Abstract: We carry out a systematic study of the renormalization properties of the integral equation that determines the momentum evolution of the effective gluon mass in pure Yang-Mills theory, without quark effects taken into account. A detailed, all-order analysis of the complete kernel appearing in this particular equation, derived in the Landau gauge, reveals that the renormalization procedure may be accomplished through the sole use of ingredients known from the standard perturbative treatment of the theory, with no additional assumptions. However, the subtle interplay of terms operating at the level of the exact equation gets distorted by the approximations usually employed when evaluating the aforementioned kernel. This fact is reflected in the form of the obtained solutions, for which the deviations from the correct behavior are best quantified by resorting to appropriately defined renormalization-group invariant quantities. This analysis, in turn, provides a solid guiding principle for improving the form of the kernel, and furnishes a well-defined criterion for discriminating between various possibilities. Certain renormalization-group inspired Ansatze for the kernel are then proposed, and their numerical implications are explored in detail. One of the solutions obtained fulfills the theoretical expectations to a high degree of accuracy, yielding a gluon mass that is positive definite throughout the entire range of physical momenta, and displays in the ultraviolet the so-called “power-law” running, in agreement with standard arguments based on the operator product expansion. Some of the technical difficulties thwarting a more rigorous determination of the kernel are discussed, and possible future directions are briefly mentioned.

Abstract: Charged lepton flavor violation is reappraised in the context of a supersymmetric seesaw mechanism. It is pointed out that a nontrivial flavor structure of right-handed neutrinos, whose effect has been thus far less studied, can give rise to significant slepton flavor transitions. Under the premise that the neutrino Yukawa couplings are of O(1), the right-handed neutrino mixing contribution could form a basis of the μ-> e gamma amplitude, which by itself might lead to an experimentally accessible rate, given a typical low-energy sparticle spectrum. Emphasis is placed on the crucial role of the recently measured lepton mixing angle theta(13) as well as the leptonic CP-violating phases.

Abstract: Within an effective field theory framework, we discuss the possibility to discriminate among different operators that contribute to lepton flavor violating (LFV) tau decays. Correlations among decay rates in different channels are shown to provide a basic handle to unravel the origin of LFV in these processes. More information about the underlying dynamics responsible for LFV can be gathered from differential distributions in three-body decays like tau -> μpi pi or tau -> 3 mu: these are considered in some detail. We incorporate in our analysis recent developments in the determination of the hadronic form factors for tau -> μpi pi. Future prospects for the observation of LFV tau decays and its interpretation are also discussed.

Abstract: The T2K experiment has reported the first observation of the appearance of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam. The main and irreducible background to the appearance signal comes from the presence in the neutrino beam of a small intrinsic component of electron neutrinos originating from muon and kaon decays. In T2K, this component is expected to represent 1.2% of the total neutrino flux. A measurement of this component using the near detector (ND280), located 280 m from the target, is presented. The charged current interactions of electron neutrinos are selected by combining the particle identification capabilities of both the time projection chambers and electromagnetic calorimeters of ND280. The measured ratio between the observed electron neutrino beam component and the prediction is 1.01 +/- 0.10 providing a direct confirmation of the neutrino fluxes and neutrino cross section modeling used for T2K neutrino oscillation analyses. Electron neutrinos coming from muons and kaons decay are also separately measured, resulting in a ratio with respect to the prediction of 0.68 +/- 0.30 and 1.10 +/- 0.14, respectively.

Abstract: We revisit the Delta F = 2 transitions in the K and B-d,B-s neutral meson systems in the context of the minimal left-right symmetric model. We take into account, in addition to up-to-date phenomenological data, the contributions related to the renormalization of the flavor-changing neutral Higgs tree-level amplitude. These contributions were neglected in recent discussions, albeit formally needed in order to obtain a gauge-independent result. Their impact on the minimal LR model is crucial and twofold. First, the effects are relevant in B meson oscillations, for both CP conserving and CP violating observables, so that for the first time these imply constraints on the LR scenario which compete with those of the K sector (plagued by long-distance uncertainties). Second, they sizably contribute to the indirect kaon CP violation parameter epsilon. We discuss the bounds from B and K mesons in both cases of LR symmetry: generalized parity (P) and charge conjugation (C). In the case of P, the interplay between the CP-violation parameters epsilon and epsilon' leads us to rule out the regime of very hierarchical bidoublet vacuum expectation values nu(2)/nu(1) < m(b)/m(t) similar or equal to 0.02. In general, by minimizing the scalar field contribution up to the limit of the perturbative regime and by definite values of the relevant CP phases in the charged right-handed currents, we find that a right-handed gauge boson W-R as light as 3 TeV is allowed at the 95% C. L. This is well within the reach of direct detection at the next LHC run. If not discovered, within a decade the upgraded LHCb and Super B factories may reach an indirect sensitivity to a left-right scale of 8 TeV.