506 research outputs found
Scalar leptoquarks and the rare B meson decays
We study some rare decays of meson involving the quark level transition
in the scalar leptoquark model. We constrain the
leptoquark parameter space using the recently measured branching ratios of
processes. Using such parameters, we obtain the
branching ratios, direct CP violation parameters and isospin asymmetries in and processes. We also obtain the
branching ratios for some lepton flavour violating decays .
We find that the various anomalies associated with the isospin asymmetries of
process can be explained in the scalar leptoquark model.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures. typos corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Leptogenesis as the origin of matter
We explore in some detail the hypothesis that the generation of a primordial
lepton-antilepton asymmetry (Leptogenesis) early on in the history of the
Universe is the root cause for the origin of matter. After explaining the
theoretical conditions for producing a matter-antimatter asymmetry in the
Universe we detail how, through sphaleron processes, it is possible to
transmute a lepton asymmetry -- or, more precisely, a (B-L)-asymmetry -- into a
baryon asymmetry. Because Leptogenesis depends in detail on properties of the
neutrino spectrum, we review briefly existing experimental information on
neutrinos as well as the seesaw mechanism, which offers a theoretical
understanding of why neutrinos are so light. The bulk of the review is devoted
to a discussion of thermal Leptogenesis and we show that for the neutrino
spectrum suggested by oscillation experiments one obtains the observed value
for the baryon to photon density ratio in the Universe, independently of any
initial boundary conditions. In the latter part of the review we consider how
well Leptogenesis fits with particle physics models of dark matter. Although
axionic dark matter and Leptogenesis can be very naturally linked, there is a
potential clash between Leptogenesis and models of supersymmetric dark matter
because the high temperature needed for Leptogenesis leads to an overproduction
of gravitinos, which alter the standard predictions of Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis. This problem can be resolved, but it constrains the
supersymmetric spectrum at low energies and the nature of the lightest
supersymmetric particle (LSP). Finally, as an illustration of possible other
options for the origin of matter, we discuss the possibility that Leptogenesis
may occur as a result of non-thermal processes.Comment: 53 pages, minor corrections, one figure and references added, matches
published versio
A systematic review of physiological reactivity to stimuli in autism
Objective: The prevalence of abnormal behavioural responses to a variety of stimuli among individuals with autism has led researchers to examine whether physiological reactivity is typical in this population. The current paper reviewed studies assessing physiological reactivity to sensory, social and emotional, and stressor stimuli in individuals with autism.
Methods: Systematic searches of electronic databases identified 57 studies that met our inclusion criteria. A novel measure of methodological quality suitable for use with non-randomised, non-interventional, psychophysiological studies was also developed and applied.
Results: Individuals with autism were found to respond differently than typically developing controls in 78.6%, 66.7%, and 71.4% of sensory, social and emotional, and stressor stimulus classes, respectively.
Conclusions: Individual differences in physiological reactivity are clearly present in autism, suggesting additional research is needed to determine the variables relating to physiological reactivity among those with ASD and to examine the possibility of physiological subtype responders in this population
Beyond MFV in family symmetry theories of fermion masses
Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) postulates that the only source of flavour
changing neutral currents and CP violation, as in the Standard Model, is the
CKM matrix. However it does not address the origin of fermion masses and mixing
and models that do usually have a structure that goes well beyond the MFV
framework. In this paper we compare the MFV predictions with those obtained in
models based on spontaneously broken (horizontal) family symmetries, both
Abelian and non-Abelian. The generic suppression of flavour changing processes
in these models turns out to be weaker than in the MFV hypothesis. Despite
this, in the supersymmetric case, the suppression may still be consistent with
a solution to the hierarchy problem, with masses of superpartners below 1 TeV.
A comparison of FCNC and CP violation in processes involving a variety of
different family quantum numbers should be able to distinguish between various
family symmetry models and models satisfying the MFV hypothesis.Comment: 34 pages, no figure
Likelihood analysis of the pMSSM11 in light of LHC 13-TeV data
We use MasterCode to perform a frequentist analysis of the constraints on a phenomenological MSSM model with 11 parameters, the pMSSM11, including constraints from ∼36 /fb of LHC data at 13 TeV and PICO, XENON1T and PandaX-II searches for dark matter scattering, as well as previous accelerator and astrophysical measurements, presenting fits both with and without the (g−2)μ constraint. The pMSSM11 is specified by the following parameters: 3 gaugino masses M1,2,3 , a common mass for the first-and second-generation squarks mq~ and a distinct third-generation squark mass mq~3 , a common mass for the first-and second-generation sleptons mℓ~ and a distinct third-generation slepton mass mτ~ , a common trilinear mixing parameter A, the Higgs mixing parameter μ , the pseudoscalar Higgs mass MA and tanβ . In the fit including (g−2)μ , a Bino-like χ~01 is preferred, whereas a Higgsino-like χ~01 is mildly favoured when the (g−2)μ constraint is dropped. We identify the mechanisms that operate in different regions of the pMSSM11 parameter space to bring the relic density of the lightest neutralino, χ~01 , into the range indicated by cosmological data. In the fit including (g−2)μ , coannihilations with χ~02 and the Wino-like χ~±1 or with nearly-degenerate first- and second-generation sleptons are active, whereas coannihilations with the χ~02 and the Higgsino-like χ~±1 or with first- and second-generation squarks may be important when the (g−2)μ constraint is dropped. In the two cases, we present χ2 functions in two-dimensional mass planes as well as their one-dimensional profile projections and best-fit spectra. Prospects remain for discovering strongly-interacting sparticles at the LHC, in both the scenarios with and without the (g−2)μ constraint, as well as for discovering electroweakly-interacting sparticles at a future linear e+e− collider such as the ILC or CLIC
A Geometric Approach to CP Violation: Applications to the MCPMFV SUSY Model
We analyze the constraints imposed by experimental upper limits on electric
dipole moments (EDMs) within the Maximally CP- and Minimally Flavour-Violating
(MCPMFV) version of the MSSM. Since the MCPMFV scenario has 6 non-standard
CP-violating phases, in addition to the CP-odd QCD vacuum phase \theta_QCD,
cancellations may occur among the CP-violating contributions to the three
measured EDMs, those of the Thallium, neutron and Mercury, leaving open the
possibility of relatively large values of the other CP-violating observables.
We develop a novel geometric method that uses the small-phase approximation as
a starting point, takes the existing EDM constraints into account, and enables
us to find maximal values of other CP-violating observables, such as the EDMs
of the Deuteron and muon, the CP-violating asymmetry in b --> s \gamma decay,
and the B_s mixing phase. We apply this geometric method to provide upper
limits on these observables within specific benchmark supersymmetric scenarios,
including extensions that allow for a non-zero \theta_QCD.Comment: 34 pages, 16 eps figures, to appear in JHE
Light Higgsino from Axion Dark Radiation
The recent observations imply that there is an extra relativistic degree of
freedom coined dark radiation. We argue that the QCD axion is a plausible
candidate for the dark radiation, not only because of its extremely small mass,
but also because in the supersymmetric extension of the Peccei-Quinn mechanism
the saxion tends to dominate the Universe and decays into axions with a sizable
branching fraction. We show that the Higgsino mixing parameter mu is bounded
from above when the axions produced at the saxion decays constitute the dark
radiation: mu \lesssim 300 GeV for a saxion lighter than 2m_W, and mu less than
the saxion mass otherwise. Interestingly, the Higgsino can be light enough to
be within the reach of LHC and/or ILC even when the other superparticles are
heavy with mass about 1 TeV or higher. We also estimate the abundance of axino
produced by the decays of Higgsino and saxion.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure; published in JHE
Light Higgsino in Heavy Gravitino Scenario with Successful Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
We consider, in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, the
case where the gravitino weighs 10^6 GeV or more, which is preferred by various
cosmological difficulties associated with unstable gravitinos. Despite the
large Higgs mixing parameter B together with the little hierarchy to other soft
supersymmetry breaking masses, a light higgsino with an electroweak scale mass
leads to successful electroweak symmetry breaking, at the price of fine-tuning
the higgsino mixing mu parameter. Furthermore the light higgsinos produced at
the decays of gravitinos can constitute the dark matter of the universe. The
heavy squark mass spectrum of O(10^4) GeV can increase the Higgs boson mass to
about 125 GeV or higher.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; v2: version to appear in JHE
Bridging flavour violation and leptogenesis in SU(3) family models
We reconsider basic, in the sense of minimal field content, Pati-Salam x
SU(3) family models which make use of the Type I see-saw mechanism to reproduce
the observed mixing and mass spectrum in the neutrino sector. The goal of this
is to achieve the observed baryon asymmetry through the thermal decay of the
lightest right-handed neutrino and at the same time to be consistent with the
expected experimental lepton flavour violation sensitivity. This kind of models
have been previously considered but it was not possible to achieve a
compatibility among all of the ingredients mentioned above. We describe then
how different SU(3) messengers, the heavy fields that decouple and produce the
right form of the Yukawa couplings together with the scalars breaking the SU(3)
symmetry, can lead to different Yukawa couplings. This in turn implies
different consequences for flavour violation couplings and conditions for
realizing the right amount of baryon asymmetry through the decay of the
lightest right-handed neutrino. Also a highlight of the present work is a new
fit of the Yukawa textures traditionally embedded in SU(3) family models.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, Some typos correcte
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