Intrinsic flavor violation for massive neutrinos

It is shown that intrinsic neutrino flavor violation invariably occurs when neutrinos are created within the SM augmented by the known massive neutrinos, with mixing and nondegenerate masses. The effects are very small but much greater than the naive estimate $\Delta m^2/E_\nu^2$ or the branching ratio of indirect flavor violating processes such as $\mu\to e\gamma$ within the SM. We specifically calculate the probability (branching ratio) of pion decay processes with flavor violation, such as $\pi\to \mu\bar{\nu}_e$, showing nonzero results.Comment: v3: published versio

Compatible abelian symmetries in N-Higgs-Doublet Models

We analyze the compatibility between abelian symmetries acting in two different sectors of a theory using the Smith Normal Form method. We focus on N-Higgs-doublet models (NHDMs) and on the compatibility between symmetries in the Higgs potential and in the Yukawa interactions, which were separately analyzed previous works. It is shown that two equal (isomorphic) symmetry groups that act in two separate sectors are not necessarily compatible in the whole theory and an upper bound is found for the size of the group that can be implemented in the entire NHDM. We also develop useful techniques to analyze compatibility and extend a symmetry from one sector to another. Consequences to the supersymmetric case are briefly discussed.Comment: v2: 40pp; some modifications in text, brief discussion on the supersymmetric case added; to appear in JHE

Custodial SO(4) symmetry and CP violation in N-Higgs-doublet potentials

We study the implementation of global $SO(4)\sim SU(2)_L\otimes SU(2)_R$ symmetry in general potentials with N-Higgs-doublets in order to obtain models with custodial $SO(3)_C$ symmetry. We conclude that any implementation of the custodial SO(4) symmetry is equivalent, by a basis transformation, to a canonical one if $SU(2)_L$ is the gauge factor, $U(1)_Y$ is embedded in $SU(2)_R$ and we require $N$ copies of the doublet representation of $SU(2)_R$. The invariance by SO(4) automatically leads to a CP invariant potential and the basis of the canonical implementation of SO(4) is aligned to a basis where CP-symmetry acts in the standard fashion. We show different but equivalent implementations for the 2HDM, including an implementation not previously considered.Comment: 22pp, REVTeX4. Published versio

Physical parameters and basis transformations in the Two-Higgs-Doublet model

A direct connection between physical parameters of general Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) potentials after electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) and the parameters that define the potentials before EWSB is established. These physical parameters, such as the mass matrix of the neutral Higgs bosons, have well defined transformation properties under basis transformations transposed to the fields after EWSB. The relations are also explicitly written in a basis covariant form. Violation of these relations may indicate models beyond 2HDMs. In certain cases the whole potential can be defined in terms of the physical parameters. The distinction between basis transformations and reparametrizations is pointed out. Some physical implications are discussed.Comment: 11 pages. 1 figure. v2: references and comments adde

Properties of the general NHDM. I. The orbit space

We study the scalar sector of the general N-Higgs-doublet model via geometric constructions in the space of gauge orbits. We give a detailed description of the shape of the orbit space both for general N and, in more detail, for N=3. We also comment on remarkable analogies between NHDM and quantum information theory.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure

Implications of μ−τ\mu-\tau Flavored CP Symmetry of Leptons

We discuss gauge models incorporating $\mu-\tau$ flavored CP symmetry (called CP$^{\mu\tau}$ in the text) in combination with $L_\mu-L_\tau$ invariance to understand neutrino mixings and discuss their phenomenological implications. We show that viable leptogenesis in this setting requires that the lightest right-handed neutrino mass must be between $10^9-10^{12}$ GeV and for effective two hierarchical right-handed neutrinos, leptogenesis takes place only in a narrower range of $5\times 10^{10}-10^{12}$ GeV. A multi-Higgs realization of this idea implies that there must be a pseudoscalar Higgs boson with mass less than 300 GeV. Generically, the vev alignment problem can be naturally avoided in our setting.Comment: 34pp. v3: matches journal versio

Solving the strong CP problem with non-conventional CP

A very simple model is presented where all CP violation in Nature is spontaneous in origin. The CKM phase is generated unsuppressed and the strong CP problem is solved with only moderately small couplings between the SM and the CP violation sector or mediator sector because corrections to $\bar{\theta}$ arise only at two loops. The latter feature follows from an underlying unconventional CP symmetry of order 4 imposed in the sectors beyond the SM composed of only two vector-like quarks of charge $-1/3$ and one complex scalar singlet. No additional symmetry is necessary to implement the Nelson-Barr mechanism.Comment: Comments added, comply with published versio

Flavor mixing in a Lee-type model

An exactly solvable Quantum Field Theory (QFT) model of Lee-type is constructed to study how neutrino flavor eigenstates are created through interactions and how the localization properties of neutrinos follows from the parent particle that decays. The two-particle states formed by the neutrino and the accompanying charged lepton can be calculated exactly as well as their creation probabilities. We can show that the coherent creation of neutrino flavor eigenstates follows from the common negligible contribution of neutrino masses to their creation probabilities. On the other hand, it is shown that it is not possible to associate a well defined "flavor" to mixed states of charged leptons.Comment: v2: 25pp in preprint form, typos corrected and references added, one paragraph around Eq.(90) added in conclusion