The rare decays B --> K(*) anti-K(*) and R-parity violating supersymmetry

We study the branching ratios, the direct CP asymmetries in $B\to K^{(*)}\bar{K}^{(*)}$ decays and the polarization fractions of $B\to K^{*}\bar{K}^{*}$ decays by employing the QCD factorization in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with R-parity violation. We derive the new upper bounds on the relevant R-parity violating couplings from the latest experimental data of $B\to K^{(*)}\bar{K}^{(*)}$, and some of these constraints are stronger than the existing bounds. Using the constrained parameter spaces, we predict the R-parity violating effects on the other quantities in $B\to K^{(*)}\bar{K}^{(*)}$ decays which have not been measured yet. We find that the R-parity violating effects on the branching ratios and the direct $CP$ asymmetries could be large, nevertheless their effects on the longitudinal polarizations of $B\to K^{*}\bar{K}^{*}$ decays are small. Near future experiments can test these predictions and shrink the parameter spaces.Comment: 31 pages with 10 figure

Charmless Bs→PP,PV,VVB_s\to PP, PV, VV Decays Based on the six-quark Effective Hamiltonian with Strong Phase Effects II

We provide a systematic study of charmless $B_s \to PP, PV, VV$ decays ($P$ and $V$ denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively) based on an approximate six-quark operator effective Hamiltonian from QCD. The calculation of the relevant hard-scattering kernels is carried out, the resulting transition form factors are consistent with the results of QCD sum rule calculations. By taking into account important classes of power corrections involving "chirally-enhanced" terms and the vertex corrections as well as weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase, we present predictions for the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of $B_s$ decays into PP, PV and VV final states, and also for the corresponding polarization observables in VV final states. It is found that the weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase have remarkable effects on the observables in the color-suppressed and penguin-dominated decay modes. In addition, we discuss the SU(3) flavor symmetry and show that the symmetry relations are generally respected

Resonant and nonresonant D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) semileptonic decays

We analyse the semileptonic decay D+ -> K- pi+ l+ nu(l) using an effective Lagrangian developed previously to describe the decays D -> P l nu(l) and D -> V l nu(l). Light vector mesons are included in the model which combines the heavy quark effective Lagrangian and chiral perturbation theory approach. The nonresonant and resonant contributions are compared. With no new parameters the model correctly reproduces the measured ratio Gamma(nres)/Gamma(nres + res). We also present useful nonresonant decay distributions. Finally, a similar model, but with a modified current which satisfies the soft pion theorems at the expense of introducing another parameter, is analyzed and the results of the models are compared.Comment: 17 pages, 3 Postscript figures, standard Latex, extended revision, title, abstract and text (especially Sec. IV) changed, results unchange

The apparent excess in the Higgs to di-photon rate at the LHC: New Physics or QCD uncertainties?

The Higgs boson with a mass $M_H \approx 126$ GeV has been observed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC and a total significance of about five standard deviations has been reported by both collaborations when the channels $H\to \gamma \gamma$ and $H\to ZZ \to 4\ell$ are combined. Nevertheless, while the rates in the later search channel appear to be in accord with those predicted in the Standard Model, there seems to be an excess of data in the case of the $H\to \gamma\gamma$ discovery channel. Before invoking new physics contributions to explain this excess in the di--photon Higgs rate, one should verify that standard QCD effects cannot account for it. We describe how the theoretical uncertainties in the Higgs boson cross section for the main production process at the LHC, $gg \to H$, which are known to be large, should be incorporated in practice. We further show that the discrepancy between the theoretical prediction and the measured value of the $gg \to H \to \gamma \gamma$ rate, reduces to about one standard deviation when the QCD uncertainties are taken into account.Comment: LaTeX, 2 figures, 9 pages. Final version published in Physics Letters B with minor typos correcte

Valence-quark distributions in the pion

We calculate the pion's valence-quark momentum-fraction probability distribution using a Dyson-Schwinger equation model. Valence-quarks with an active mass of 0.30 GeV carry 71% of the pion's momentum at a resolving scale q_0=0.54 GeV = 1/(0.37 fm). The shape of the calculated distribution is characteristic of a strongly bound system and, evolved from q_0 to q=2 GeV, it yields first, second and third moments in agreement with lattice and phenomenological estimates, and valence-quarks carrying 49% of the pion's momentum. However, pointwise there is a discrepancy between our calculated distribution and that hitherto inferred from parametrisations of extant pion-nucleon Drell-Yan data.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTEX, aps.sty, epsfig.sty, minor corrections, version to appear in PR

Four-fermion heavy quark operators and light current amplitudes in heavy flavor hadrons

We introduce and study the properties of the "color-straight" four-quark operators containing heavy and light quark fields. They are of the form (\bar b\Gamma_b b)(\bar q\Gamma_q q) where both brackets are color singlets. Their expectation values include the bulk of the nonfactorizable contributions to the nonleptonic decay widths of heavy hadrons. The expectation values of the color-straight operators in the heavy hadrons are related to the momentum integrals of the elastic light-quark formfactors of the respective heavy hadron. We calculate the asymptotic behavior of the light-current formfactors of heavy hadrons and show that the actual decrease is 1/(q^2)^3/2 rather than 1/q^4. The two-loop hybrid anomalous dimensions of the four-quark operators and their mixing (absent in the first loop) are obtained. Using plausible models for the elastic formfactors, we estimate the expectation values of the color-straight operators in the heavy mesons and baryons. Improved estimates will be possible in the future with new data on the radiative decays of heavy hadrons. We give the Wilson coefficients of the four-fermion operators in the 1/m_b expansion of the inclusive widths and discuss the numerical predictions. Estimates of the nonfactorizable expectation values are given.Comment: 51 pages. The case of flavor-singlet operators is added for the two-loop anomalous dimension

Experimental Tests of Factorization in Charmless Non-Leptonic Two-Body B Decays

Using a theoretical framework based on the next-to-leading order QCD-improved effective Hamiltonian and a factorization Ansatz for the hadronic matrix elements of the four-quark operators, we reassess branching fractions in two-body non-leptonic decays $B \to PP, PV, VV$, involving the lowest lying light pseudoscalar $(P)$ and vector $(V)$ mesons in the standard model. Using the sensitivity of the decay rates on the effective number of colors, $N_c$, as a criterion of theoretical predictivity, we classify all the current-current (tree) and penguin transitions in five different classes. The recently measured charmless two-body $B \to PP$ decays $(B^+ \to K^+ \eta^\prime, B^0 \to K^0 \eta^\prime, B^0 \to K^+\pi^-, B^+ \to \pi^+ K^0$ and charge conjugates) are dominated by the $N_c$-stable QCD penguins (class-IV transitions) and their estimates are consistent with data. The measured charmless $B \to PV$ $(B^+ \to \omega K^+, ~B^+ \to \omega h^+)$ and $B\to VV$ transition $(B \to \phi K^*)$, on the other hand, belong to the penguin (class-V) and tree (class-III) transitions. The class-V penguin transitions are in general more difficult to predict. We propose a number of tests of the factorization framework in terms of the ratios of branching ratios for some selected $B \to h_1 h_2$ decays involving light hadrons $h_1$ and $h_2$, which depend only moderately on the form factors. We also propose a set of measurements to determine the effective coefficients of the current-current and QCD penguin operators. The potential impact of $B \to h_1 h_2$ decays on the CKM phenomenology is emphasized by analyzing a number of decay rates in the factorization framework.Comment: 64 pages (LaTex) including 13 figures, requires epsfig.sty; submitted to Phys. Rev.

On the Behavior of the Effective QCD Coupling alpha_tau(s) at Low Scales

The hadronic decays of the tau lepton can be used to determine the effective charge alpha_tau(m^2_tau') for a hypothetical tau-lepton with mass in the range 0 < m_tau' < m_tau. This definition provides a fundamental definition of the QCD coupling at low mass scales. We study the behavior of alpha_tau at low mass scales directly from first principles and without any renormalization-scheme dependence by looking at the experimental data from the OPAL Collaboration. The results are consistent with the freezing of the physical coupling at mass scales s = m^2_tau' of order 1 GeV^2 with a magnitude alpha_tau ~ 0.9 +/- 0.1.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review D, added references, some text added, no results nor figures change

J/psi->VP decays and the quark and gluon content of the eta and eta'

The $\eta$-$\eta^\prime$ pseudoscalar mixing angle and the gluonium content of the $\eta^\prime$ meson are deduced from an updated phenomenological analysis of $J/\psi$ decays into a vector and a pseudoscalar meson. In absence of gluonium, the value of the mixing angle in the quark-flavour basis is found to be $\phi_P=(40.7\pm 2.3)^\circ$. In presence of gluonium, the values for the mixing angle and the gluonic content of the $\eta^\prime$ wave function are $\phi_P=(44.6\pm 4.4)^\circ$ and $Z^2_{\eta^\prime}=0.29^{+0.18}_{-0.26}$, respectively. The newly reported values of $B(J/\psi\to\rho\pi)$ by the BABAR and BES Collaborations are crucial to get a consistent description of data.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, uses svjour style. Comments on the relationship between J/psi to VP and V to Pgamma decays and on the neglected contributions together with an asymmetric treatment of errors are include

Dynamic Cutoff Detection in Parameterized Concurrent Programs

Abstract. We consider the class of finite-state programs executed by an unbounded number of replicated threads communicating via shared variables. The thread-state reachability problem for this class is essential in software verification using predicate abstraction. While this problem is decidable via Petri net coverability analysis, techniques solely based on coverability suffer from the problem’s exponential-space complexity. In this paper, we present an alternative method based on a thread-state cutoff: a number n of threads that suffice to generate all reachable thread states. We give a condition, verifiable dynamically during reachability analysis for increasing n, that is sufficient to conclude that n is a cutoff. We then make the method complete, via a coverability query that is of low cost in practice. We demonstrate the efficiency of the approach on Petri net encodings of communication protocols, as well as on non-recursive Boolean programs run by arbitrarily many parallel threads.