Abstract: In this article we use the Schwinger-Dyson equations to compute the nonperturbative modifications caused to the infrared finite gluon propagator (in the Landau gauge) by the inclusion of a small number of quark families. Our basic operating assumption is that the main bulk of the effect stems from the "one-loop dressed'' quark loop contributing to the full gluon self-energy. This quark loop is then calculated, using as basic ingredients the full quark propagator and quark-gluon vertex; for the quark propagator we use the solution obtained from the quark-gap equation, while for the vertex we employ suitable Ansatze, which guarantee the transversality of the answer. The resulting effect is included as a correction to the quenched gluon propagator, obtained in recent lattice simulations. Our main finding is that the unquenched propagator displays a considerable suppression in the intermediate momentum region, which becomes more pronounced as we increase the number of active quark families. The influence of the quarks on the saturation point of the propagator cannot be reliably computed within the present scheme; the general tendency appears to be to decrease it, suggesting a corresponding increase in the effective gluon mass. The renormalization properties of our results, and the uncertainties induced by the unspecified transverse part of the quark-gluon vertex, are discussed. Finally, the gluon propagator is compared with the available unquenched lattice data, showing rather good agreement.

Abstract: Dark matter stability can be achieved through a partial breaking of a flavor symmetry. In this framework we propose a type-II seesaw model where left-handed matter transforms nontrivially under the flavor group Delta(54), providing correlations between neutrino oscillation parameters, consistent with the recent Daya-Bay and RENO reactor angle measurements, as well as lower bounds for neutrinoless double beta decay. The dark matter phenomenology is provided by a Higgs-portal.

Abstract: A precise measurement of the cross section of the process e(+)e(-) -> pi(+)pi(-) (gamma) from threshold to an energy of 3 GeV is obtained with the initial-state radiation (ISR) method using 232 fb(-1) of data collected with the BABAR detector at e(+)e(-) center-of-mass energies near 10.6 GeV. The ISR luminosity is determined from a study of the leptonic process e(+)e(-) -> mu(+)mu(-) (gamma)gamma(ISR), which is found to agree with the next-to-leading-order QED prediction to within 1.1%. The cross section for the process e(+)e(-) -> pi(+)pi(-) (gamma) is obtained with a systematic uncertainty of 0.5% in the dominant rho resonance region. The leading-order hadronic contribution to the muon magnetic anomaly calculated using the measured pi pi cross section from threshold to 1.8 GeV is (514.1 +/- 2.2(stat) +/- 3.1(sys)) x 10(-10).

Abstract: We perform a comparative theoretical study of the data at spacelike momentum transfer for the gamma*gamma -> pi(0) transition form factor, just reported by the Belle Collaboration, vs. those published before by BABAR, also including the older CLEO and CELLO data. Various implications for the structure of the pi(0) distribution amplitude vis-a-vis those data are discussed and the existing theoretical predictions are classified into three distinct categories. We argue that the actual bifurcation of the data with antithetic trends is artificial and reason that the Belle data are the better option.

Abstract: Recent cosmological data have provided evidence for a “dark” relativistic background at high statistical significance. Parameterized in terms of the number of relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff, however, the current data seem to indicate a higher value than the one expected in the standard scenario based on three active neutrinos. This dark radiation component can be characterized not only by its abundance but also by its clustering properties, as its effective sound speed and its viscosity parameter. It is therefore crucial to study the correlations among the dark radiation properties and key cosmological parameters, as the dark energy equation of state or the running of the scalar spectral index, with current and future cosmic microwave background data. We find that dark radiation with viscosity parameters different from their standard values may be misinterpreted as an evolving dark energy component or as a running spectral index in the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations.