Abstract: The ratio of branching fractions R(D*(-)) = B(B-0 -> D*(-) tau(+)nu(tau))/(B-0 -> D*(-) mu(+)nu(mu)) is measured using a data sample of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1). The tau lepton is reconstructed with three charged pions in the final state. A novel method is used that exploits the different vertex topologies of signal and backgrounds to isolate samples of semitauonic decays of b hadrons with high purity. Using the B-0 -> D*(-) pi(+)pi(-)pi(+) decay as the normalization channel, the ratio B(B-0 -> D*(-) tau(+)nu(tau))/B(B-0 -> D* pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)) is measured to be 1.97 +/- 0.13 +/- 0.18, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. An average of branching fraction measurements for the normalization channel is used to derive B(B-0 -> D*(-) tau(+)nu(tau))(_)= (1.42 +/- 0.094 +/- 0.129 +/- 0.054)%, where the third uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of B(B-0 -> D*(-) pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)). A test of lepton flavor universality is performed using the well- measured branching fraction B(B-0 -> D*(-) mu(+)nu(mu)) to compute R(D*(-))0 = 0.291 +/- 0.019 +/- 0.026 +/- 0.013, where the third uncertainty originates from the uncertainties on B(B-0 -> D*(-) pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)) and B(B-0 -> D*(-) mu(+)nu(mu)) This measurement is in agreement with the Standard Model prediction and with previous measurements.

Abstract: A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion has been performed in the H -> gamma gamma channel using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The optimal observable method is used to probe the CP structure of interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons, as described by an effective field theory. No sign of CP violation is observed in the data. Constraints are set on the parameters describing the strength of the CP-odd component in the coupling between the Higgs boson and the electroweak gauge bosons in two effective field theory bases: (d) over tilde in the HISZ basis and c(H (W) over tilde) in the Warsaw basis. The results presented are the most stringent constraints on CP violation in the coupling between Higgs and weak bosons. The 95% C.L. constraint on (d) over tilde is derived for the first time and the 95% C.L. constraint on c(H (W) over tilde) has been improved by a factor of 5 compared to the previous measurement.

Abstract: During single clock inflation, hidden fields (i.e. fields coupled to the inflaton only gravitationally) in their adiabatic vacua can ordinarily only affect observables through virtual effects. After renormalizing background quantities (fixed by observations at some pivot scale), all that remains are logarithmic runnings in correlation functions that are both Planck and slow roll suppressed. In this paper we show how a large number of hidden fields can partially compensate this suppression and generate a potentially observable running in the tensor two point function, consistently inferable courtesy of a large N resummation. We detour to address certain subtleties regarding loop corrections during inflation, extending the analysis of [1]. Our main result is that one can extract bounds on the hidden field content of the universe from bounds on violations of the consistency relation between the tensor spectral index and the tensor to scalar ratio, were primordial tensors ever detected. Such bounds are more competitive than the naive bound inferred from requiring inflation to occur below the strong coupling scale of gravity if deviations from the consistency relation can be bounded to within the sub-percent level. We discuss how one can meaningfully constrain the parameter space of various phenomenological scenarios and constructions that address naturalness with a large number of species (such as N-naturalness') with CMB observations up to cosmic variance limits, and possibly future 21cm and gravitational wave observations.