The Higgs decay $h\to 4\ell$ has played an important role in discovering the Higgs and measuring its mass thanks to low background and excellent resolution. Current cuts in this channel have been optimized for Higgs discovery via the dominant tree level $ZZ$ contribution arising from electroweak symmetry breaking. Going forward, one of the primary objectives of this sensitive channel will be to probe other Higgs couplings and search for new physics on top of the tree level $ZZ$ `background'. Thanks to interference between these small couplings and the large tree level contribution to $ZZ$, the $h\to 4\ell$ decay is uniquely capable of probing the magnitude \emph{and} CP phases of the Higgs couplings to $γγ$ and $Zγ$ as well as, to a lesser extent, $ZZ$ couplings arising from higher dimensional operators. With this in mind we examine how much relaxing current cuts can enhance the sensitivity while also accounting for the dominant non-Higgs continuum $q\bar{q}\to4\ell$ background. We find the largest enhancement in sensitivity for the $hZγ$ couplings ($\gtrsim 100\%$) followed by $hγγ$ ($\gtrsim 40\%$) and less so for the higher dimensional $hZZ$ couplings (a few percent). With these enhancements, we show that couplings of order Standard Model values for $hγγ$ may optimistically be probed by end of Run-II at the LHC while for $hZγ$ perhaps towards the end of a high luminosity LHC. Thus an appropriately optimized $h\to4\ell$ analysis can complement direct decays of the Higgs to on-shell $γγ$ and $Zγ$ pairs giving a unique opportunity to directly access the CP properties of these couplings.
We discuss possibilities to test physics beyond the Standard Model in $\vertΔc\vert=\vertΔu\vert= 1$ semileptonic, hadronic and missing energy decay modes. Clean null test observables such as angular observables, CP-asymmetries and lepton universality tests are presented and model-independent correlations as well as details within flavorful, anomaly-free $Z^\prime$ models are worked out.
Flavor changing neutral current $|ΔB|=|ΔS|=1$ processes are sensitive to possible new physics at the electroweak scale and beyond, providing detailed information about flavor, chirality and Lorentz structure. Recently the LHCb collaboration announced a $2.6 σ$ deviation in the measurement of $R_K={\cal{B}}(\bar B \to \bar K μμ)/{\cal{B}}(\bar B \to \bar K ee)$ from the standard model's prediction of lepton universality. We identify dimension six operators which could explain this deviation and study constraints from other measurements. Vector and axial-vector four-fermion operators with flavor…
In this talk I discuss the role of heavy quarks in new physics searches with tau leptons. I focus on new physics effects associated to the scalar sector which are naturally enhanced for the heaviest fermions due to the large hierarchy of the fermion masses. I will discuss two topics within this context: lepton flavour violation in the $τ- \ell$ ($\ell=e,μ$) sector and violations of lepton universality in tauonic $B$ decays.
We critically examine the potential to disentangle Standard Model (SM) and New Physics (NP) in $B \to K^* μ^+μ^-$ and $B\to K^* e^+ e^-$ decays, focusing on $(i)$ the LHCb anomaly, $(ii)$ the search for right-handed currents, and $(iii)$ lepton-universality violation. Restricting ourselves to the large-recoil region, we advocate a parameterisation of the hadronic matrix elements that separates model-independent information about nonperturbative QCD from the results of model calculations. We clarify how to estimate corrections to the heavy-quark limit that would generate a right-handed (virtual…
Indirect constraints on the total Higgs width $Γ_h$ from correlating Higgs signal strengths with cross section measurements in the off-shell region for $p(g)p(g)\to 4\ell$ production have received considerable attention recently, and the CMS collaboration have published a first measurement. We revisit this analysis from a new physics and unitarity constraints perspective and conclude that limits on $Γ_h$ obtained in this fashion are not reliable unless we make model-specific assumptions, which cannot be justified at the current stage of the LHC programme. Relaxing the $Γ_h$ interpretation, we …
Rare $\vert Δc \vert=\vert Δu \vert=1$ processes uniquely probe flavor in the Standard Model and beyond from the up-type quark sector. Opportunities to search for BSM physics in charm arise from the severe GIM suppression which kills SM contributions to leptonic axial-vector contributions and suppresses CP violation. Semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons offer a variety of clean null test observables, featuring new physics effects which are even enhanced by resonance contributions. In particular, angular observables in three- and self-analyzing four-body baryon decays, such as $Λ_c\to p \ell^…
We study the full angular distribution of semileptonic rare charm baryon decays in which the secondary baryon undergoes weak decay with sizable polarization parameter, $Ξ_c^+\toΣ^+\,(\to pπ^0)\ell^+\ell^-$, $Ξ_c^0\toΛ^0\,(\to p π^-)\ell^+\ell^-$ and $Ω_c^0\toΞ^0\,(\to Λ^{0} π^0)\ell^+\ell^-$. Such self-analyzing decay chains allow for seven additional observables compared to three-body decays such as $Λ_c \to p \ell^+ \ell^-$, with different sensitivities to the $|Δc|=|Δu|=1$ weak couplings. Opportunities to test the standard model in $c \to u$ transitions with standard model null tests and ot…
We analyze patterns from CP-violating new physics (NP) in hadronic and semileptonic rare charm $\vert Δc \vert=\vert Δu\vert=1$ transitions. Observation of direct CP-violation in hadronic decays, as in $ΔA_{\text{CP}}$, provides opportunities for $c \to u \,\ell^+ \ell^-$, $\ell=e,μ$ transitions, and vice versa. For the concrete case of flavorful, anomaly-free $Z^\prime$-models a NP-interpretation of $ΔA_{\text{CP}}$ suggests measurable CP-asymmetries in semileptonic decays such as $D \to π\, \ell^+ \ell^-$ or $D \to ππ\, \ell^+ \ell^-$. Conversely, an observation of CP-violation in $c \to u\,…
We analyze rare charm baryon decays within the standard model and beyond. We identify all null test observables in unpolarized $Λ_c \to p \ell^+ \ell^-$, $\ell=e, μ$ decays, and study the new physics sensitivities. We find that the longitudinal dilepton polarization fraction $F_L$ is sensitive to electromagnetic dipole couplings $C_{7}^{(\prime)}$, and to the right-handed 4-fermion vector coupling $C_{9}^\prime$. The forward-backward asymmetry, $A_{\rm FB}$, due to the GIM-suppression a standard model null test already, probes the left-handed axialvector 4-fermion coupling $C_{10}$; its CP-asy…
In this letter we revisit the Standard Model predictions for $\mathcal{B}(B\to K^{(\ast)}ν\barν)$ and discuss the opportunities that open up when combining its partial decay rate with that of $B\to K^{(\ast)}\ell\ell$. In the Standard Model a suitable ratio of these two modes can be used to extract $C_9^\mathrm{eff}$, which is essential for a reliable phenomenological analysis of the $B\to K^{(\ast)}\ell\ell$ angular observables. The same ratio also proves to be more sensitive to the presence of New Physics in many plausible extensions of the Standard Model. We also suggest that the separate m…
A combined study of hadronic $D^+\to K^-π^+π^+$ and $D_s^+\to K^+K^+π^-$ decays by means of the analysis of semileptonic $D^+\to K^-π^+ \ell^+ν_\ell$ decays
Recent anomalies in the decays of $B$ mesons and the Higgs boson provide hints towards lepton flavor (universality) violating physics beyond the Standard Model. We observe that four-fermion operators which can explain the $B$-physics anomalies have corresponding analogs in the kaon sector, and we analyze their impact on $K\toπ\ell \ell'$ and $K\to\ell \ell'$ decays $(\ell=μ,e)$. For these processes, we note the corresponding physics opportunities at the NA62 experiment. In particular, assuming minimal flavor violation, we comment on the required improvements in sensitivity necessary to test th…
The unique Higgs physics opportunities accessible at the CERN Future Circular Collider (FCC) in electron-positron ($\sqrt{s}$ = 125, 240, 350 GeV) and proton-proton ($\sqrt{s}$ = 100 TeV) collisions, are succinctly summarized. Thanks to the large c.m. energies and enormous luminosities (plus clean experimental conditions in the $e^+e^-$ case), many open fundamental aspects of the Higgs sector of the Standard Model (SM) can be experimentally studied: (i) Measurement of the Higgs Yukawa couplings to the lightest fermions: u,d,s quarks (via rare exclusive $H\to(ρ,ω,ϕ)+γ$ decays); and e$^\pm$ (via…
We present the first lattice-QCD determination of the form factors describing the semileptonic decays $Λ_b \to Λ_c^*(2595)\ell^-\barν$ and $Λ_b \to Λ_c^*(2625)\ell^-\barν$, where the $Λ_c^*(2595)$ and $Λ_c^*(2625)$ are the lightest charm baryons with $J^P=\frac12^-$ and $J^P=\frac32^-$, respectively. These decay modes provide new opportunities to test lepton flavor universality and also play an important role in global analyses of the strong interactions in $b\to c$ semileptonic decays. We determine the full set of vector, axial vector, and tensor form factors for both decays, but only in a sm…
Applying the method of light-cone sum rules with photon distribution amplitudes, we compute the subleading-power correction to the radiative leptonic $B \to γ\ell ν$ decay, at next-to-leading order in QCD for the twist-two contribution and at leading order in $α_s$ for the higher-twist contributions, induced by the hadronic component of the collinear photon. The leading-twist hadronic photon effect turns out to preserve the symmetry relation between the two $B \to γ$ form factors due to the helicity conservation, however, the higher-twist hadronic photon corrections can yield symmetry-breaking…
