TeV Scale Leptogenesis

This is a mini-review on the mechanism of leptogenesis, with a special emphasis on low-scale leptogenesis models which are testable in foreseeable laboratory experiments at Energy and Intensity frontiers. We also stress the importance of flavor effects in the calculation of the lepton asymmetry and the necessity of a flavor-covariant framework to consistently capture these effects.Comment: 8 pages, invited mini-review for the proceedings of XXI DAE-BRNS HEP Symposium, IIT Guwahati, December 201

Displaced vertex signatures of doubly charged scalars in the type-II seesaw and its left-right extensions

The type-II seesaw mechanism with an isospin-triplet scalar $\Delta_L$ provides one of the most compelling explanations for the observed smallness of neutrino masses. The triplet contains a doubly-charged component $H_L^{\pm\pm}$, which dominantly decays to either same-sign dileptons or to a pair of $W$ bosons, depending on the size of the triplet vacuum expectation value. However, there exists a range of Yukawa couplings $f_L$ of the triplet to the charged leptons, wherein a relatively light $H_L^{\pm\pm}$ tends to be long-lived, giving rise to distinct displaced-vertex signatures at the high-energy colliders. We find that the displaced vertex signals from the leptonic decays $H_L^{\pm\pm} \to \ell_\alpha^\pm \ell_\beta^\pm$ could probe a broad parameter space with $10^{-10} \lesssim |f_L| \lesssim 10^{-6}$ and 45.6 GeV $< M_{H_L^{\pm\pm}} \lesssim 200$ GeV at the high-luminosity LHC. Similar sensitivity can also be achieved at a future 1 TeV $e^+e^-$ collider. The mass reach can be extended to about 500 GeV at a future 100 TeV proton-proton collider. Similar conclusions apply for the right-handed triplet $H_R^{\pm\pm}$ in the TeV-scale left-right symmetric models, which provide a natural embedding of the type-II seesaw. We show that the displaced vertex signals are largely complementary to the prompt same-sign dilepton pair searches at the LHC and the low-energy, high-intensity/precision measurements, such as neutrinoless double beta decay, charged lepton flavor violation, electron and muon anomalous magnetic moments, muonium oscillation and M{\o}ller scattering.Comment: 49 pages, 25 figures and 2 tables, minor changes, version to appear in JHE

Asymmetric Dark Matter in the Sun and the Diphoton Excess at the LHC

It has been recently pointed out that a momentum-dependent coupling of the asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) with nucleons can explain the broad disagreement between helioseismological observables and the predictions of standard solar models. In this paper, we propose a minimal simplified ADM model consisting of a scalar and a pseudoscalar mediator, in addition to a Dirac fermionic DM, for generating such momentum-dependent interactions. Remarkably, the pseudoscalar with mass around 750 GeV can simultaneously explain the solar anomaly and the recent diphoton excess observed by both ATLAS and CMS experiments in the early $\sqrt s=13$ TeV LHC data. In this framework, the total width of the resonance is naturally large, as suggested by the ATLAS experiment, since the resonance mostly decays to the ADM pair. The model predicts the existence of a new light scalar in the GeV range, interacting with quarks, and observable dijet, monojet and $t\bar{t}$ signatures for the 750 GeV resonance at the LHC.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Version to appear in PR

Neutrino Mass Matrices with Two Vanishing Elements/Cofactors

We study the phenomenological implications of the recent neutrino data for class B of two texture zeros and two vanishing cofactors for Majorana neutrinos in the flavor basis. We find that classes $B_{1}$($B_2$) of two texture zeros and classes $B_5$($B_6$) of two vanishing cofactors have similar predictions for neutrino oscillation parameters for the same mass hierarchy. Similar predictions for classes $B_3$($B_4$) of two texture zeros and classes $B_3$($B_4$) of two vanishing cofactors are expected. However, a preference for a shift in the quadrant of the Dirac-type CP violating phase($\delta$) in contrast to the earlier analysis has been predicted for a relatively large value of the reactor neutrino mixing angle($\theta_{13}$) for class B of two texture zeros and two vanishing cofactors for an inverted mass spectrum. No such shift in the quadrant of $\delta$ has been found for the normal mass spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures and 3 table

CP-odd weak basis invariants and texture zeros

We construct the CP-odd weak basis invariants from the neutrino mass matrix in a weak basis in which the charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal and find the necessary and sufficient conditions for CP conservation. We study the interrelationships between different CP-odd weak basis invariants to examine their implications for the Dirac and Majorana type CP violating phases for the phenomenologically allowed Frampton-Glashow-Marfatia texture zero structures of the neutrino mass matrix.Comment: 9 pages, three tables, Phys. Rev. D (to appear

Natural Standard Model Alignment in the Two Higgs Doublet Model

The current LHC Higgs data provide strong constraints on possible deviations of the couplings of the observed 125 GeV Higgs boson from the Standard Model (SM) expectations. Therefore, it now becomes compelling that any extended Higgs sector must comply with the so-called SM alignment limit. In the context of the Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM), this alignment is often associated with either decoupling of the heavy Higgs sector or accidental cancellations in the 2HDM potential. Here we present a new solution realizing natural alignment based on symmetries, without decoupling or fine-tuning. In particular, we show that in 2HDMs where both Higgs doublets acquire vacuum expectation values, there exist only three different symmetry realizations leading to natural alignment. We discuss some phenomenological implications of the Maximally-Symmetric 2HDM based on SO(5) symmetry group and analyze new collider signals for the heavy Higgs sector, involving third-generation quarks, which can be a useful observational tool during the Run-II phase of the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, 8 figures; Contribution to the Proceedings of DISCRETE 2014, Londo

Constraints on Weakly Mixed Sterile Neutrinos in the Light of SNO Salt Phase and 766.3 Ty KamLAND Data

The possibility of flavor transitions into sterile neutrinos (accompanying the dominant LMA transitions) in the solar boron neutrino flux has been examined in a scenario proposed by Hollanda and Smirnov to overcome some generic problems of the pure LMA scenario. It is found that the most recent SNO salt phase solar neutrino data and the KamLAND 766.3 Ty spectral data, allow for a significant sterile presence in the solar boron neutrino flux reaching the earth.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Food processing in Andhra Pradesh: Opportunities and challenges

There has been diversification of Indian diets away from foodgrains to high value products like milk, meat products, vegetables and fruits. Food-processing industry has been registering good growth since the past few decades and particularly after nineties. The conditions are now ideal for the growth of this industry. The central government has taken some steps to deregulate and encourage the sector after 1991. However, the role of states is vital. The government of Andhra Pradesh released a policy in November 2003. There are no major initiatives in the policy and still can be called a good beginning. As against the robust growth at the All-India level, the growth rate in net value - added in the nineties was almost the same as that in the eighties in the state.

Neutrino Parameter Space for a Vanishing eeee Element in the Neutrino Mass Matrix

The consequences of a texture zero at the $ee$ entry of neutrino mass matrix in the flavor basis, which also implies a vanishing effective Majorana mass for neutrinoless double beta decay, have been studied for Majorana neutrinos. The neutrino parameter space under this condition has been constrained in the light of all available neutrino data including the CHOOZ bound on $s_{13}^{2}$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 eps figures, typographical errors corrected, version to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett.