Abbas, G., Celis, A., Li, X. Q., Lu, J., & Pich, A. (2015). Flavour-changing top decays in the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model. J. High Energy Phys., 06(6), 005–26pp.
Abstract: We perform a complete one-loop computation of the two-body flavour-changing top decays t --> ch and t --> cV (V = gamma, Z), within the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model. We evaluate the impact of the model parameters on the associated branching ratios, taking into account constraints from flavour data and measurements of the Higgs properties. Assuming that the 125 GeV Higgs corresponds to the lightest CP-even scalar of the CP-conserving aligned two-Higgs-doublet model, we find that the rates for such flavour-changing top decays lie below the expected sensitivity of the future high-luminosity phase of the LHC. Measurements of the Higgs signal strength in the di-photon channel are found to play an important role in limiting the size of the t --> ch decay rate when the charged scalar of the model is light.
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Antonelli, M. et al, Martinez-Vidal, F., & Pich, A. (2010). Flavor physics in the quark sector. Phys. Rep., 494(3-4), 197–414.
Abstract: In the past decade, one of the major challenges of particle physics has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of quark flavor. In this time frame, measurements and the theoretical interpretation of their results have advanced tremendously. A much broader understanding of flavor particles has been achieved; apart from their masses and quantum numbers, there now exist detailed measurements of the characteristics of their interactions allowing stringent tests of Standard Model predictions. Among the most interesting phenomena of flavor physics is the violation of the CP symmetry that has been subtle and difficult to explore. In the past, observations of CP violation were confined to neutral K mesons, but since the early 1990s, a large number of CP-violating processes have been studied in detail in neutral B mesons. In parallel, measurements of the couplings of the heavy quarks and the dynamics for their decays in large samples of K, D, and B mesons have been greatly improved in accuracy and the results are being used as probes in the search for deviations from the Standard Model. In the near future, there will be a transition from the current to a new generation of experiments; thus a review of the status of quark flavor physics is timely. This report is the result of the work of physicists attending the 5th CKM workshop, hosted by the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, September 9-13, 2008. It summarizes the results of the current generation of experiments that are about to be completed and it confronts these results with the theoretical understanding of the field which has greatly improved in the past decade.
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Anzivino, G. et al, Gonzalez-Alonso, M., Passemar, E., & Pich, A. (2024). Workshop summary: Kaons@CERN 2023. Eur. Phys. J. C, 84(4), 377–34pp.
Abstract: Kaon physics is at a turning point – while the rare-kaon experiments NA62 and KOTO are in full swing, the end of their lifetime is approaching and the future experimental landscape needs to be defined. With HIKE, KOTO-II and LHCb-Phase-II on the table and under scrutiny, it is a very good moment in time to take stock and contemplate about the opportunities these experiments and theoretical developments provide for particle physics in the coming decade and beyond. This paper provides a compact summary of talks and discussions from the Kaons@CERN 2023 workshop, held in September 2023 at CERN.
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Bevan, A. J. et al, Martinez-Vidal, F., Pich, A., Azzolini, V., Bernabeu, J., Lopez-March, N., et al. (2014). The Physics of the B Factories. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(11), 3026–916pp.
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Brambilla, N. et al, & Pich, A. (2014). QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories: challenges and perspectives. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(10), 2981–241pp.
Abstract: We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.
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Celis, A., Ilisie, V., & Pich, A. (2013). LHC constraints on two-Higgs doublet models. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 053–44pp.
Abstract: A new Higgs-like boson with mass around 126 GeV has recently been discovered at the LHC. The available data on this new particle is analyzed within the context of two-Higgs doublet models without tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents. Keeping the generic Yukawa structure of the Aligned Two-Higgs Doublet Model framework, we study the implications of the LHC data on the allowed scalar spectrum. We analyze both the CP-violating and CP-conserving cases, and a few particular limits with a reduced number of free parameters, such as the usual models based on discrete Z(2) symmetries.
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Celis, A., Ilisie, V., & Pich, A. (2013). Towards a general analysis of LHC data within two-Higgs-doublet models. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 095–32pp.
Abstract: The data accumulated so far confirm the Higgs-like nature of the new boson discovered at the LHC. The Standard Model Higgs hypothesis is compatible with the collider results and no significant deviations from the Standard Model have been observed neither in the flavour sector nor in electroweak precision observables. We update the LHC and Tevatron constraints on CP-conserving two-Higgs-doublet models without tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents. While the relative sign between the top Yukawa and the gauge coupling of the 126 GeV Higgs is found be the same as in the SM, at 90% CL, there is a sign degeneracy in the determination of its bottom and tau Yukawa couplings. This results in several disjoint allowed regions in the parameter space. We show how generic sum rules governing the scalar couplings determine the properties of the additional Higgs bosons in the different allowed regions. The role of electroweak precision observables, low-energy flavour constraints and LHC searches for additional scalars to further restrict the available parameter space is also discussed.
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Celis, A., Jung, M., Li, X. Q., & Pich, A. (2017). Scalar contributions to b -> c(u) tau nu transitions. Phys. Lett. B, 771, 168–179.
Abstract: We perform a comprehensive analysis of scalar contributions in b -> c tau nu transitions including the latest measurements of R(D-(*)), the q(2) differential distributions in B -> D-(*) tau nu the tau polarization asymmetry for B -> D*tau nu, and the bound derived from the total width of the B-c meson. We find that scalar contributions with the simultaneous presence of both left- and right-handed couplings to quarks can explain the available data, specifically R(D-(*)) together with the measured differential distributions. However, the constraints from the total B-c width present a slight tension with the current data on B -> D*tau nu in this scenario, preferring smaller values for R(D*). We discuss possibilities to disentangle scalar new physics from other new-physics scenarios like the presence of only a left-handed vector current, via additional observables in B -> D(*)tau nu decays or additional decay modes like the baryonic Lambda(b) -> Lambda(c)tau nu and the inclusive B -> X-c tau nu decays. We also analyze scalar contributions in b -> u tau nu transitions, including the latest measurements of B -> tau nu providing predictions for Lambda(b) -> p tau nu and B -> pi tau nu decays. The potential complementarity between the b -> u and b -> c sectors is finally investigated once assumptions about the flavour structure of the underlying theory are made.
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Celis, A., Jung, M., Li, X. Q., & Pich, A. (2013). Sensitivity to charged scalars in B -> D-(*)tau nu(tau) and B -> tau nu(tau) decays. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 054–27pp.
Abstract: We analyze the recent experimental evidence for an excess of tau-lepton production in several exclusive semileptonic B-meson decays in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models. These decay modes are sensitive to the exchange of charged scalars and constrain strongly their Yukawa interactions. While the usual Type-II scenario cannot accommodate the recent BaBar data, this is possible within more general models in which the charged-scalar couplings to up-type quarks are not as suppressed. Both the B -> D-(*)tau nu(tau) and the B -> tau nu(tau) data can be fitted within the framework of the Aligned Two-Higgs-Doublet Model, but the resulting parameter ranges are in conflict with the constraints from leptonic charm decays. This could indicate a departure from the family universality of the Yukawa couplings, beyond their characteristic fermion mass dependence. We discuss several new observables that are sensitive to a hypothetical charged-scalar contribution, demonstrating that they are well suited to distinguish between different scenarios of new physics in the scalar sector, and also between this group and models with different Dirac structures; their experimental study would therefore shed light on the relevance of scalar exchanges in semileptonic b -> c tau(-)(nu) over bar (tau) transitions.
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Cirigliano, V., Ecker, G., Neufeld, H., Pich, A., & Portoles, J. (2012). Kaon decays in the standard model. Rev. Mod. Phys., 84(1), 399–447.
Abstract: A comprehensive overview of kaon decays is presented. The standard model predictions are discussed in detail, covering both the underlying short-distance electroweak dynamics and the important interplay of QCD at long distances. Chiral perturbation theory provides a universal framework for treating leptonic, semileptonic, and nonleptonic decays including rare and radiative modes. All allowed decay modes with branching ratios of at least 10 (11) are analyzed. Some decays with even smaller rates are also included. Decays that are strictly forbidden in the standard model are not considered in this review. The present experimental status and the prospects for future improvements are reviewed.
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