Determining the Quark Mixing Matrix From CP-Violating Asymmetries

If the Standard Model explanation of CP violation is correct, then measurements of CP-violating asymmetries in $B$ meson decays can in principle determine the entire quark mixing matrix.Comment: 8 pages (plain TeX), 1 figure (postscript file appended), DAPNIA/SPP 94-06, NSF-PT-94-2, UdeM-LPN-TH-94-18

The mass insertion approximation without squark degeneracy

We study the applicability of the mass insertion approximation (MIA) for calculations of neutral meson mixing when squark masses are not degenerate and, in particular, in models of alignment. We show that the MIA can give results that are much better than an order of magnitude estimate as long as the masses are not strongly hierarchical. We argue that, in an effective two-squark framework, m_q=(m_1+m_2)/2 is the best choice for the MIA expansion point, rather than, for example, m_q^2=(m_1^2+m_2^2)/2.Comment: 7 pages, revtex

Removing Discrete Ambiguities in CP Asymmetry Measurements

We discuss methods to resolve the ambiguities in CP violating phase angles $\phi$ that are left when a measurement of $\sin 2 \phi$ is made. We show what knowledge of hadronic quantities will be needed to fully resolve all such ambiguities.Comment: 23 pages, revtex, no figure

The More Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Effective Supersymmetry is presented as a theory of physics above the electroweak scale which has significant theoretical advantages over both the standard model and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The theory is supersymmetric at short distances but differs significantly from the MSSM. Flavor symmetry violation is intimately related to supersymmetry breaking. There is a new physics scale \mt\sim~5--20 TeV which sets the mass of the first two sparticle families. Supersymmetric sources of CP violation and flavor changing neutral currents for the first two families are suppressed. Effective Supersymmetry can be implemented with automatic suppression of baryon and lepton number violation and a dynamically generated $\mu$ term, while maintaining naturalness in the Higgs sector. There are implications for new particle searches, flavor and CP violation experiments, as well as for the construction of theories of flavor and dynamical supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 17 pages, harvmac The revised version corrects the discussion of squark mass constraints from FCNC and includes additional reference

Observing Direct CP Violation in Untagged B-Meson Decays

Direct CP violation can exist in untagged B-meson decays to self-conjugate, three-particle final states; it would be realized as a population asymmetry in the untagged decay rate across the mirror line of the Dalitz plot of the three-body decay. We explore the numerical size of this direct CP-violating effect in a variety of B-meson decays to three pseudoscalar mesons; we show that the resulting asymmetry is comparable to the partial rate asymmetry in the analogous tagged decays, making the search for direct CP violation in the untagged decay rate, for which greater statistics accrue, advantageous.Comment: 31 pages, REVTeX4, 1 eps figure, references added, typos corrected, version to appear in PR

Phenomenology of flavor-mediated supersymmetry breaking

The phenomenology of a new economical SUSY model that utilizes dynamical SUSY breaking and gauge-mediation (GM) for the generation of the sparticle spectrum and the hierarchy of fermion masses is discussed. Similarities between the communication of SUSY breaking through a messenger sector, and the generation of flavor using the Froggatt-Nielsen (FN) mechanism are exploited, leading to the identification of vector-like messenger fields with FN fields, and the messenger U(1) as a flavor symmetry. An immediate consequence is that the first and second generation scalars acquire flavor-dependent masses, but do not violate FCNC bounds since their mass scale, consistent with effective SUSY, is of order 10 TeV. We define and advocate a minimal flavor-mediated model (MFMM), recently introduced in the literature, that successfully accommodates the small flavor-breaking parameters of the standard model using order one couplings and ratios of flavon field vevs. The mediation of SUSY breaking occurs via two-loop log-enhanced GM contributions, as well as several one-loop and two-loop Yukawa-mediated contributions for which we provide analytical expressions. The MFMM is parameterized by a small set of masses and couplings, with values restricted by several model constraints and experimental data. The next-to-lightest sparticle (NLSP) always has a decay length that is larger than the scale of a detector, and is either the lightest stau or the lightest neutralino. Similar to ordinary GM models, the best collider search strategies are, respectively, inclusive production of at least one highly ionizing track, or events with many taus plus missing energy. In addition, D^0 - \bar{D}^0 mixing is also a generic low energy signal. Finally, the dynamical generation of the neutrino masses is briefly discussed.Comment: 54 pages, LaTeX, 8 figure

B decays and models for CP violation

The decay modes $B$ to $\pi\pi$, $\psi K_S$, $K^- D$, $\pi K$ and $\eta K$ are promising channels to study the unitarity triangle of the CP violating CKM matrix. In this paper I study the consequences of these measurements in the Weinberg model. I show that using the same set of measurements, the following different mechanisms for CP violation can be distinguished: 1) CP is violated in the CKM sector only; 2) CP is violated spontaneously in the Higgs sector only; And 3) CP is violated in both the CKM and Higgs sectors.Comment: 18 pagers, Revtex, Four compressed figures. Some typos in the figure captions are correcte

Flavor and LHC Searches for New Physics

Uncovering the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) is the raison-d'etre of the LHC. Flavor questions, it would seem, are of minor relevance for this quest, apart from their role in constraining the possible structure of EWSB physics. In this short review article, we outline, using flavor-dependent sleptons as an example, how flavor can affect both searches for supersymmetry, and future measurements aimed at understanding the nature of any new discoveries. If the production cross-sections for supersymmetry are relatively low, as indicated by the fact that it has not revealed itself yet in standard searches, the usual assumptions about the superpartner spectra need re-thinking. Furthermore, one must consider more intricate searches, such as lepton-based searches, which could be susceptible to flavor effects. We start by reviewing the flavor structure of existing frameworks for mediating supersymmetry breaking, emphasizing flavor-dependent models proposed recently. We use the kinematic endpoints of invariant mass distributions to demonstrate how flavor dependence can impact both searches for supersymmetry and the Inverse Problem. We also discuss methods for measuring small-mass splittings and mixings at the LHC, both in models with a neutralino LSP and in models with a charged slepton (N)LSP.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. Invited Review for EPJ