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The $n$-Queens graph, $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, is the graph obtained from a $n\times n$ chessboard where each of its $n^2$ squares is a vertex and two vertices are adjacent if and only if they are in the same row, column or diagonal. In a previous work the authors have shown that, for $n\ge4$, the least eigenvalue of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ is $-4$ and its multiplicity is $(n-3)^2$. In this paper we prove that $n-4$ is also an eigenvalue of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ and its multiplicity is at least $\frac{n+1}{2}$ or $\frac{n-2}{2}$ when $n$ is odd or even, respectively. Furthermore, when $n$ is odd, it is proved that $-3,-2\ldots,\frac{n-11}{2}$ and $\frac{n-5}{2},\ldots,n-5$ are additional integer eigenvalues of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ and a family of eigenvectors associated with them is presented. Finally, conjectures about the multiplicity of the aforementioned eigenvalues and about the non-existence of any other integer eigenvalue are stated.

The widespread availability of search API's (both free and commercial) brings the promise of increased coverage and quality of search results for metasearch engines, while decreasing the maintenance costs of the crawling and indexing infrastructures. However, merging strategies frequently comprise complex pipelines that require careful tuning, which is often overlooked in the literature. In this work, we describe NeuralSearchX, a metasearch engine based on a multi-purpose large reranking model to merge results and highlight sentences. Due to the homogeneity of our architecture, we could focus our optimization efforts on a single component. We compare our system with Microsoft's Biomedical Search and show that our design choices led to a much cost-effective system with competitive QPS while having close to state-of-the-art results on a wide range of public benchmarks. Human evaluation on two domain-specific tasks shows that our retrieval system outperformed Google API by a large margin in terms of nDCG@10 scores. By describing our architecture and implementation in detail, we hope that the community will build on our design choices. The system is available at https://neuralsearchx.nsx.ai., Comment: published as a full paper at the DESIRES 2022 Conference. 13 pages

Sharp bounds on the least eigenvalue of an arbitrary graph are presented. Necessary and sufficient (just sufficient) conditions for the lower (upper) bound to be attained are deduced using edge clique partitions. As an application, we prove that the least eigenvalue of the $n$-Queens' graph $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ is equal to $-4$ for every $n \ge 4$ and it is also proven that the multiplicity of this eigenvalue is $(n-3)^2$. Additionally, some results on the edge clique partition graph parameters are obtained., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2012.01992

The $n$-Queens' graph, $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, is the graph associated to the $n \times n$ chessboard (a generalization of the classical $8 \times 8$ chessboard), with $n^2$ vertices, each one corresponding to a square of the chessboard. Two vertices of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ are adjacent if and only if they are in the same row, in the same column or in the same diagonal of the chessboard. After a short overview on the main combinatorial properties of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, its spectral properties are investigated. First, a lower bound on the least eigenvalue of an arbitrary graph is obtained using clique edge partitions and a sufficient condition for this lower bound be attained is deduced. For the particular case of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, we prove that for every $n$, its least eigenvalue is not less than $-4$ and it is equal to $-4$ with multiplicity $(n-3)^2$, for every $n \ge 4$. Furthermore, $n-4$ is also an eigenvalue of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, with multiplicity at least $\frac{n-2}{2}$ when $n$ is even and at least $\frac{n+1}{2}$ when $n$ is odd. A conjecture about the integer eigenvalues of $\mathcal{Q}(n)$ is presented. We finish this article with an algorithm to determine an equitable partition of the $n$-Queens' graph, $\mathcal{Q}(n)$, for $n \ge 3$, concluding that such equitable partition has $\frac{(\lceil n/2\rceil+1)\lceil n/2\rceil}{2}$ cells., Comment: 25 pages

Despite the popularity of two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs) with a gauged abelian flavor symmetry, the allowed Yukawa textures have only been partly explored so far. In this work, we classify and compare every anomaly-free instance, in the case of having two generations of right-handed neutrinos and a type-I seesaw mechanism. We found 16 valid implementations in total, out of which 11 agree well with current experimental bounds. To our knowledge, neither of these models have been considered previously., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

In this paper, beam diagnostic and monitoring tools developed by the MAX IV Operations Group are discussed. In particular, new beam position monitoring and accelerator tunes visualization software tools, as well as tools that directly influence the beam quality and stability are introduced. An availability and downtime monitoring application is also presented.

Two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs) with a flavored U(1)' gauge symmetry are a popular extension to the Standard Model (SM), yet they currently lack a complete survey. In this paper, we present a full classification of anomaly-free 2HDMs within the SM fermion content, resulting in a total of eleven distinct models. Four of these are relatively well-studied, while the rest either partially, or entirely, lack previous treatment. We study these textures under a variety of experimental bounds, focusing mainly on the previously unexplored models. This work is intended to act as a catalog to models worth considering in greater detail., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 7 tables; published version

A composite Higgs boson is likely to be accompanied by additional light states generated by the same dynamics. This expectation is substantiated when realising the composite Higgs mechanism by an underlying gauge theory. We review the dynamics of such objects, which may well be the first sign of compositeness at colliders. We also update our previous analysis of the bounds from LHC searches to the latest results, and discuss the projected reach of the High-Luminosity run., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication by Frontiers in Physics, section High-Energy and Astroparticle Physics V2: Typo in eq (5) corrected. Results unchanged

This is the third out of five chapters of the final report [1] of the Workshop on Physics at HL-LHC, and perspectives on HE-LHC [2]. It is devoted to the study of the potential, in the search for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, of the High Luminosity (HL) phase of the LHC, defined as $3~\mathrm{ab}^{-1}$ of data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of $14~\mathrm{TeV}$, and of a possible future upgrade, the High Energy (HE) LHC, defined as $15~\mathrm{ab}^{-1}$ of data at a centre-of-mass energy of $27~\mathrm{TeV}$. We consider a large variety of new physics models, both in a simplified model fashion and in a more model-dependent one. A long list of contributions from the theory and experimental (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb) communities have been collected and merged together to give a complete, wide, and consistent view of future prospects for BSM physics at the considered colliders. On top of the usual standard candles, such as supersymmetric simplified models and resonances, considered for the evaluation of future collider potentials, this report contains results on dark matter and dark sectors, long lived particles, leptoquarks, sterile neutrinos, axion-like particles, heavy scalars, vector-like quarks, and more. Particular attention is placed, especially in the study of the HL-LHC prospects, to the detector upgrades, the assessment of the future systematic uncertainties, and new experimental techniques. The general conclusion is that the HL-LHC, on top of allowing to extend the present LHC mass and coupling reach by $20-50\%$ on most new physics scenarios, will also be able to constrain, and potentially discover, new physics that is presently unconstrained. Moreover, compared to the HL-LHC, the reach in most observables will generally more than double at the HE-LHC, which may represent a good candidate future facility for a final test of TeV-scale new physics., Comment: Report from Working Group 3 on the Physics of the HL-LHC, and Perspectives at the HE-LHC; v2: final version updated with the latest contributions and summaries; 239 pages + refs; v3: typos and character misprint in Fig. 7.2 fixed; v4: added one missing author

We explore the phenomenology of a unique three-Higgs-doublet model based on the single CP symmetry of order 4 (CP4) without any accidental symmetries. The CP4 symmetry is imposed on the scalar potential and Yukawa interactions, strongly shaping both sectors of the model and leading to a very characteristic phenomenology. The scalar sector is analyzed in detail, and in the Yukawa sector we list all possible CP4-symmetric structures which do not run into immediate conflict with experiment, namely, do not lead to massless or mass-degenerate quarks nor to insufficient mixing or CP-violation in the CKM matrix. We show that the parameter space of the model, although very constrained by CP4, is large enough to comply with the electroweak precision data and the LHC results for the 125 GeV Higgs boson phenomenology, as well as to perfectly reproduce all fermion masses, mixing, and CP violation. Despite the presence of flavor changing neutral currents mediated by heavy Higgs scalars, we find through a parameter space scan many points which accurately reproduce the kaon CP-violating parameter $\epsilon_K$ as well as oscillation parameters in K and $B_{(s)}$ mesons. Thus, CP4 offers a novel minimalistic framework for building models with very few assumptions, sufficient predictive power, and rich phenomenology yet to be explored., Comment: 39 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; v2: expanded discussion, extra references, matches published version

A light pseudo-scalar that is copiously produced at the LHC may still be allowed by present searches. While masses above 65 GeV are effectively covered by di-photon searches, the lower mass window can be tested by a new search for boosted di-tau resonances. We test this strategy on a set of composite Higgs models with top partial compositeness, where most models can be probed with an integrated luminosity below 300 fb$^{-1}$., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Additional material starting at page 6 after the reference list. v2: References added, typos fixed, comparison of di-tau and di-photon projected reach included in additional material. v3: discussion of systematic uncertainties and lepton isolation criteria expanded, figure 3 added, version agrees with published article

Composite Higgs Models are often constructed including fermionic top partners with a mass around the TeV scale, with the top partners playing the role of stabilizing the Higgs potential and enforcing partial compositeness for the top quark. A class of models of this kind can be formulated in terms of fermionic strongly coupled gauge theories. A common feature they all share is the presence of specific additional scalar resonances, namely two neutral singlets and a colored octet, described by a simple effective Lagrangian. We study the phenomenology of these scalars, both in a model independent and model dependent way, including the bounds from all the available searches in the relevant channels with di-boson and di-top final states. We develop a generic framework which can be used to constrain any model containing pseudo-scalar singlets or octets. Using it, we find that such signatures provide strong bounds on the compositeness scale complementary to the traditional EWPT and Higgs couplings deviations. In many cases a relatively light scalar can be on the verge of discovery as a first sign of new physics., Comment: 75 pages, 16 figures; version matches the published article. v3: Sign of C_t in Appendix C in Eqs. (C1, C7, C9) corrected. Analysis, results and conclusions of the main article are unchanged

The implementation of maximally restrictive texture zeros in the leptonic sector is investigated in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models with Majorana neutrinos. After analyzing all maximally restrictive pairs of leptonic mass matrices with zero entries, we conclude that there are only four texture combinations that are compatible with observations at 3 sigma confidence level and can be implemented through Abelian symmetries in a two-Higgs-doublet model. The compatibility of these textures with current constraints on lepton-flavor-violating processes is also studied. The ultraviolet completion of these models is discussed in the framework of the seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables; comments and references added, final version to appear in J. Phys. G

Models of compositeness can successfully address the origin of the Higgs boson, as a pseudo Nambu Goldstone boson (pNGB) of a spontaneously broken global symmetry, and flavour physics via the partial compositeness mechanism. If the dynamics is generated by a confining gauge group with fermionic matter content, there exists only a finite set of models that have the correct properties to account for the Higgs and top partners at the same time. In this letter we explore the theory space of this class of models: remarkably, all of them contain - beyond the pNGB Higgs - a pNGB singlet, $a$, which couples to Standard Model gauge bosons via Wess-Zumino-Witten interactions, thus providing naturally a resonance in di-boson at the LHC. With the assumption that the recently reported di-photon excess at 750 GeV at the LHC arises from the a-resonance, we propose a generic approach on how to delineate the best candidate for composite Higgs models with top-partners. We find that constraints from other di-boson searches severely reduce the theory space of the models under consideration. For the models which can explain the di-photon excess, we make precise and testable predictions for the width and other di-boson resonance searches., Comment: 5 pages, 2 Tables; v2: clarifying comments added, typos fixed, references updated

We define a new class of $Z'$ models with neutral flavor-changing interactions at tree level in the down-quark sector. They are related in an exact way to elements of the quark mixing matrix due to an underlying flavored $U(1)'$ gauge symmetry, rendering these models particularly predictive. The same symmetry implies lepton-flavor non-universal couplings, fully determined by the gauge structure of the model. Our models allow to address presently observed deviations from the SM and specific correlations among the new physics contributions to the Wilson coefficients $C_{9,10}^{(\prime) \ell}$ can be tested in $b \to s \ell^+ \ell^-$ transitions. We furthermore predict lepton-universality violations in $Z'$ decays, testable at the LHC., Comment: 15 pages, 3 tables, 2 figures. v2: discussion improved, version accepted in PRD

We present the invited lectures given at the second Asia-Europe-Pacific School of High-Energy Physics (AEPSHEP), which took place in Puri, India in November 2014. The series of lectures aimed at graduate students in particle experiment/theory, covering the very basics of flavor physics and CP violation, some useful theoretical methods such as OPE and effective field theories, and some selected topics of flavour physics in the era of LHC., Comment: 51 pages, 19 figures, paper submitted for publication in a CERN Yellow Report (YR)

The top quark can be naturally singled out from other fermions in the Standard Model due to its large mass, of the order of the electroweak scale. We follow this reasoning in models of pseudo Nambu Goldstone Boson composite Higgs, which may derive from an underlying confining dynamics. We consider a new class of flavour models, where the top quark obtains its mass via partial compositeness, while the lighter fermions acquire their masses by a deformation of the dynamics generated at a high flavour scale. One interesting feature of such scenario is that it can avoid all the flavour constraints without the need of flavour symmetries, since the flavour scale can be pushed high enough. We show that both flavour conserving and violating constraints can be satisfied with top partial compositeness without invoking any flavour symmetry for the up-type sector, in the case of the minimal SO(5)/SO(4) coset with top partners in the four-plet and singlet of SO(4). In the down-type sector, some degree of alignment is required if all down-type quarks are elementary. We show that taking the bottom quark partially composite provides a dynamical explanation for the hierarchy causing this alignment. We present explicit realisations of this mechanism which do not require to include additional bottom partner fields. Finally, these conclusions are generalised to scenarios with non-minimal cosets and top partners in larger representations., Comment: 37 pages, 1 figure, v2: typos fixed, Eq. (3.44) added, version corresponds to published article in JHEP

We derive the necessary conditions to build a class of invisible axion models with Flavor Changing Neutral Currents at tree-level controlled by the fermion mixing matrices and present an explicit model implementation. A horizontal Peccei-Quinn symmetry provides a solution to the strong CP problem via the Peccei-Quinn mechanism and predicts a cold dark mater candidate, the invisible axion or familon. The smallness of active neutrino masses can be explained via a type I seesaw mechanism, providing a dynamical origin for the heavy seesaw scale. The possibility to avoid the domain wall problem stands as one of the most interesting features of the type of models considered. Experimental limits relying on the axion-photon coupling, astrophysical considerations and familon searches in rare kaon and muon decays are discussed., Comment: 7 pages, 1 table, 1 figure. Discussion extended, references added. Matching the journal version

We build a class of invisible axion models with tree-level Flavor Changing Neutral Currents completely controlled by the fermion mixing matrices. The scalar sector of these models contains three-Higgs doublets and a complex scalar gauge singlet, with the same fermionic content than the Standard Model. A horizontal Peccei-Quinn symmetry provides a solution to the strong CP problem and predicts the existence of a very light and weakly coupled pseudo-Goldstone boson, the invisible axion or familon. A phenomenological analysis is performed taking into account familon searches in rare kaon and muon decays, astrophysical considerations and axion searches via axion-photon conversion. Drastic differences are found in the axion properties of different models due to the strong hierarchy of the CKM matrix, making some of the models considered much more constrained than others. We also obtain that a rich variety of these models avoid the domain wall problem. A possible mechanism to protect the solution to the strong CP problem against gravitational effects is also discussed., Comment: 64 pages, 9 tables, 3 figures. Discussion extended and references added. Matching the journal version

We discuss the possibility of having a non-minimal scalar sector at the weak scale within the framework of invisible axion models. To frame our discussion we consider an extension of the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky invisible axion model with two additional Higgs doublets blind under the Peccei-Quinn symmetry. Due to mixing effects among the scalar fields, it is possible to obtain a rich scalar sector at the weak scale in certain decoupling limits of the theory. In particular, this framework provides an ultraviolet completion of the so-called aligned two-Higgs-doublet model and solves the strong CP problem. The axion properties and the smallness of active neutrino masses are also discussed., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. Discussion improved, references added. Matching the journal version

In an attempt at explaining the observed neutrino mass-squared differences and leptonic mixing, lepton mass matrices with zero textures have been widely studied. In the weak basis where the charged lepton mass matrix is diagonal, various neutrino mass matrices with two zeros have been shown to be consistent with the current experimental data. Using the canonical and Smith normal form methods, we construct the minimal Abelian symmetry realizations of these phenomenological two-zero neutrino textures. The implementation of these symmetries in the context of the seesaw mechanism for Majorana neutrino masses is also discussed., Comment: 11 pages; references added, version to appear in Nuclear Physics B

To study a flavour model with a non-minimal Higgs sector one must first define the symmetries of the fields; then identify what types of vacua exist and how they may break the symmetries; and finally determine whether the remnant symmetries are compatible with the experimental data. Here we address all these issues in the context of flavour models with any number of Higgs doublets. We stress the importance of analysing the Higgs vacuum expectation values that are pseudo-invariant under the generators of all subgroups. It is shown that the only way of obtaining a physical CKM mixing matrix and, simultaneously, non-degenerate and non-zero quark masses is requiring the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs fields to break completely the full flavour group, except possibly for some symmetry belonging to baryon number. The application of this technique to some illustrative examples, such as the flavour groups Delta(27), A4 and S3, is also presented., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, title and abstract changed, comments and references added; matches version to appear in The European Physical Journal C

We study the cosmological evolution of asymmetries in the two-Higgs doublet extension of the Standard Model, prior to the electroweak phase transition. If Higgs flavour-exchanging interactions are sufficiently slow, then a relative asymmetry among the Higgs doublets corresponds to an effectively conserved quantum number. Since the magnitude of the Higgs couplings depends on the choice of basis in the Higgs doublet space, we attempt to formulate basis-independent out-of-equilibrium conditions. We show that an initial asymmetry between the Higgs scalars, which could be generated by CP violation in the Higgs sector, will be transformed into a baryon asymmetry by the sphalerons, without the need of $B-L$ violation. This novel mechanism of baryogenesis through (split) Higgsogenesis is exemplified with simple scenarios based on the out-of-equilibrium decay of heavy singlet scalar fields into the Higgs doublets., Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures

A general method for classifying the possible quark models of a multi-Higgs-doublet model, in the presence of Abelian symmetries, is presented. All the possible sets of textures that can be present in a given sector are shown, thus turning the determination of the flavor models into a combinatorial problem. Several symmetry implementations are studied for two and three Higgs doublet models. Some models implementations are explored in great detail, with a particular emphasis on models known as Branco-Grimus-Lavoura and nearest-neighbour-nnteraction. Several considerations on the flavor changing neutral currents of multi-Higgs models are also given., Comment: Small aesthetic corrections matching the publish version

We study neutrino masses and mixing in the context of flavor models with A4 symmetry, three scalar doublets in the triplet representation, and three lepton families. We show that there is no representation assignment that yields a dimension-five mass operator consistent with experiment. We then consider a type-I seesaw with three heavy right-handed neutrinos, explaining in detail why it fails, and showing with a numerical example that agreement with the present neutrino oscillation data can be recovered with the inclusion of dimension-three heavy neutrino mass terms that break softly the A4 symmetry., Comment: 10 pages, RevTex, 3 figures. v2: much expanded section on softly broken A4; refs added

We consider the quark sector of theories containing three scalar SU(2)_L doublets in the triplet representation of A4 (or of S4) and three generations of quarks in arbitrary A4 (or S4) representations. We show that, for all possible choices of quark field representations and for all possible alignments of the Higgs vacuum expectation values that can constitute global minima of the scalar potential, it is not possible to obtain simultaneously non-vanishing quark masses and a non-vanishing CP-violating phase in the CKM quark mixing matrix. As a result, in this minimal form, models with three scalar fields in the triplet representation of A4 or of S4 cannot be extended to the quark sector in a way consistent with experiment., Comment: 7 pages; references added and detailed physical constraints included

A novel contribution to the leptonic CP asymmetries in type II seesaw leptogenesis scenarios is obtained for the cases in which flavor effects are relevant for the dynamics of leptogenesis. In the so-called flavoured leptogenesis regime, the interference between the tree-level amplitude of the scalar triplet decaying into two leptons and the one-loop wave-function correction with leptons in the loop, leads to a new nonvanishing CP asymmetry contribution. The latter conserves total lepton number but violates lepton flavour. Cases in which this novel contribution may be dominant in the generation of the baryon asymmetry are briefly discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; typos corrected, comments added, matches published version

These are the proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and Consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology, held 30 June 2012 - 4 July 2012, Dortmund, Germany., Comment: Order 400 pages, several figures including the group picture v2: corrected author list and contribution

We consider a simple extension of the Standard Model by adding two Higgs triplets and a complex scalar singlet to its particle content. In this framework, the CP symmetry is spontaneously broken at high energies by the complex vacuum expectation value of the scalar singlet. Such a breaking leads to leptonic CP violation at low energies. The model also exhibits an $A_4\times Z_4$ flavour symmetry which, after being spontaneously broken at a high-energy scale, yields a tribimaximal pattern in the lepton sector. We consider small perturbations around the tribimaximal vacuum alignment condition in order to generate nonzero values of $\theta_{13}$, as required by the latest neutrino oscillation data. It is shown that the value of $\theta_{13}$ recently measured by the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment can be accommodated in our framework together with large Dirac-type CP violation. We also address the viability of leptogenesis in our model through the out-of-equilibrium decays of the Higgs triplets. In particular, the CP asymmetries in the triplet decays into two leptons are computed and it is shown that the effective leptogenesis and low-energy CP-violating phases are directly linked., Comment: 17 pages; 6 figures; references added and typos corrected. Final version to appear in PRD

The main goals of the first "Workshop on FLAvor SYmmetries and consequences in accelerators and cosmology" (FLASY) was to summarize the theoretical status of flavor symmetries, bringing together young researchers in the field to stimulate discussions and new collaborations, with the aim of investigating possible new physics scenarios to be tested at the LHC, as well as in future neutrino, cosmology experiments and dark matter searches., Comment: Contributions of the 1st Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology 11 - 14 July 2011, Valencia (Spain), 208 pages

In the two Higgs doublet model, natural flavour conservation can be achieved through the use of a discrete Z2 symmetry. A less restrictive condition is the requirement of alignment in the Yukawa sector. So far, alignment has been an anzatz, not rooted in a specific model. In this letter we present a model for alignment, which starts with 2+N Higgs doublets, with natural flavour conservation imposed by a discrete symmetry. Only two of these scalars couple to the fermions, the other N scalars are in a hidden sector. Assuming that the two scalar doublets coupled to fermions are heavy, their decoupling leads to an effective Yukawa interaction. The latter connects the fermions and the scalars of the hidden sector, and exhibits the same Yukawa coupling matrix for each of the N scalars., Comment: 7 pages

Tribimaximal leptonic mixing is a mass-independent mixing scheme consistent with the present solar and atmospheric neutrino data. By conveniently decomposing the effective neutrino mass matrix associated to it, we derive generic predictions in terms of the parameters governing the neutrino masses. We extend this phenomenological analysis to other mass-independent mixing schemes which are related to the tribimaximal form by a unitary transformation. We classify models that produce tribimaximal leptonic mixing through the group structure of their family symmetries in order to point out that there is often a direct connection between the group structure and the phenomenological analysis. The type of seesaw mechanism responsible for neutrino masses plays a role here, as it restricts the choices of family representations and affects the viability of leptogenesis. We also present a recipe to generalize a given tribimaximal model to an associated model with a different mass-independent mixing scheme, which preserves the connection between the group structure and phenomenology as in the original model. This procedure is explicitly illustrated by constructing toy models with the transpose tribimaximal, bimaximal, golden ratio, and hexagonal leptonic mixing patterns., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, final version published in Phys. Rev. D

It is shown that type I seesaw models based on the standard model Lagrangian extended with three heavy Majorana right-handed fields do not have leptogenesis in leading order, if the symmetries of mass matrices are also the residual symmetry of the Lagrangian. In particular, flavor models that lead to a mass-independent leptonic mixing have a vanishing leptogenesis CP asymmetry. Based on symmetry arguments, we prove that in these models the Dirac-neutrino Yukawa coupling combinations relevant for leptogenesis are diagonal in the physical basis where the charged leptons and heavy Majorana neutrinos are diagonal., Comment: 5 pages; a few comments added; final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D

We investigate the viability of thermal leptogenesis in type-I seesaw models with leptonic flavour symmetries that lead to tribimaximal neutrino mixing. We consider an effective theory with an A4 x Z3 x Z4 symmetry, which is spontaneously broken at a scale much higher than the electroweak scale. At the high scale, leptonic Yukawa interactions lead to exact tribimaximal mixing and the heavy Majorana neutrino mass spectrum is exactly degenerate. In this framework, leptogenesis becomes viable once this degeneracy is lifted either by renormalization group effects or by a soft breaking of the A4 symmetry. The implications for low-energy neutrino physics are discussed., Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures; final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D

We analyze the quantum description of a free scalar field on the circle in the presence of an explicitly time dependent potential, also interpretable as a time dependent mass. Classically, the field satisfies a linear wave equation of the form $\ddot{\xi}-\xi"+f(t)\xi=0$. We prove that the representation of the canonical commutation relations corresponding to the particular case of a massless free field ($f=0$) provides a unitary implementation of the dynamics for sufficiently general mass terms, $f(t)$. Furthermore, this representation is uniquely specified, among the class of representations determined by $S^1$-invariant complex structures, as the only one allowing a unitary dynamics. These conclusions can be extended in fact to fields on the two-sphere possessing axial symmetry. This generalizes a uniqueness result previously obtained in the context of the quantum field description of the Gowdy cosmologies, in the case of linear polarization and for any of the possible topologies of the spatial sections., Comment: 13 pages, typos corrected, version accepted for publication in Physical Review D

We investigate the physical meaning of some of the texture zeros which appear in most of the Ansatze on leptonic masses and their mixing. It is shown that starting from arbitrary lepton mass matrices and making suitable weak basis transformations one can obtain some of these sets of zeros, which therefore have no physical content. We then analyse four-zero texture Ansatze where the charged lepton and neutrino mass matrices have the same structure. The four texture zeros cannot be obtained simultaneously through weak basis transformations, so these Ansatze do have physical content. We show that they can be separated into four classes and study the physical implications of each class., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; a few comments added and the full complex case for all classes is now presented; final version to appear in Phys. Lett. B