Effects of an extra Z′Z' gauge boson on the top quark decay t−−>cγt --> c \gamma

The effects of an extra $Z'$ gauge boson with family nonuniversal fermion couplings on the rare top quark decay $t --> c$gamma$are first examined in a model independent way and then in the minimal 331 model. It is found that the respective branching fraction is at most of the order of$10^{-8}$for$m_{Z'}=500$GeV and dramatically decreases for a heavier$Z'$boson. This results is in sharp contrast with a previous evaluation of this decay in the context of topcolor assisted technicolor models, which found that$B(t --> c \gamma)\sim 10^{-6}$for$m_{Z'}=1$ TeV.Comment: New paragraphs included to clarify our results, conclusion remains unchange

Rare top quark decay t --> u_1 \bar{u}_2 u_2 in the standard model

The one-loop induced top quark decay $t\to u_1\bar{u}_2u_2$ ($u_i=u,c$) is calculated in the context of the standard model. The dominant contribution to this top quark decay arises from the Feynman diagrams induced by the off-shell $tu_1g^*$ vertex, whereas the box diagrams are negligibly small. In contrast with the on-shell $tu_1g$ vertex, which only gives rise to a pure dipolar effect, the off-shell $tu_1g^*$ coupling also involves a monopolar term, which gives a larger contribution than the dipolar one. It is found that the branching ratio for the three-body decay $t\to u_1\bar{u}_2u_2$ is about of the same order of magnitude of the two-body decay $t\to u_1 g$, the latter being slightly larger, which stems from the fact that the three-body decay is dominated by a monopolar term.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, branching ratio is evaluated using the running quark masses at the top quark mass scale, results and conclusion changes slightly, new results agree with those presented in hep-ph/0601151, missing references are adde

CP violating scalar Dark Matter

We study an extension of the Standard Model (SM) in which two copies of the SM scalar SU(2) doublet which do not acquire a Vacuum Expectation Value (VEV), and hence are inert, are added to the scalar sector. We allow for CP-violation in the inert sector, where the lightest inert state is protected from decaying to SM particles through the conservation of a Z(2) symmetry. The lightest neutral particle from the inert sector, which has a mixed CP-charge due to CP-violation, is hence a Dark Matter (DM) candidate. We discuss the new regions of DM relic density opened up by CP-violation, and compare our results to the CP-conserving limit and the Inert Doublet Model (IDM). We constrain the parameter space of the CP-violating model using recent results from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and DM direct and indirect detection experiments.Peer reviewe