Radiatively Induced Type II seesaw and Vector-like 5/3 Charge Quarks

Understanding small neutrino masses in type II seesaw models with TeV scale SM triplet Higgs bosons requires that its coupling with the standard model Higgs doublet H be dialed down to be order eV to KeV, which is a fine-tuning by a factor of $10^{-11}-10^{-8}$ with respect to the weak scale. We present a SUSY extension of the type II seesaw model where this dimensionful small coupling is radiatively induced, thus making its smallness natural. This model has an exotic vector-like quark doublet which contains a quark X with electric charge 5/3 and a top partner t'. We discuss in details the phenomenology of the model paying special attention to the consequences of the interactions of the the exotic heavy quarks and the scalars of the model. Implications for neutrinoless double beta decay and for the LHC experiments are discussed in detail. Remarkably, in this model both the seesaw triplet and the heavy quarks can manifest at colliders in a host of different signatures, including some that significantly differ from those of the minimal models. Depending on the choice of the hierarchy of couplings, the decay of the heavy quarks and of the seesaw triplet may be subject to bounds that can be tighter or looser than the bounds from standard LHC searches. Furthermore we point out a new short-distance contribution to neutrinoless double beta decay mediated by the simultaneous propagation of the type II triplet and exotic fermions. Remarkably this contribution to the neutrinoless double beta decay is parametrically quite independent from the scale of the generated neutrino mass.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figure

New Patterns of Natural R-Parity Violation with Supersymmetric Gauged Flavor

We point out that supersymmetric gauged flavor models provide a realization of R-parity violation (RPV) that is natural in the sense that it does not lead to catastrophic proton decay for natural values of parameters in the theory. Within specific realizations of the idea, the relative strengths of the $\Delta B=1$ $u^c d^c d^c$ type RPV operators can be predicted. In particular, we present examples of gauged flavor models where RPV couplings depend on quark masses as $(m_{u_i} m_{d_j} m_{d_k} / m_t^3)^n$ where $n=1$ or $n= 1/2$. Some phenomenological implications of these models are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, 4 table

The Compact Linear e+^+e−^- Collider (CLIC): Physics Potential

The Compact Linear Collider, CLIC, is a proposed e$^+$e$^-$ collider at the TeV scale whose physics potential ranges from high-precision measurements to extensive direct sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model. This document summarises the physics potential of CLIC, obtained in detailed studies, many based on full simulation of the CLIC detector. CLIC covers one order of magnitude of centre-of-mass energies from 350 GeV to 3 TeV, giving access to large event samples for a variety of SM processes, many of them for the first time in e$^+$e$^-$ collisions or for the first time at all. The high collision energy combined with the large luminosity and clean environment of the e$^+$e$^-$ collisions enables the measurement of the properties of Standard Model particles, such as the Higgs boson and the top quark, with unparalleled precision. CLIC might also discover indirect effects of very heavy new physics by probing the parameters of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory with an unprecedented level of precision. The direct and indirect reach of CLIC to physics beyond the Standard Model significantly exceeds that of the HL-LHC. This includes new particles detected in challenging non-standard signatures. With this physics programme, CLIC will decisively advance our knowledge relating to the open questions of particle physics.Comment: Input to the European Particle Physics Strategy Update on behalf of the CLIC and CLICdp Collaboration

Proposal for a Performance Dashboard for the Monitoringof Water and Sewage Service Companies (WaSCs)

The water and sewage industry provides an essential service to the community, but it is characterized by natural monopoly tendencies of service suppliers. In this framework, it is very important to assist regulators with a small set of critical indicators (performance dashboard) for the evaluation and monitoring of the service provided by Water and Sewage Companies (WaSCs). The paper originates from the analysis of situation of Piemonte (Italy), where each regional and local body adopts a proprietary Performance Measurement System (PMS). In order to improve the coordination of information flow and to support the definition of common service standards, a methodology to merge existing PMSs and define a unique shared reference system is proposed. The Kaplan and Norton's Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is adopted as the reference model of this approach. BSC is widely recognized to be an exhaustive and balanced framework in describing the performances of an organization and ensures that all the operational aspects of WaSCs are adequately monitored. The output of the proposed procedure is a general performance dashboard for the monitoring of WaSCs. The dashboard is shown and some remarks about indicators properties are developed. In particular, this analysis highlights some common pitfalls originated by a ‘rushed' aggregation of several performance indicators. Description is supported by several example

Physics Beyond the Standard Model Associated with the Top Quark

In this article, I review scenarios of physics beyond the Standard Model in which the top quark plays a special role. Models that aim at the stabilization of the weak scale are presented together with the specific phenomenology of partner states that are characteristic of this type of model. Further, I present models of flavor in which the top quark is singled out as a special flavor in the Standard Model. The flavor and collider phenomenology of these models is broadly presented. Finally, I discuss the possibility that dark matter interacts preferably with the top quark flavor and give an overview of the dark matter phenomenology of these scenarios, as well as collider and flavor signals

Proposals for evaluating the regularity of a scientist'sresearch output

Evaluating the career of individual scientists according to their scientific output is a common bibliometric problem. Two aspects are classically taken into account: overall productivity and overall diffusion/impact, which can be measured by a plethora of indicators that consider publications and/or citations separately or synthesise these two quantities into a single number (e.g. h-index). A secondary aspect, which is sometimes mentioned in the rules of competitive examinations for research position/promotion, is time regularity of one researcher's scientific output. Despite the fact that it is sometimes invoked, a clear definition of regularity is still lacking. We define it as the ability of generating an active and stable research output over time, in terms of both publications/ quantity and citations/diffusion. The goal of this paper is introducing three analysis tools to perform qualitative/quantitative evaluations on the regularity of one scientist's output in a simple and organic way. These tools are respectively (1) the PY/CY diagram, (2) the publication/citation Ferrers diagram and (3) a simplified procedure for comparing the research output of several scientists according to their publication and citation temporal distributions (Borda's ranking). Description of these tools is supported by several examples

Orthogonal Multiple Access with Correlated Sources: Feasible Region and Pragmatic Schemes

In this paper, we consider orthogonal multiple access coding schemes, where correlated sources are encoded in a distributed fashion and transmitted, through additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels, to an access point (AP). At the AP, component decoders, associated with the source encoders, iteratively exchange soft information by taking into account the source correlation. The first goal of this paper is to investigate the ultimate achievable performance limits in terms of a multi-dimensional feasible region in the space of channel parameters, deriving insights on the impact of the number of sources. The second goal is the design of pragmatic schemes, where the sources use "off-the-shelf" channel codes. In order to analyze the performance of given coding schemes, we propose an extrinsic information transfer (EXIT)-based approach, which allows to determine the corresponding multi-dimensional feasible regions. On the basis of the proposed analytical framework, the performance of pragmatic coded schemes, based on serially concatenated convolutional codes (SCCCs), is discussed