Abstract: We search for a low-mass scalar CP-odd Higgs boson, A(0), produced in the radiative decay of the upsilon resonance and decaying into a tau(+)tau(-) pair: Y(1S) -> gamma A(0). The production of Y(1S) mesons is tagged by Y(2S) -> pi(+)pi(-) Y(1S) transitions, using a sample of (98.3 +/- 0.9) x 10(6) Y(2S) mesons collected by the BABAR detector. We find no evidence for a Higgs boson in the mass range 3: 5 <= m(A)0 <= 9: 2 GeV, and combine these results with our previous search for the tau decays of the light Higgs in radiative Y(3S) decays, setting limits on the coupling of A(0) to the b (b) over bar quarks in the range 0.09-1.9. Our measurements improve the constraints on the parameters of the next-to-minimal-supersymmetric Standard Model and similar theories with low-mass scalar degrees of freedom.

Abstract: Lepton number violation (LNV) mediated by short- range operators can manifest itself in both neutrinoless double beta decay (0 nu beta beta) and in processes with same- sign dilepton final states at the LHC. We derive limits from existing LHC data at root s = 8 TeV and compare the discovery potential of the forthcoming root s = 14 TeV phase of the LHC with the sensitivity of current and future 0 nu beta beta decay experiments, assuming the short-range part of the 0 nu beta beta decay amplitude dominates. We focus on the first of two possible topologies triggered by one fermion and two bosons in the intermediate state. In all cases, except for the pure leptoquark mechanism, the LHC will be more sensitive than 0 nu beta beta decay in the future. In addition, we propose to search for a charge asymmetry in the final state leptons and to use different invariant mass peaks as a possible tool to discriminate the various possible mechanisms for LNV signals at the LHC.

Abstract: We report a measurement of the branching fraction of the exclusive charmless semileptonic decay B+ -> omega l(+) nu, where l is either an electron or amuon. We use samples of B+ mesons tagged by a reconstructed charmed semileptonic decay of the other B meson in the event. The measurement is based on a data set of 426.1 fb(-1) of e(+)e(-) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV recorded with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) storage rings. We measure a branching fraction of B(B+ -> omega l(+) nu) = (1.35 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.11) x 10(-4), where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. We also present measurements of the partial branching fractions in three bins of q(2), the invariant-mass squared of the lepton-neutrino system, and we compare them to theoretical predictions of the form factors.

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: We study in detail the impact of dynamical quarks on the gluon mass generation mechanism, in the Landau gauge, for the case of a small number of quark families. As in earlier considerations, we assume that the main bulk of the unquenching corrections to the gluon propagator originates from the fully dressed quark-loop diagram. The nonperturbative evaluation of this diagram provides the key relation that expresses the unquenched gluon propagator as a deviation from its quenched counterpart. This relation is subsequently coupled to the integral equation that controls the momentum evolution of the effective gluon mass, which contains a single adjustable parameter; this constitutes a major improvement compared to the analysis presented in Aguilar et al. [Phys. Rev. D 86, 014032 (2012)], where the behavior of the gluon propagator in the deep infrared was estimated through numerical extrapolation. The resulting nonlinear system is then treated numerically, yielding unique solutions for the modified gluon mass and the quenched gluon propagator, which fully confirms the picture put forth recently in several continuum and lattice studies. In particular, an infrared finite gluon propagator emerges, whose saturation point is considerably suppressed, due to a corresponding increase in the value of the gluon mass. This characteristic feature becomes more pronounced as the number of active quark families increases, and can be deduced from the infrared structure of the kernel entering in the gluon mass equation.