A phenomenological study for determining the chirality structure in lepton-flavor-violating Higgs (hLFV) decays $h \to τμ$ at the LHC is presented. We estimate the effects of the $τ$ polarization in the analysis andthe importance of determining the relative visible momentum ratio $x$, and show the analysis with a collinear mass $m_{col1}$ by assuming one missing particle is appropriate. We find that the sensitivity would be generically affected up to $\pm$ $4-6$~\% in terms of the BR$(h\to τμ)$ upper bound, and show the altered bounds on the $(|y_{μτ}|, |y_{τμ}|)$ plane. We further study the benchmark scenarios, and demonstrate the sensitivity study for the chirality structure using the relative visible momentum ratio. We find that the two fully polarized cases, the $τ_R$ and $τ_L$ scenarios consistent with the recently reported excess, are distinguishable at 2$σ$ level for 1000~fb$^{-1}$. We also show that a further improved study potentially provides a similar sensitivity already for 139~fb$^{-1}$.
Flavour symmetries provide an appealing mechanism to stabilize the dark matter particle. I present a simple model of quark flavoured dark matter that goes beyond the framework of minimal flavour violation. I discuss the phenomenological implications for direct and indirect dark matter detection experiments, high energy collider searches as well as flavour violating precision data.
I review the physics case for flavour violating axions. In particular, I argue that relaxing the assumption of the universality of the Peccei-Quinn current opens up new pathways, including: the relaxation of the Supernova bound on the axion mass, a possible connection with the Standard Model flavour puzzle and the experimental opportunity of discovering the axion via flavoured axion searches.
We investigate a two Higgs doublet model with extra flavour depending $U(1)_X$ gauge symmetry where $Z'$ boson interactions can explain the Atomki anomaly by choosing appropriate charge assignment for the SM fermions. For parameter region explaining the Atomki anomaly we obtain light scalar boson with $\mathcal{O}(10)$ GeV mass, and we explore scalar sector to search for allowed parameter space. We then discuss anomalous magnetic dipole moment of muon and lepton flavour violating processes induced by Yukawa couplings of our model.
We study CP-conserving non-minimal flavour violation in $A_4 \times SU(5)$ inspired Supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs), focussing on the regions of parameter space where dark matter is successfully accommodated due to a light right-handed smuon a few GeV heavier than the lightest neutralino. In this region of parameter space we find that some of the flavour-violating parameters are constrained by the requirement of the dark matter relic density, due to the delicate interplay between the smuon and neutralino masses. By scanning over GUT scale flavour violating parameters, constrained …
Motivated by flavour symmetry models, we construct theories based on a low-energy limit featuring lepton flavour triality that have the flavour-violating decays $τ^\pm \to μ^\pm μ^\pm e^\mp$ and $τ^\pm \to e^\pm e^\pm μ^\mp$ as the main phenomenological signatures of physics beyond the standard model. These decay modes are expected to be probed in the near future with increased sensitivity by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider. The simple standard model extensions featured have doubly-charged scalars as the mediators of the above decay processes. The phenomenology of these exten…
We study Yukawa Renormalization Group (RG) running effects in the context of the Standard Model Effective Theory (SMEFT).The Yukawa running being flavour dependent leads to RG-induced off-diagonal entries, so that initially diagonal Yukawa matrices at the high scale have to be rediagonalized at the electroweak (EW) scale. Performing such flavour rotations can lead to flavour violating operators which differ from the ones obtained through SMEFT RG evolution. We show, that these flavour rotations can have a large impact on low-energy phenomenology. In order to demonstrate this effect, we compare…
We present a first update on the constraints on general MSSM scenarios with non-minimal sources of flavour violation (NMFV). Using the public code SuperIso, we present an up-to-date computation of the relevant Wilson coefficients related to $b\to s ll$ transitions which manifest tensions with the SM predictions. We present benchmark scenarios compatible with the most recent fits to the Wilson coefficients. We finally discuss the possibility for such scenarios to completely explain the recent flavour anomalies.
We consider a $U(1)'$ extended supersymmetric model with a right-handed neutrino superfield which can generate light neutrino mass by Type I seesaw mechanism. The lighter superpartner of the right-handed neutrino could be the scalar dark matter. These right-handed sneutrinos can come from the decay of $\tilde{Z'}$, superpartner of the extra gauge boson $Z'$. Left-right handed sneutrino mixings affect their decays further, giving rise to displaced "lepton flavour violating" signatures. A wino-like chargino NLSP (next to lightest supersymmetric particle) creates even more interesting decay topol…
We consider lepton flavour violating decays of the top quark, mediated by four-fermion operators. We compile constraints on a complete set of SU(3)*U(1)-invariant operators, arising from their loop contributions to rare decays and from HERA's single top search. The bounds on e-mu flavour change are more restrictive than l-tau; nonetheless the top could decay to a jet $+ e \barμ$ with a branching ratio of order $10^{-3}$. We estimate that the currently available LHC data (20 inverse-fb at 8 TeV) could be sensitive to $BR(t \to e \barμ$+ jet) $ \sim 6\times 10^{-5}$, and extrapolate that 100 inv…
The solution to the Strong CP problem is analysed within the Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) context. An Abelian factor of the complete flavour symmetry of the fermionic kinetic terms may play the role of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry in traditional axion models. Its spontaneous breaking, due to the addition of a complex scalar field to the Standard Model scalar spectrum, generates the MFV axion, which may redefine away the QCD theta parameter. It differs from the traditional QCD axion for its couplings that are governed by the fermion charges under the axial Abelian symmetry. It is also distinct …
The apparent tensions emerging from the comparison of experimental data of the anomalous magnetic moments of the muon and electron to the Standard Model predictions ($Δa_{μ,e}$) could be interpreted as a potential signal of New Physics. Models encompassing a light vector boson have been known to offer a satisfactory explanation to $Δa_μ$, albeit subject to stringent experimental constraints. Here we explore a minimal extension of the Standard Model via a leptophilic vector boson $Z^\prime$, under the hypothesis of strictly flavour-violating couplings of the latter to leptons. The most constrai…
Despite a large experimental effort, so far no evidence for flavour-violating decays of charged leptons such as $l_i\to l_jγ$ and $l_i\to l_j l_k l_k$ has been found. The absence of a signal puts very severe constraints on many extensions of the Standard Model. Here we apply a model independent approach by studying such decays in the Standard Model effective field theory. Going beyond leading order in the Standard Model couplings and considering all dimension 6 operators that might lead to lepton-flavour violation, we are able to extract limits on a large number of Wilson coefficients of such …
We estimate the chirality of the cosmological medium due to parity violating decays of standard model particles, focusing on the example of tau leptons. The non-trivial chirality is however too small to make a significant contribution to the cosmological magnetic field via the chiral-magnetic effect.
Effective operators provide a model-independent description of physics beyond the stan- dard model that is particularly useful given the absence of any signs of new physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We recast previous LHC analyses to set limits on lepton-flavour-violating gluonic effective operators of dimension 8 and compare our results to existing limits from low-energy precision experiments. Current LHC data constrains the scale $Λ$ of the effective operators to be larger than $Λ\gtrsim 0.5 - 1.6$ TeV depending on the flavour and thus provides the most stringent limit for all oper…
In recent years, significant experimental indications that point towards Lepton Flavour Universality violating effects in B-decays, involving $b \to c τν$ and $b \to s \ell^+ \ell^-$ have been accumulated. A possible New Physics explanation can be sought within the framework of R-parity violating Supersymmetry, which contains the necessary ingredients to explain the anomalies via both leptoquark, tree-level exchange and one-loop diagrams involving purely leptonic interactions. In addition, an approximate $U(2)^2$ flavour symmetry, that respects gauge coupling unification, successfully controls…
We investigate the possibility of satisfying the $SU(5)$ boundary condition $\mathbf{Y}^d=\mathbf{Y}^{e\,T}$ at the GUT scale within the renormalizable $R$-parity conserving Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). Working in the super-CKM basis, we consider non-zero flavour off-diagonal entries in the soft SUSY-breaking mass matrices and the $A$-terms. At the same time, the diagonal $A$-terms are assumed to be suppressed by the respective Yukawa couplings. We show that a non-trivial flavour structure of the soft SUSY-breaking sector can contribute to achieving precise Yukawa coupling uni…
ATLAS and CMS have observed a flavor violating decay of the Higgs to muon and tau. The fact that flavour violating couplings of the Higgs boson are exactly zero in the Standard Model suggests the mixing of the Higgs with another scalar with flavour violating couplings. We use the flavon field from the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism, responsible for generating the lepton Yukawa matrices, for this purpose. The parameter space is constrained from experimental bounds on charged lepton flavor violation in other processes, however, we show that a substantial region of parameter space survives these boun…