Search

This is the second of a series of papers that explores the physical parameterization, sum rules and unitarity bounds arising from a non-minimal scalar sector of the Standard Model (SM) that consists of N Higgs doublets. In this paper, we focus on the structure and implication of the Yukawa interactions that couple the N scalar doublets to the SM fermions. We employ the charged Higgs basis, which is defined as the basis of scalar fields such that the neutral scalar field vacuum expectation value resides entirely in one of the N scalar doublet fields, and the charged components of the remaining N-1 scalar doublet fields are the physical (mass-eigenstate) charged Higgs fields. Based on the structure of the Yukawa Lagrangian of the model (and as a consequence of tree-level unitarity), one may deduce numerous sum rules, several of which have not appeared previously in the literature. These sum rules can be used to uncover intimate relations between the structure of the Higgs-fermion couplings and the scalar/gauge couplings. In particular, we show that the approximate alignment limit, in which the W+W- and ZZ couplings to the observed Higgs boson are approximately SM-like, imposes significant constraints on the Higgs-fermion couplings., Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, uses jheppub.sty. Two typographical errors corrected, one clarification added and one reference updated in v3

If the scalar sector of the Standard Model is non-minimal, one might expect multiple generations of the hypercharge-1/2 scalar doublet analogous to the generational structure of the fermions. In this work, we examine the structure of a Higgs sector consisting of N Higgs doublets (where N \geq 2). It is particularly convenient to work in the so-called charged Higgs basis, in which the neutral Higgs vacuum expectation value resides entirely in the first Higgs doublet, and the charged components of remaining N-1 Higgs doublets are mass-eigenstate fields. We elucidate the interactions of the gauge bosons with the physical Higgs scalars and the Goldstone bosons and show that they are determined by an Nx2N matrix. This matrix depends on (N-1)(2N-1) real parameters that are associated with the mixing of the neutral Higgs fields in the charged Higgs basis. Among these parameters, N-1 are unphysical (and can be removed by rephasing the physical charged Higgs fields), and the remaining 2(N-1)^2 parameters are physical. We also demonstrate a particularly simple form for the cubic interaction and some of the quartic interactions of the Goldstone bosons with the physical Higgs scalars. These results are applied in the derivation of Higgs coupling sum rules and tree-level unitarity bounds that restrict the size of the quartic scalar couplings. In particular, new applications to three Higgs doublet models with an order-4 CP symmetry and with a Z_3 symmetry, respectively, are presented., Comment: 66 pages, 3 figures. v2: refs added

This Report summarizes the results of the activities of the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group in the period 2014-2016. The main goal of the working group was to present the state-of-the-art of Higgs physics at the LHC, integrating all new results that have appeared in the last few years. The first part compiles the most up-to-date predictions of Higgs boson production cross sections and decay branching ratios, parton distribution functions, and off-shell Higgs boson production and interference effects. The second part discusses the recent progress in Higgs effective field theory predictions, followed by the third part on pseudo-observables, simplified template cross section and fiducial cross section measurements, which give the baseline framework for Higgs boson property measurements. The fourth part deals with the beyond the Standard Model predictions of various benchmark scenarios of Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, extended scalar sector, Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and exotic Higgs boson decays. This report follows three previous working-group reports: Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 1. Inclusive Observables (CERN-2011-002), Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 2. Differential Distributions (CERN-2012-002), and Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 3. Higgs properties (CERN-2013-004). The current report serves as the baseline reference for Higgs physics in LHC Run 2 and beyond., Comment: 869 pages, 295 figures, 248 tables and 1645 citations. Working Group web page: https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/LHCPhysics/LHCHXSWG

The latest LHC data confirmed the existence of a Higgs-like particle and made interesting measurements on its decays into $\gamma \gamma$, $Z Z^\ast$, $W W^\ast$, $\tau^+ \tau^-$, and $b \bar{b}$. It is expected that a decay into $Z \gamma$ might be measured at the next LHC round, for which there already exists an upper bound. The Higgs-like particle could be a mixture of scalar with a relatively large component of pseudoscalar. We compute the decay of such a mixed state into $Z \gamma$, and we study its properties in the context of the complex two Higgs doublet model, analysing the effect of the current measurements on the four versions of this model. We show that a measurement of the $h \rightarrow Z \gamma$ rate at a level consistent with the SM can be used to place interesting constraints on the pseudoscalar component. We also comment on the issue of a wrong sign Yukawa coupling for the bottom in Type II models., Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures

It has been pointed out recently that current experiments still allow for a two Higgs doublet model where the $h b \bar{b}$ coupling ($k_D m_b/v$) is negative; a sign opposite to that of the Standard Model. Due to the importance of delayed decoupling in the $h H^+ H^-$ coupling, $h \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ improved measurements will have a strong impact on this issue. For the same reason, measurements or even bounds on $h \rightarrow Z \gamma$ are potentially interesting. In this article, we revisit this problem, highlighting the crucial importance of $h \rightarrow VV$, which can be understood with simple arguments. We show that the impacts on $k_D<0$ models of both $h \rightarrow b \bar{b}$ and $h \rightarrow \tau^+ \tau^-$ are very sensitive to input values for the gluon fusion production mechanism; in contrast, $h \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ and $h \rightarrow Z \gamma$ are not. We also inquire if the search for $h \rightarrow Z \gamma$ and its interplay with $h \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ will impact the sign of the $h b \bar{b}$ coupling. Finally, we study these issues in the context of the Flipped two Higgs doublet model., Comment: 13 pages, pdf figures

We discuss several manifestations of charged lepton flavour violation at high energies. Focusing on a supersymmetric type I seesaw, considering constrained and semi-constrained supersymmetry breaking scenarios, we analyse different observables, both at the LHC and at a future Linear Collider. We further discuss how the synergy between low- and high-energy observables can shed some light on the underlying mechanism of lepton flavour violation., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the "Linear Collider Workshop - LC13", ECT* Trento, 16 - 20 September 2013

We suggest a minimal extension of the simplest A4 flavour model that can induce a nonzero theta13 value, as required by recent neutrino oscillation data from reactors and accelerators. The predicted correlation between the atmospheric mixing angle theta23 and the magnitude of theta13 leads to an allowed region substantially smaller than indicated by neutrino oscillation global fits. Moreover, the scheme correlates CP violation in neutrino oscillations with the octant of the atmospheric mixing parameter theta23 in such a way that, for example, maximal mixing necessarily violates CP. We briefly comment on other phenomenological features of the model., Comment: 8 pages, latex

We study the potential of an e+- e- Linear Collider for charged lepton flavour violation studies in a supersymmetric framework where neutrino masses and mixings are explained by a type-I seesaw. Focusing on e-mu flavour transitions, we evaluate the background from standard model and supersymmetric charged currents to the e mu + missing E_T signal. We study the energy dependence of both signal and background, and the effect of beam polarisation in increasing the signal over background significance. Finally, we consider the mu- mu- + missing E_T final state in e- e- collisions that, despite being signal suppressed by requiring two e-mu flavour transitions, is found to be a clear signature of charged lepton flavour violation due to a very reduced standard model background., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the proceedings of "DISCRETE 2012 - 3rd Symposium on Prospects in the Physics of Discrete Symmetries", Lisbon, Portugal, 3-7 December 2012

We construct lists of supersymmetric models with extended gauge groups at intermediate steps, all of which are based on SO(10) unification. We consider three different kinds of setups: (i) The model has exactly one additional intermediate scale with a left-right (LR) symmetric group; (ii) SO(10) is broken to the LR group via an intermediate Pati-Salam (PS) scale; and (iii) the LR group is broken into $SU(3)_{c} \times SU(2)_{L} \times U(1)_{R} \times U(1)_{B-L}$, before breaking to the SM group. We use sets of conditions, which we call the "sliding mechanism", which yield unification with the extended gauge group(s) allowed at arbitrary intermediate energy scales. All models thus can have new gauge bosons within the reach of the LHC, in principle. We apply additional conditions, such as perturbative unification, renormalizability and anomaly cancellation and find that, despite these requirements, for the ansatz (i) with only one additional scale still around 50 different variants exist that can have an LR symmetry below 10 TeV. For the more complicated schemes (ii) and (iii) literally thousands of possible variants exist, and for scheme (ii) we have also found variants with very low PS scales. We also discuss possible experimental tests of the models from measurements of SUSY masses. Assuming mSugra boundary conditions we calculate certain combinations of soft terms, called "invariants", for the different classes of models. Values for all the invariants can be classified into a small number of sets, which contain information about the class of models and, in principle, the scale of beyond-MSSM physics, even in case the extended gauge group is broken at an energy beyond the reach of the LHC.

We revisit the potential of a Linear Collider concerning the study of lepton flavour violation, in view of new LHC bounds and of the (very) recent developments in lepton physics. Working in the framework of a type I supersymmetric seesaw, we evaluate the prospects of observing seesaw-induced lepton flavour violating final states of the type e \mu + missing energy, arising from e+ e- and e- e- collisions. In both cases we address the potential background from standard model and supersymmetric charged currents. We also explore the possibility of electron and positron beam polarisation. The statistical significance of the signal, even in the absence of kinematical and/or detector cuts, renders the observation of such flavour violating events feasible over large regions of the parameter space. We further consider the \mu-\mu- + E^T_miss final state in the e- e- beam option finding that, due to a very suppressed background, this process turns out to be a truly clear probe of a supersymmetric seesaw, assuming the latter to be the unique source of lepton flavour violation., Comment: 30 pages, 48 figures

It has been pointed out that supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model can induce significant changes to the theoretical prediction of the ratio $\Gamma(K\rightarrow e\nu)/\Gamma (K\rightarrow\mu\nu)\equiv R_{K}$, through lepton flavour violating couplings. In this work we carry out a full computation of all one-loop corrections to the relevant $\nu\ell H^{+}$ vertex, and discuss the new contributions to $R_{K}$ arising in the context of different constrained (minimal supergravity inspired) models which succeed in accounting for neutrino data, further considering the possibility of accommodating a near future observation of a $\mu\to e\gamma$ transition. We also re-evaluate the prospects for $R_{K}$ in the framework of unconstrained supersymmetric models. In all cases, we address the question of whether it is possible to saturate the current experimental sensitivity on $R_{K}$ while in agreement with the recent limits on $B$-meson decay observables (in particular BR($B_{s}\to\mu^+\mu^-$) and R($B_{u}\to\tau\nu$)), as well as BR($\tau\to e \gamma$) and available collider constraints. Our findings reveal that in view of the recent bounds, and even when enhanced by effective sources of flavour violation in the right-handed $\tilde{e}-\tilde{\tau}$ sector, constrained supersymmetric (seesaw) models typically provide excessively small contributions to $R_{K}$. Larger contributions can be found in more general settings, where the charged Higgs mass can be effectively lowered, and even further enhanced in the unconstrained MSSM. However, our analysis clearly shows that even in this last case SUSY contributions to $R_{K}$ are still unable to saturate the current experimental bounds on this observable, especially due to a strong tension with the $B_{u}\to\tau\nu$ bound., Comment: Revised version reflects the published article. 26 pages, 7 Figures in Encapsulated Postscript

Left-right symmetric extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model can explain neutrino data and have potentially interesting phenomenology beyond that found in minimal SUSY seesaw models. Here we study a SUSY model in which the left-right symmetry is broken by triplets at a high scale, but significantly below the GUT scale. Sparticle spectra in this model differ from the usual constrained MSSM expectations and these changes affect the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino. We discuss changes for the standard stau (and stop) co-annihilation, the Higgs funnel and the focus point regions. The model has potentially large lepton flavour violation in both, left and right, scalar leptons and thus allows, in principle, also for flavoured co-annihilation. We also discuss lepton flavour signals due to violating decays of the second lightest neutralino at the LHC, which can be as large as 20 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV., Comment: 32 pages; 18 figures; v2: discussion of Focus point included

We consider a supersymmetric type III seesaw, where the additional heavy states are embedded into complete SU(5) representations to preserve gauge coupling unification. Complying with phenomenological and experimental constraints strongly tightens the viable parameter space of the model. In particular, one expects very characteristic signals of lepton flavour violation both at low-energies and at the LHC, which offer the possibility of falsifying the model., Comment: 20 pages, 14 eps figures

We study the impact of a type-I SUSY seesaw concerning lepton flavour violation (LFV) at low-energies and at the LHC. At the LHC, $ \chi_2^0\to \tilde \ell \,\ell \to \ell \,\ell\,\chi_1^0$ decays, in combination with other observables, render feasible the reconstruction of the masses of the intermediate sleptons, and hence the study of $\ell_i - \ell_j$ mass differences. If interpreted as being due to the violation of lepton flavour, high-energy observables, such as large slepton mass splittings and flavour violating neutralino and slepton decays, are expected to be accompanied by low-energy manifestations of LFV such as radiative and three-body lepton decays. We discuss how to devise strategies based in the interplay of slepton mass splittings as might be observed at the LHC and low-energy LFV observables to derive important information on the underlying mechanism of LFV., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Tau Lepton Physics (TAU2010), Manchester, UK, 13-17 September 2010

We study the phenomenology of a supersymmetric left-right model, assuming minimal supergravity boundary conditions. Both left-right and (B-L) symmetries are broken at an energy scale close to, but significantly below the GUT scale. Neutrino data is explained via a seesaw mechanism. We calculate the RGEs for superpotential and soft parameters complete at 2-loop order. At low energies lepton flavour violation (LFV) and small, but potentially measurable mass splittings in the charged scalar lepton sector appear, due to the RGE running. Different from the supersymmetric 'pure seesaw' models, both, LFV and slepton mass splittings, occur not only in the left- but also in the right slepton sector. Especially, ratios of LFV slepton decays, such as Br(${\tilde\tau}_R \to \mu \chi^0_1$)/Br(${\tilde\tau}_L \to \mu \chi^0_1$) are sensitive to the ratio of (B-L) and left-right symmetry breaking scales. Also the model predicts a polarization asymmetry of the outgoing positrons in the decay $\mu^+ \to e^+ \gamma$, A ~ [0,1], which differs from the pure seesaw 'prediction' A=1$. Observation of any of these signals allows to distinguish this model from any of the three standard, pure (mSugra) seesaw setups., Comment: 43 pages, 17 figures

We study a supersymmetric version of the seesaw mechanism type-III. The model consists of the MSSM particle content plus three copies of 24 superfields. The fermionic part of the SU(2) triplet contained in the 24 is responsible for the type-III seesaw, which is used to explain the observed neutrino masses and mixings. Complete copies of 24 are introduced to maintain gauge coupling unification. These additional states change the beta functions of the gauge couplings above the seesaw scale. Using mSUGRA boundary conditions we calculate the resulting supersymmetric mass spectra at the electro-weak scale using full 2-loop renormalization group equations. We show that the resulting spectrum can be quite different compared to the usual mSUGRA spectrum. We discuss how this might be used to obtain information on the seesaw scale from mass measurements. Constraints on the model space due to limits on lepton flavour violating decays are discussed. The main constraints come from the bounds on the decay mu to e and gamma but there are also regions where the decay tau to mu and gamma gives stronger constraints. We also calculate the regions allowed by the dark matter constraint. For the sake of completeness, we compare our results with those for the supersymmetric seesaw type-II and, to some extent, with type-I., Comment: 32 pages, 16 eps figures. One ref. added; small changes in text

We study the impact of a type-I SUSY seesaw concerning lepton flavour violation (LFV) both at low-energies and at the LHC. The study of the di-lepton invariant mass distribution at the LHC allows to reconstruct some of the masses of the different sparticles involved in a decay chain. In particular, the combination with other observables renders feasible the reconstruction of the masses of the intermediate sleptons involved in $ \chi_2^0\to \tilde \ell \,\ell \to \ell \,\ell\,\chi_1^0$ decays. Slepton mass splittings can be either interpreted as a signal of non-universality in the SUSY soft breaking-terms (signalling a deviation from constrained scenarios as the cMSSM) or as being due to the violation of lepton flavour. In the latter case, in addition to these high-energy processes, one expects further low-energy manifestations of LFV such as radiative and three-body lepton decays. Under the assumption of a type-I seesaw as the source of neutrino masses and mixings, all these LFV observables are related. Working in the framework of the cMSSM extended by three right-handed neutrino superfields, we conduct a systematic analysis addressing the simultaneous implications of the SUSY seesaw for both high- and low-energy lepton flavour violation. We discuss how the confrontation of slepton mass splittings as observed at the LHC and low-energy LFV observables may provide important information about the underlying mechanism of LFV., Comment: 50 pages, 42 eps Figures, typos corrected

We propose an A_4 flavor-symmetric SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) seesaw model where lepton number is broken spontaneously. A consistent two-zero texture pattern of neutrino masses and mixing emerges from the interplay of type-I and type-II seesaw contributions, with important phenomenological predictions. We show that, if the Majoron becomes massive, such seesaw scenario provides a viable candidate for decaying dark matter, consistent with cosmic microwave background lifetime constraints that follow from current WMAP observations. We also calculate the sub-leading one-loop-induced decay into photons which leads to a mono-energetic emission line that may be observed in future X-ray missions such as Xenia., Comment: 16 pages, 6 eps figures. Minor corrections. To appear in Phys. Rev. D

The Large Hadron Collider presents an unprecedented opportunity to probe the realm of new physics in the TeV region and shed light on some of the core unresolved issues of particle physics. These include the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking, the origin of mass, the possible constituent of cold dark matter, new sources of CP violation needed to explain the baryon excess in the universe, the possible existence of extra gauge groups and extra matter, and importantly the path Nature chooses to resolve the hierarchy problem - is it supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Many models of new physics beyond the standard model contain a hidden sector which can be probed at the LHC. Additionally, the LHC will be a top factory and accurate measurements of the properties of the top and its rare decays will provide a window to new physics. Further, the LHC could shed light on the origin of neutralino masses if the new physics associated with their generation lies in the TeV region. Finally, the LHC is also a laboratory to test the hypothesis of TeV scale strings and D-brane models. An overview of these possibilities is presented in the spirit that it will serve as a companion to the Technical Design Reports (TDRs) by the particle detector groups ATLAS and CMS to facilitate the test of the new theoretical ideas at the LHC. Which of these ideas stands the test of the LHC data will govern the course of particle physics in the subsequent decades., Comment: Summary document for international workshop "Beyond the Standard Model at the LHC" (Pre-SUSY09), Northeastern University, Boston, June 2-4, 2009

We study neutrino masses in the framework of the supersymmetric inverse seesaw model. Different from the non-supersymmetric version a minimal realization with just one pair of singlets is sufficient to explain all neutrino data. We compute the neutrino mass matrix up to 1-loop order and show how neutrino data can be described in terms of the model parameters. We then calculate rates for lepton flavour violating (LFV) processes, such as $\mu \to e \gamma$, and chargino decays to singlet scalar neutrinos. The latter decays are potentially observable at the LHC and show a characteristic decay pattern dictated by the same parameters which generate the observed large neutrino angles., Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures; added explanatory comments, final version for publication

We calculate the relic density of the lightest neutralino in a supersymmetric seesaw type-II (``triplet seesaw'') model with minimal supergravity boundary conditions at the GUT scale. The presence of a triplet below the GUT scale, required to explain measured neutrino data in this setup, leads to a characteristic deformation of the sparticle spectrum with respect to the pure mSugra expectations, affecting the calculated relic dark matter (DM) density. We discuss how the DM allowed regions in the (m_0,M_{1/2}) plane change as a function of the (type-II) seesaw scale. We also compare the constraints imposed on the models parameter space form upper limits on lepton flavour violating (LFV) decays to those imposed by DM. Finally, we briefly comment on uncertainties in the calculation of the relic neutralino density due to uncertainties in the measured top and bottom masses., Comment: 20 pages, 21 Figures in Encapsulated Postscript

We reconsider the role that the possible detection of lepton flavour violating (LFV) decays of supersymmetric particles at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) can play in helping reconstruct the underlying neutrino mass generation mechanism within the simplest high-scale minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) seesaw schemes. We study in detail the LFV scalar tau decays at the LHC, assuming that the observed neutrino masses arise either through the pure type-I or the simpler type-II seesaw mechanism. We perform a scan over the mSUGRA parameter space in order to identify regions where lepton flavour violating decays of $\chi^0_2$ can be maximized, while respecting current low-energy constraints, such as those coming from the bounds on Br($\mu \to e \gamma$). We estimate the cross section for $\chi^0_2 \to \chi^0_1 + \tau + \mu $. Though insufficient for a full reconstruction of the seesaw, the search for LFV decays of supersymmetric states at the LHC brings complementary information to that coming from low energy neutrino oscillation experiments and LFV searches., Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures; minor changes; 4 references added, final version for publication

We show that within the inverse seesaw mechanism for generating neutrino masses minimal supergravity is more likely to have a sneutrino as the lightest superparticle than the conventional neutralino. We also demonstrate that such schemes naturally reconcile the small neutrino masses with the correct relic sneutrino dark matter abundance and accessible direct detection rates in nuclear recoil experiments., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

The most general supersymmetric seesaw mechanism has too many parameters to be predictive and thus can not be excluded by any measurements of lepton flavour violating (LFV) processes. We focus on the simplest version of the type-I seesaw mechanism assuming minimal supergravity boundary conditions. We compute branching ratios for the LFV scalar tau decays, ${\tilde \tau}_2 \to (e,\mu) + \chi^0_1$, as well as loop-induced LFV decays at low energy, such as $l_i \to l_j + \gamma$ and $l_i \to 3 l_j$, exploring their sensitivity to the unknown seesaw parameters. We find some simple, extreme scenarios for the unknown right-handed parameters, where ratios of LFV branching ratios correlate with neutrino oscillation parameters. If the overall mass scale of the left neutrinos and the value of the reactor angle were known, the study of LFV allows, in principle, to extract information about the so far unknown right-handed neutrino parameters., Comment: 29 pages, 27 figures; added explanatory comments, corrected typos, final version for publication

Current neutrino oscillation data indicate the existence of two large lepton mixing angles, while Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are all small. Here we show how supersymmetric SO(10) with extra chiral singlets can easily reconcile large lepton mixing angles with small quark mixing angles within the framework of the successful Fritzsch ansatz. Moreover we show how this is fully consistent with the thermal leptogenesis scenario, avoiding the so-called gravitino problem. A sizeable asymmetry can be generated at relatively low scales. We present our results in terms of the leptonic CP violation parameter that characterizes neutrino oscillations., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, new section discussing washout factor added, matches version published in Phys. Rev. D

We consider an extended supersymmetric SO(10) seesaw model with only doublet Higgs scalars, in which neutrino masses are suppressed by the scale of D-parity violation. Leptogenesis can occur at the TeV scale through the decay of a singlet Sigma, thereby avoiding the gravitino crisis. Washout of the asymmetry can be effectively suppressed by the absence of direct couplings of Sigma to leptons., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures

We study the stability of the Harrison-Perkins-Scott (HPS) mixing pattern, assumed to hold at some high energy scale, against supersymmetric radiative corrections. We work in the framework of a reference minimal supergravity model (mSUGRA) where supersymmetry breaking is universal and flavor-blind at unification. The radiative corrections considered include both RGE running as well as threshold effects. We find that in this case the solar mixing angle can only increase with respect to the HPS reference value, while the atmospheric and reactor mixing angles remain essentially stable. Deviations from the solar angle HPS prediction towards lower values would signal novel contributions from physics beyond the simplest mSUGRA model., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; added reference; final version for publication

It is pointed out that the recent measurement of the angle $\gamma$ of the unitarity triangle, providing irrefutable evidence for a complex Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, presents a great challenge for supersymmetric models with spontaneous CP violation. We construct a new minimal extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), with spontaneous CP breaking, which leads to a complex CKM matrix, thus conforming to present experimental data. This is achieved through the introduction of two singlet chiral superfields and a vector-like quark chiral superfield which mixes with the standard quarks. A $Z_3$ symmetry is introduced in order to have a potential solution to the strong CP problem., Comment: 12 pages. Uses the elsart.cls LaTeX class. Minor corrections and references added

We study the mass spectra, production and decay properties of the lightest supersymmetric CP-even and CP-odd Higgs bosons in models with spontaneously broken R-parity (SBRP). We compare the resulting mass spectra with expectations of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), stressing that the model obeys the upper bound on the lightest CP-even Higgs boson mass. We discuss how the presence of the additional scalar singlet states affects the Higgs production cross sections, both for the Bjorken process and the "associated production". The main phenomenological novelty with respect to the MSSM comes from the fact that the spontaneous breaking of lepton number leads to the existence of the majoron, denoted J, which opens new decay channels for supersymmetric Higgs bosons. We find that the invisible decays of CP-even Higgses can be dominant, while those of the CP-odd bosons may also be sizeable., Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures; minor changes, final version for publication

We review supersymmetric models where R-parity is broken either explicitly or spontaneously. The simplest unified extension of the MSSM with explicit bilinear R--Parity violation provides a predictive scheme for neutrino masses and mixings which can account for the observed atmospheric and solar neutrino anomalies. Despite the smallness of neutrino masses R-parity violation is observable at present and future high-energy colliders, providing an unambiguous cross-check of the model. This model can be shown to be an effective model for the, more theoretically satisfying, spontaneous broken theory. The main difference in this last case is the appearance of a massless particle, the majoron, that can modify the decay modes of the Higgs boson, making it decay invisibly most of the time., Comment: 19 pages, 17 Figures in Postscript. Based on talks given at the Symposium in Honour of Gustavo C. Branco, Lisbon, 19-20 July 2005, and at the Corfu Summer Institute on EPP, Corfu, 11-18 September 2005. To appear in the Proceedings. Uses the appolb.cls LaTeX class

Leptoquarks arise naturally in models attempting the unification of the quark and lepton sectors of the standard model of particle physics. Such particles could be produced in the interaction of high energy quasi-horizontal cosmic neutrinos with the atmosphere, via their direct coupling to a quark and a neutrino. The hadronic decay products of the leptoquark, and possibly its leptonic decay products would originate an extensive air shower, observable in large cosmic ray experiments. In this letter, the sensitivity of present and planned very high energy cosmic ray experiments to the production of leptoquarks of different types is estimated and discussed., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures

Searches for physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics are performed at accelerators worldwide. Although having poorer detection capabilities and large beam uncertainties, ultra high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) experiments present a unique opportunity to look for new physics far beyond the TeV. Nearly horizontal energetic neutrinos, seeing a large atmospheric target volume and with negligible background from "ordinary" cosmic rays, are ideal to explore rare processes. The sensitivity of present and planned experiments to different new physics scenarios is estimated, including mini black-holes, excited leptons and leptoquarks., Comment: Proceedings of 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC) 2005, Pune, India. 4 pages, 2 figures

We propose a new seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses within a class of supersymmetric SO(10) models with broken D-parity. It is shown that in such scenarios the B-L scale can be as low as TeV without generating inconsistencies with gauge coupling unification nor with the required magnitude of the light neutrino masses. This leads to a possibly light new neutral gauge boson as well as relatively light quasi-Dirac heavy leptons. These particles could be at the TeV scale and mediate lepton flavour and CP violating processes at appreciable levels., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex4, references added, typos corrected, sharper discussion of the RGEs given

In models with substructure in the fermionic sector, excited fermion states are expected. Excited leptons could be produced in the interaction of high energy quasi-horizontal cosmic neutrinos with the atmosphere via neutral and charged current processes, $\nu N \to \nu^* X$ and $\nu N \to \ell^* X$. The hadronic component X, and possibly part of the excited lepton decay products, would originate an extensive air shower, observable in large cosmic ray experiments. In this paper, the sensitivity of present and planned very high energy cosmic ray experiments to excited lepton production is estimated and discussed., Comment: v1 - 26 pages,8 figures. v2 - 22 pages, 9 figures. (v2 in single spacing) Changes from v1: - New sensitivity curves, including results for third family excited leptons and double bang signature. - Added LEP results for excited electron indirect search. - Minor text modifications

We reconsider the possible presence of charge and colour breaking minima in the scalar potential of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) and its minimal generalization with R-parity explicitly broken by bilinear terms (RMSSM). First we generalize some results previously derived for the MSSM case. Next we investigate how robust is the MSSM against its RMSSM extension. We examine the constraints on the RMSSM parameter space that follow from the required absence of charge breaking minima in the scalar potential. We point out the possibility of generating non--zero vacuum expectation values for the charged Higgs field which is not present in the MSSM. However, given the smallness of neutrino masses indicated by neutrino oscillation data, we show that the RMSSM represents only a slight perturbation of the MSSM and is thus as safe (or unsafe) as the MSSM itself from unwanted minima in the scalar potential., Comment: Latex 16 pages, 2 figures

The Higgs boson may decay mainly to an invisible mode characterized by missing energy, instead of the Standard Model channels. This is a generic feature of many models where neutrino masses arise from the spontaneous breaking of ungauged lepton number at relatively low scales, such as spontaneously broken R-parity models. Taking these models as framework, we reanalyze this striking suggestion in view of the recent data on neutrino oscillations that indicate non-zero neutrino masses. We show that, despite the smallness of neutrino masses, the Higgs boson can decay mainly to the invisible Goldstone boson associated to the spontaneous breaking of lepton number. This requires a gauge singlet superfield coupling to the electroweak doublet Higgses, as in the Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) scenario for solving the $\mu$-problem. The search for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons should be taken into account in the planning of future accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Next Linear Collider., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures; typos corrected, published version

Recently Babu, Ma and Valle proposed a model of quark and lepton mixing based on $A_4$ symmetry. Within this model the lepton and slepton mixings are intimately related. We perform a numerical study in order to derive the slepton masses and mixings in agreement with present data from neutrino physics. We show that, starting from three-fold degeneracy of the neutrino masses at a high energy scale, a viable low energy neutrino mass matrix can indeed be obtained in agreement with constraints on lepton flavour violating $\mu$ and $\tau$ decays. The resulting slepton spectrum must necessarily include at least one mass below 200 GeV which can be produced at the LHC. The predictions for the absolute Majorana neutrino mass scale $m_0 \geq 0.3$ eV ensure that the model will be tested by future cosmological tests and $\beta\beta_{0\nu}$ searches. Rates for lepton flavour violating processes $\ell_j \to \ell_i + \gamma$ in the range of sensitivity of current experiments are typical in the model, with BR$(\mu \to e \gamma) \gsim 10^{-15}$ and the lower bound BR$(\tau \to \mu \gamma) > 10^{-9}$. To first approximation, the model leads to maximal leptonic CP violation in neutrino oscillations., Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures

We investigate the supersymmetric A_4 model recently proposed by Babu, Ma and Valle. The model naturally gives quasi-degenerate neutrinos that are bi-largely mixed, in agreement with observations. Furthermore, the mixings in the quark sector are constrained to be small, making it a complete model of the flavor structure. Moreover, it has the interesting property that CP-violation in the leptonic sector is maximal (unless vanishing). The model exhibit a close relation between the slepton and lepton sectors and we derive the slepton spectra that are compatible with neutrino data and the present bounds on flavor-violating charged lepton decays. The prediction for the branching ratio of the decay tau -> mu gamma has a lower limit of 10^{-9}. In addition, the overall neutrino mass scale is constrained to be larger than 0.3 eV. Thus, the model will be tested in the very near future., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Talk given at the International Workshop on Astroparticle and High Energy Physics (AHEP), Valencia, Spain, 14-18 Oct. 2003

The simplest unified extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with bilinear R--Parity violation provides a predictive scheme for neutrino masses which can account for the observed atmospheric and solar neutrino parameters. Despite the smallness of neutrino masses R-parity violation is observable at present and future high-energy colliders, providing an unambiguous cross-check of the model., Comment: 18 pages, 38 Figures in Postscript. Talk given at the International Workshop on Astroparticle and High Energy Physics, Valencia, Spain, 14-18 October 2003, to appear in JHEP Proceedings. Uses JHEP3 LaTeX class. Added a reference, 2 Figures and a new subsection

We give an analytical calculation of solar neutrino masses and mixing at one-loop order within bilinear R-parity breaking supersymmetry, and compare our results to the exact numerical calculation. Our method is based on a systematic perturbative expansion of R-parity violating vertices to leading order. We find in general quite good agreement between approximate and full numerical calculation, but the approximate expressions are much simpler to implement. Our formalism works especially well for the case of the large mixing angle MSW solution (LMA-MSW), now strongly favoured by the recent KamLAND reactor neutrino data., Comment: 34 pages, 14 ps figs, some clarifying comments added

Most phenomenological analyses of searches for supersymmetric particles have been performed within the MSSM with real SUSY parameters and conserved R-parity and lepton flavour. Here we summarize recent results obtained in the (s)lepton sector when one of the above assumptions is relaxed., Comment: 10 pages, latex, 4 figures, talk at the International Workshop on Linear Colliders LCWS(2002), August 26-30, 2002, Jeju, Korea

Supersymmetry with bilinear R-parity violation provides a predictive framework for neutrino masses and mixings in agreement with current neutrino oscillation data. The model leads to striking signals at future colliders through the R-parity violating decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle. Here we study charged scalar lepton decays and demonstrate that if the scalar tau is the LSP (i) it will decay within the detector, despite the smallness of the neutrino masses, (ii) the relative ratio of branching ratios Br({tilde tau}_1 --> e sum nu_i)/ Br({tilde tau}_1 --> mu sum nu_i) is predicted from the measured solar neutrino angle, and (iii) scalar muon and scalar electron decays will allow to test the consistency of the model. Thus, bilinear R-parity breaking SUSY will be testable at future colliders also in the case where the LSP is not the neutralino., Comment: 24 pages, 8 ps figs Report-no.: IFIC/02-33 and ZU-TH 11/02

We show how Bilinear R-Parity violation within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model can solve the atmospheric and solar neutrino problems by generating naturally small and hierarchical neutrino masses, together with neutrino mixing angles consistent with experiments. The relation between collider and neutrino physics is emphasized., Comment: 5 pages, including 3 ps-figures. Talk given by M.A.D. at High Energy Physics Workshop, Valdivia, Chile. An erroneous equation (9) was corrected

We consider sparticle decays that violate tau lepton number, motivated by neutrino oscillation data. We work in the context of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (CMSSM), in which the different sleptons have identical masses at the GUT scale, and neutrino Dirac Yukawa couplings mix them. We find that the branching ratio for decay of the heavier neutralino chi_2 to chi + tau mu is enhanced when the LSP mass m_chi = m_stau_1, including the region of CMSSM parameter space where coannihilation keeps the relic chi density within the range preferred by cosmology. Thus chi_2 to chi + tau mu decay may provide a physics opportunity for observing the violation of tau lepton number at the LHC that is complementary to tau to mu + gamma decay. Likewise, chi_2 to chi + e mu decay is also enhanced in the coannihilation region, providing a complement to mu to e + gamma decay., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

The simplest unified extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with bilinear R-Parity violation provides a predictive scheme for neutrino masses which can account for the observed atmospheric and solar neutrino anomalies. Despite the smallness of neutrino masses R-parity violation is observable at present and future high-energy colliders, providing an unambiguous cross-check of the model., Comment: Talk given by JCR at the Corfu Summer Institute, September 2001, Corfu, to appear in the Proceedings. 10 pages, Latex, 16 eps figures

The simplest unified extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with bi-linear R-parity violation naturally predicts a hierarchical neutrino mass spectrum, suitable to explain atmospheric and solar neutrino fluxes. We study whether the individual violation of the lepton numbers L_{e,mu,tau} in the charged sector can lead to measurable rates for BR(mu->e gamma)and $BR(tau-> mu gamma). We find that some of the R-parity violating terms that are compatible with the observed atmospheric neutrino oscillations could lead to rates for mu->e gamma measurable in projected experiments. However, the Delta m^2_{12} obtained for those parameters is too high to be compatible with the solar neutrino data, excluding therefore the possibility of having measurable rates for mu->e gamma in the model., Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. Constraint from solar neutrino data included, conclusions changed respect v1

We re-examine spontaneous $\cp$ violation (SCPV) at the tree level in the context of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) with two Higgs doublets and a gauge singlet field. We analyse the most general Higgs potential without a discrete $Z_3$ symmetry, and derive an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson. We estimate $\epsi_K$ by applying the mass insertion approximation, finding that in order to account for the for the observed $\cp$ violation in the neutral kaon sector a non-trivial flavour structure in the soft-breaking $A$ terms is required and that the upper bound on the lightest Higgs-boson mass becomes stronger. We also discuss the implications of electric dipole moments of the electron and the neutron in SUSY models with SCPV., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, uses JHEP LaTeX. Talk presented by A. Teixeira at the International Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics (HEP2001), Budapest, Hungary, 12-18 July 2001. To appear in the proceedings

We re-examine spontaneous CP violation at the tree level in the context of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) with two Higgs doublets and a gauge singlet field. We analyse the most general Higgs potential without a discrete Z_3 symmetry, and derive an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson consistent with present experimental data. We investigate, in particular, its dependence on the admixture and CP-violating phase of the gauge singlet field, as well as on tan(beta). To assess the viability of the spontaneous CP violation scenario, we estimate epsilon_K by applying the mass insertion approximation. We find that a non-trivial flavour structure in the soft-breaking A terms is required to account for the observed CP violation in the neutral kaon sector. Furthermore, combining the minimisation conditions for spontaneous CP violation with the constraints coming from K0-K0bar mixing, we find that the upper bound on the lightest Higgs-boson mass becomes stronger. We also point out that the electric dipole moments of electron and neutron are a serious challenge for SUSY models with spontaneous CP violation., Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX2e, 5 figures; matches the published version

We review supersymmetry models with and without R-parity. After briefly describing the Minimal Supersymetric Standard Model and its particle content we move to models where R-parity is broken, either spontaneously or explicitly. In this last case we consider the situation where R-parity is broken via bilinear terms in the superpotential. The radiative breaking of these models is described in the context of $b$--$\tau$ and $b$--$\tau$--$t$ unification. Finally we review the phenomenology of these R-parity violating models., Comment: 9 pages, 5 Figures in Postscript. Talk given at the EuroConference on Frontiers in Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 30 September - 5 October, 2000

The simplest unified extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with bi-linear R--Parity violation provides a predictive scheme for neutrino masses which can account for the observed atmospheric and solar neutrino anomalies. Despite the smallness of neutrino masses R-parity violation is observable at present and future high-energy colliders, providing an unambiguous cross-check of the model., Comment: 9 pages, 14 Figures in Postscript. Talk given at the NATO Advanced Study Institute 2000, Cascais, Portugal, 26 June - 7 July, 2000