. Thus, the combined analysis of the CM d2F1(dcodcos0,,) and LAB d21'/(doidE,.) differential decay widths will help clarifying what kind of NP is a better candidate in order to explain LFUV.

Abstract: We propose to slightly generalize the DeWitt-Schwinger adiabatic renormalization subtractions in curved space to include an arbitrary renornialization mass scale mu. The new predicted running for the gravitational couplings are fully consistent with decoupling of heavy massive fields. This is a somewhat improvement with respect to the more standard treatment of minimal (DeWitt-Schwinger) subtractions via dimensional regularization. We also show how the vacuum metamorphosis model emerges from the running couplings.

Abstract: We apply the general formalism derived by Penalva et al. [Phys. Rev. D 101, 113004 (2020)] to the semileptonic decay of pseudoscalar mesons containing a b quark. While present (B) over bar -> D-(*()) data give the strongest evidence in favor of lepton flavor universality violation, the observables that are normally considered are not able to distinguish between different new physics (NP) scenarios. In the above reference we discussed the relevant role that the various contributions to the double differential decay widths d(2)Gamma (d omega d cos theta(l)) and d(2)Gamma (d omega dE(l)) could play to this end. Here omega is the product of the two hadron fourvelocities, theta(l) is the angle made by the final lepton and final hadron three-momenta in the center of mass of the final two-lepton system, and E-l is the final charged lepton energy in the laboratory system. The formalism was applied by Penalva et al. to the analysis of the Lambda(b) -> Lambda(c) semileptonic decay, showing the new observables were able to tell apart different NP scenarios. Here we analyze the (B) over barc -> eta(c)tau(nu) over bar (tau), (B) over barc -> J/psi tau(nu) over bar (tau), (B) over bar -> D tau(nu) over bar (tau) and (B) over bar -> D*tau(nu) over bar (tau) , semileptonic decays. We find that, as a general rule, the (B) over barc -> J/psi observables, even including (tau) polarization, are less optimal for distinguishing between NP scenarios than those obtained from (B) over barc -> eta(c) decays, or those presented by Penalva et al. for the related Lambda(b) -> Lambda(c) semileptonic decay. Finally, we show that (B) over bar -> D and (B) over barc -> eta(c) , and (B) over bar -> D* and (B) over barc -> J/psi decay observables exhibit similar behaviors.

Abstract: Pion electro- and photoproduction off the nucleon close to threshold is studied in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory at O(p(3)) in the extended-on-mass-shell scheme, with the explicit inclusion of the Delta(1232) resonance. The relevant low energy constants are fixed by fitting the available experimental data with the theoretical model. The inclusion of the Delta resonance as an explicit degree of freedom substantially improves the agreement with data and the convergence of the model.