Abstract: Nonleptonic weak decays of Xi(c) into pi(+) and a meson (M)-baryon (B) final state, MB, are analyzed from the viewpoint of probing S = -2 baryon resonances, i.e., Xi(1620) and Xi(1690), of which spin-parity and other properties are not well known. We argue that the weak decay of Xi(c) is dominated by a single quark-line diagram, preferred by the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa coefficient, color recombination factor, the diquark correlation, and the kinematical condition. The decay process has an advantage of being free from meson resonances in the p+ M invariantmass distribution. The invariant mass distribution of the meson-baryon final state is calculated with three different chiral unitary approaches, assuming that the Xi(1620) and Xi(1690) resonances have J(P) = 1/2(-). It is found that a clear peak for the Xi(1690) is seen in the pi Xi and K Lambda spectra. We also suggest that the ratios of the pi Xi, K Lambda, and K Sigma final states are useful to distinguish whether the peak is originated from the Xi(1690) resonance or it is a K Sigma threshold effect.

Abstract: We show that, if they exist, lepton number asymmetries (L-alpha) of neutrino flavors should be distinguished from the ones (L-i) of mass eigenstates, since Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) bounds on the flavor eigenstates cannot be directly applied to the mass eigenstates. Similarly, Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) constraints on the mass eigenstates do not directly constrain flavor asymmetries. Due to the difference of mass and flavor eigenstates, the cosmological constraint on the asymmetries of neutrino flavors can be much stronger than the conventional expectation, but they are not uniquely determined unless at least the asymmetry of the heaviest neutrino is well constrained. The cosmological constraint on L-i for a specific case is presented as an illustration.

Abstract: Non-standard interactions in the propagation of neutrinos in matter can lead to significant deviations from expectations within the standard neutrino oscillation framework and atmospheric neutrino detectors have been considered to set constraints. However, most previous works have focused on relatively low-energy atmospheric neutrino data. Here, we consider the one-year high-energy through-going muon data in IceCube, which has been already used to search for light sterile neutrinos, to constrain new interactions in the μtau-sector. In our analysis we include several systematic uncertainties on both, the atmospheric neutrino flux and on the detector properties, which are accounted for via nuisance parameters. After considering different primary cosmic-ray spectra and hadronic interaction models, we improve over previous analysis by using the latest data and showing that systematics currently affect very little the bound on the off-diagonal epsilon(mu tau), with the 90% credible interval given by -6.0 x 10(-3) < epsilon(mu tau) < 5.4 x 10(-3), comparable to previous results. In addition, we also estimate the expected sensitivity after 10 years of collected data in IceCube and study the precision at which non-standard parameters could be determined for the case of epsilon(mu tau) near its current bound.

Abstract: The neutrino mixing parameters are thoroughly studied using renormalization- group evolution of Dirac neutrinos with recently proposed parametrization of the neutrino mixing angles referred to as “high-scale mixing relations.” The correlations among all neutrino mixing and CP violating observables are investigated. The predictions for the neutrino mixing angle. 23 are precise, and could be easily tested by ongoing and future experiments. We observe that the high-scale mixing unification hypothesis is incompatible with Dirac neutrinos due to updated experimental data.

Abstract: Knowledge of the material in the ATLAS inner tracking detector is crucial in under-standing the reconstruction of charged-particle tracks, the performance of algorithms that identify jets containing b-hadrons and is also essential to reduce background in searches for exotic particles that can decay within the inner detector volume. Interactions of primary hadrons produced in pp collisions with the material in the inner detector are used to map the location and amount of this material. The hadronic interactions of primary particles may result in secondary vertices, which in this analysis are reconstructed by an inclusive vertex-finding algorithm. Data were collected using minimum-bias triggers by the ATLAS detector operating at the LHC during 2010 at centre-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19 nb(-1). Kinematic properties of these secondary vertices are used to study the validity of the modelling of hadronic interactions in simulation. Secondary-vertex yields are compared between data and simulation over a volume of about 0.7m(3) around the interaction point, and agreement is found within overall uncertainties.