Abstract: A search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson with the decay H -> tau tau is presented. The data correspond to 20.3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data agree with the background expectation, and 95% confidence-level upper limits are placed on the cross section of this process. The observed (expected) limit, expressed in terms of the signal strength mu= sigma/sigma(SM) for m(H) = 125 GeV, is μ< 5.6 (3.7). The measured value of the signal strength is μ= 2.3 +/- 1.6.

Abstract: We perform a low-mass dark matter search using an exposure of 30 kg x yr with the XENON100 detector. By dropping the requirement of a scintillation signal and using only the ionization signal to determine the interaction energy, we lowered the energy threshold for detection to 0.7 keV for nuclear recoils. No dark matter detection can be claimed because a complete background model cannot be constructed without a primary scintillation signal. Instead, we compute an upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon scattering cross section under the assumption that every event passing our selection criteria could be a signal event. Using an energy interval from 0.7 keV to 9.1 keV, we derive a limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section that excludes WIMPs with a mass of 6 GeV/c(2) above 1.4 x 10(-41) cm(2) at 90% confidence level.

Abstract: Recently it has been demonstrated that QCD corrections are numerically important for short-range mechanisms (SRM) of neutrinoless double beta decay (0 nu beta beta) mediated by heavy particle exchange. This is due to the effect of color mismatch for certain effective operators, which leads to mixing between different operators with vastly different nuclear matrix elements (NMEs). In this note we analyze the QCD corrections for long-range mechanisms (LRM), due to diagrams with light-neutrino exchange between a Standard Model (V-A)chi(V-A) and a beyond the SM lepton number violating vertex. We argue that in contrast to the SRM in the LRM case, there is no operator mixing from color-mismatched operators. This is due to a combined effect of the nuclear short-range correlations and color invariance. As a result, the QCD corrections to the LRM amount to an effect no more than 60%, depending on the operator in question. Although less crucial, taken into account QCD running makes theoretical predictions for 0 nu beta beta-decay more robust also for LRM diagrams. We derive the current experimental constraints on the Wilson coefficients for all LRM effective operators.

Abstract: We study the decay mode of the a(1)(1260) into a pi(+) in p wave and the f(0)(980) that decays into pi(+)pi(-) in s wave. The mechanism proceeds via a triangular mechanism where the a(1)(1260) decays into K*K-, the K* decays to an external pi(+) and an internal K that fuses with the (K) over bar producing the f(0)(980) resonance. The mechanism develops a singularity at a mass of the a(1)(1260) around 1420 MeV, producing a peak in the cross section of the pp reaction, used to generate the mesonic final state, which provides a natural explanation of all the features observed in the COMPASS experiment, where a peak observed at this energy is tentatively associated to a new resonance called a(1)(1420). On the other hand, the triangular singularity studied here gives rise to a remarkable feature, where a peak is seen for a certain decay channel of a resonance at an energy about 200 MeV higher than its nominal mass.

Abstract: We study a left right (LR) extension of the Standard Model (SM) where the Dark Matter(DM) candidate is composed of a set of fermionic Majorana triplets. The DM is stabilized by a remnant Z(2) symmetry from the breaking of the LR group to the SM. Two simple scenarios where the DM particles plus a certain set of extra fields lead to gauge coupling unification with a low LR scale are explored. The constraints from relic density and predictions for direct detection are discussed for both scenarios. The first scenario with a SUd(2)(R) vectorlike fermion triplet contains a DM candidate which is almost unconstrained by current direct detection experiments. The second scenario, with an additional SU(2)R triplet, opens up a scalar portal leading to direct detection constraints which are similar to collider limits for right gauge bosons. The DM parameter space consistent with phenomenological requirements can also lead to successful gauge coupling unification in a SO(10) setup.