Abstract: The framed standard model (FSM), constructed initially for explaining the existence of three fermion generations and the hierarchical mass and mixing patterns of quarks and leptons,(1,2) suggests also a “hidden sector” of particles(3) including some dark matter candidates. It predicts in addition a new vector boson G, with mass of order TeV, which mixes with the gamma and Z of the standard model yielding deviations from the standard mixing scheme, all calculable in terms of a single unknown parameter mG. Given that standard mixing has been tested already to great accuracy by experiment, this could lead to contradictions, but it is shown here that for the three crucial and testable cases so far studied (i) m(Z) – m(W), (ii) Gamma(Z -> l(+)l(-)), (iii) Gamma(Z -> hadrons), the deviations are all within the present stringent experimental bounds provided m(G) > 1 TeV, but should soon be detectable if experimental accuracy improves. This comes about because of some subtle cancellations, which might have a deeper reason that is not yet understood. By virtue of mixing, G can be produced at the LHC and appear as a l(+)l(-) anomaly. If found, it will be of interest not only for its own sake but serve also as a window on to the “hidden sector” into which it will mostly decay, with dark matter candidates as most likely products.

Abstract: The Cabibbo-suppressed decay Lambda(0)(b) -> psi(2S)p pi(-) is observed for the fi rst time using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment in proton-proton collisions corresponding to 1.0, 2.0 and 1.9 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13TeV, respectively. The psi(2S) mesons are reconstructed in the mu(+)mu(-) fi nal state. The branching fraction with respect to that of the Lambda(0)(b) -> psi(2S)pK(-) decay mode is measured to be B (Lambda(0)(b) -> psi(2S)p pi(-))/B (Lambda(0)(b) -> psi(2S)pK(-)) = (11.44 +/- 1.3 +/- 0.2)%, where the fi rst uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The psi(2S) p and psi(2S)pi(-) mass spectra are investigated and no evidence for exotic resonances is found.

Abstract: Effective neutrino-quark generalized interactions are entirely determined by Lorentz invariance, so they include all possible four-fermion nonderivative Lorentz structures. They contain neutrino-quark nonstandard interactions as a subset, but span over a larger set that involves effective scalar, pseudoscalar, axial and tensor operators. Using recent COHERENT data, we derive constraints on the corresponding couplings by considering scalar, vector and tensor quark currents and assuming no lepton flavor dependence. We allow for mixed neutrino-quark Lorentz couplings and consider two types of scenarios in which: (i) one interaction at the nuclear level is present at a time, (ii) two interactions are simultaneously present. For scenarios (i) our findings show that scalar interactions are the most severely constrained, in particular for pseudoscalar-scalar neutrino-quark couplings. In contrast, tensor and nonstandard vector interactions still enable for sizable effective parameters. We find as well that an extra vector interaction improves the data fit when compared with the result derived assuming only the standard model contribution. In scenarios (ii) the presence of two interactions relaxes the bounds and opens regions in parameter space that are otherwise closed, with the effect being more pronounced in the scalar-vector and scalar-tensor cases. We point out that barring the vector case, our results represent the most stringent bounds on effective neutrino-quark generalized interactions for mediator masses of order similar to 1 GeV. They hold as well for larger mediator masses, case in which they should be compared with limits from neutrino deep-inelastic scattering data.

Abstract: For Majorana neutrino masses the lowest dimensional operator possible is the Weinberg operator at d = 5. Here we discuss the possibility that neutrino masses originate from higher dimensional operators. Specifically, we consider all tree-level decompositions of the d = 9, d = 11 and d = 13 neutrino mass operators. With renormalizable interactions only, we find 18 topologies and 66 diagrams for d = 9, and 92 topologies plus 504 diagrams at the d = 11 level. At d = 13 there are already 576 topologies and 4199 diagrams. However, among all these there are only very few genuine neutrino mass models: At d = (9, 11, 13) we find only (2,2,2) genuine diagrams and a total of (2,2,6) models. Here, a model is considered genuine at level d if it automatically forbids lower order neutrino masses without the use of additional symmetries. We also briefly discuss how neutrino masses and angles can be easily fitted in these high-dimensional models.

Abstract: We explore the sparticle mass spectra including LSP dark matter within the framework of supersymmetric SU(4)(c) x SU(2)(L) x SU(2)(R) (422) models, taking into account the constraints from extensive LHC and cold dark matter searches. The soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters at M-GUT can be non-universal, but consistent with the 422 symmetry. We identify a variety of coannihilation scenarios compatible with LSP dark matter, and study the implications for future supersymmetry searches and the ongoing muon g-2 experiment.