Abstract: The gauge-invariant generation of an effective gluon mass proceeds through the well-known Schwinger mechanism, whose key dynamical ingredient is the nonperturbative formation of longitudinally coupled massless bound-state excitations. These excitations introduce poles in the vertices of the theory, in such a way as to maintain the Slavnov-Taylor identities intact in the presence of massive gluon propagators. In the present work we first focus on the modifications induced to the nonperturbative three-gluon vertex by the inclusion of massless two-gluon bound states into the kernels appearing in its skeleton expansion. Certain general relations between the basic building blocks of these bound states and the gluon mass are then obtained from the Slavnov-Taylor identities and the Schwinger-Dyson equation governing the gluon propagator. The homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation determining the wave function of the aforementioned bound state is then derived, under certain simplifying assumptions. It is then shown, through a detailed analytical and numerical study, that this equation admits nontrivial solutions, indicating that the QCD dynamics support indeed the formation of such massless bound states. These solutions are subsequently used, in conjunction with the aforementioned relations, to determine the momentumdependence of the dynamical gluon mass. Finally, further possibilities and open questions are briefly discussed.

Abstract: We report a search for CP violation in the decay tau(-) -> pi K--(s)0 (>= 0 pi(0))v(tau) using a data set of 437 x 10(6) tau-lepton pairs, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 476 fb(-1), collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) storage rings. The CP-violating decay-rate asymmetry is determined to be (-0.36 +/- 0.23 +/- 0.11)% approximately 2.8 standard deviations from the standard model prediction of (0.36 +/- 0.01)%.

Abstract: As part of the European LAGUNA design study on a next-generation neutrino detector, we propose the liquid-scintillator detector LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) as a multipurpose neutrino observatory. The outstanding successes of the Borexino and KamLAND experiments demonstrate the large potential of liquid-scintillator detectors in low-energy neutrino physics. Low energy threshold, good energy resolution and efficient background discrimination are inherent to the liquid-scintillator technique. A target mass of 50 kt will offer a substantial increase in detection sensitivity. At low energies, the variety of detection channels available in liquid scintillator will allow for an energy and flavor-resolved analysis of the neutrino burst emitted by a galactic Supernova. Due to target mass and background conditions, LENA will also be sensitive to the faint signal of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background. Solar metallicity, time-variation in the solar neutrino flux and deviations from MSW-LMA survival probabilities can be investigated based on unprecedented statistics. Low background conditions allow to search for dark matter by observing rare annihilation neutrinos. The large number of events expected for geoneutrinos will give valuable information on the abundances of Uranium and Thorium and their relative ratio in the Earth's crust and mantle. Reactor neutrinos enable a high-precision measurement of solar mixing parameters. A strong radioactive or pion decay-at-rest neutrino source can be placed close to the detector to investigate neutrino oscillations for short distances and sub-MeV to MeV energies. At high energies, LENA will provide a new lifetime limit for the SUSY-favored proton decay mode into kaon and antineutrino, surpassing current experimental limits by about one order of magnitude. Recent studies have demonstrated that a reconstruction of momentum and energy of GeV particles is well feasible in liquid scintillator. Monte Carlo studies on the reconstruction of the complex event topologies found for neutrino interactions at multi-GeV energies have shown promising results. If this is confirmed. LENA might serve as far detector in a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment currently investigated in LAGUNA-LBNO.