Abstract: A new Higgs-like boson with mass around 126 GeV has recently been discovered at the LHC. The available data on this new particle is analyzed within the context of two-Higgs doublet models without tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents. Keeping the generic Yukawa structure of the Aligned Two-Higgs Doublet Model framework, we study the implications of the LHC data on the allowed scalar spectrum. We analyze both the CP-violating and CP-conserving cases, and a few particular limits with a reduced number of free parameters, such as the usual models based on discrete Z(2) symmetries.

Abstract: Precise measurements of the lepton properties provide stringent tests of the Standard Model and accurate determinations of its parameters. We overview the present status of tau physics, highlighting the most recent developments, and discuss the prospects for future improvements. The leptonic decays of the tau lepton probe the structure of the weak currents and the universality of their couplings to the W boson. The universality of the leptonic Z couplings has also been tested through Z -> l(+)l(-) decays. The hadronic tau decay modes constitute an ideal tool for studying low-energy effects of the strong interaction in very clean conditions. Accurate determinations of the QCD coupling and the Cabibbo mixing V-us have been obtained with tau data. The large mass of the tau opens the possibility to study many kinematically-allowed exclusive decay modes and extract relevant dynamical information. Violations of flavour and CP conservation laws can also be searched for with tau decays. Related subjects such as μdecays, the electron and muon anomalous magnetic moments, neutrino mixing and B-meson decays into tau leptons are briefly covered. Being one the fermions most strongly coupled to the scalar sector, the tau lepton is playing now a very important role at the LHC as a tool to test the Higgs properties and search for new physics at higher scales.

Abstract: Using a general effective Lagrangian implementing the chiral symmetry breaking SU(2)(L) circle times SU(2)(R) -> SU(2)(L+R), we present a one-loop calculation of the oblique S and T parameters within electroweak strongly-coupled models with a light scalar. Imposing a proper ultraviolet behaviour, we determine S and T at next-to-leading order in terms of a few resonance parameters. The constraints from the global fit to electroweak precision data force the massive vector and axial-vector states to be heavy, with masses above the TeV scale, and suggest that the W+W- and and ZZ couplings of the Higgs-like scalar should be close to the Standard Model value. Our findings are generic, since they only rely on soft requirements on the short-distance properties of the underlying strongly-coupled theory, which are widely satisfied in more specific scenarios.

Abstract: We present a comprehensive study of the determination of the strong coupling from tau decay, using the most recent release of the experimental ALEPH data. We critically review all theoretical strategies used in previous works and put forward various novel approaches which allow one to study complementary aspects of the problem. We investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods, trying to uncover their potential hidden weaknesses and test the stability of the obtained results under slight variations of the assumed inputs. We perform several determinations, using different methodologies, and find a very consistent set of results. All determinations are in excellent agreement, and allow us to extract a very reliable value for alpha(s)(m(tau)(2)). The main uncertainty originates in the pure perturbative error from unknown higher orders. Taking into account the systematic differences between the results obtained with the contour-improved perturbation theory and fixed-order perturbation theory prescriptions, we find alpha((nf=3))(s) (m(tau)(2)) = 0.328 +/- 0.013 which implies alpha((nf=5))(s) (M-Z(2)) = 0.1197 +/- 0.0015.

Abstract: The couplings of the electroweak effective theory contain information on the heavy-mass scales which are no-longer present in the low-energy Lagrangian. We build a general effective Lagrangian, implementing the electroweak chiral symmetry breaking SU(2)(L) circle times SU(2)(R) -> SU(2)(L+R), which couples the known particle fields to heavier states with bosonic quantum numbers J(P) = 0(+/-) and 1(+/-). We consider colour-singlet heavy fields that are in singlet or triplet representations of the electroweak group. Integrating out these heavy scales, we analyze the pattern of low-energy couplings among the light fields which are generated by the massive states. We adopt a generic non-linear realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking with a singlet Higgs, without making any assumption about its possible doublet structure. Special attention is given to the different possible descriptions of massive spin-1 fields and the differences arising from naive implementations of these formalisms, showing their full equivalence once a proper short-distance behaviour is required.