Search

Motivated by the LHCb measurement of the hyperon decay mode $\Sigma^+\to p\mu^+\mu^-$ and prospects for improvement, we revisit the estimates for the rate and muon forward-backward asymmetry within the standard model and beyond. The standard model prediction has a fourfold ambiguity, and we suggest ways to resolve it with other measurements, including possible studies of $\Sigma^+\to p e^+e^-$ in the BESIII and LHCb experiments. We use the recent BESIII measurements of $\Sigma^+\to p \gamma$ and $\Sigma^+\to N\pi$ to reduce the uncertainty in the long-distance contribution to $\Sigma^+\to p\mu^+\mu^-$. Beyond the standard model, we consider a general effective Hamiltonian at low energy with ten operators whose Wilson coefficients parametrize the new physics. We derive expressions for the $\Sigma^+\to p\mu^+\mu^-$ rate and the associated muon forward-backward asymmetry in terms of these coefficients. Finally, we implement the existing constraints from kaon decays, pointing out the extent to which this hyperon mode can constrain the directions in parameter space to which the kaons are not sensitive., Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, text & figures improved, references added, main conclusions unchanged

The flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) decays of charmed hadrons with missing energy $(\not\!\!E)$ can serve as potentially promising hunting grounds for hints of new physics, as the standard-model backgrounds are very suppressed. A few of such processes have been searched for in recent experiments, specifically $D^0\to\,\not\!\!E$ by Belle and $D^0\to\pi^0$$\not\!\!E$ and $\Lambda_c^+\to p\!\not\!\!E$ by BESIII, resulting in upper bounds on their branching fractions. We consider them to illuminate the possible contributions of the quark transition $c\to u\!\not\!\!E$ with a couple of invisible spinless bosons carrying away the missing energy, assuming that they are not charge conjugates of each other and hence can have unequal masses. We find that these data are complementary in that they constrain different sets of the underlying operators and do not cover the same ranges of the bosons' masses, but there are regions not yet accessible. From the allowed parameter space, we show that other $D$-meson decays, such as $D\to\rho$$\not\!\!E$, and the charmed-baryon ones $\Xi_c\to(\Sigma,\Lambda)$$\not\!\!E$ can have sizable branching fractions and therefore may offer further probes of the new-physics interactions. We point out the importance of $D^0\to\gamma\!\not\!\!E$ which are not yet searched for but could access parts of the parameter space beyond the reach of the other modes. In addition, we look at a scenario where the invisibles are instead fermionic, namely sterile neutrinos, and a scalar leptoquark mediates $c\to u\!\not\!\!E$. We discuss the implications of the aforesaid bounds for this model. The predictions we make for the various charmed-hadron decays in the different scenarios may be testable in the near future by BESIII and Belle II., Comment: 26 pages, 38 figures, Published version

Hyperon nonleptonic decays that change strangeness by two units, such as $\Xi\to N\pi$ and $\Omega^-\to nK^-,\Lambda\pi^-,\Sigma^{(*)}\pi$, are highly suppressed in the standard model. Only a few of them have been searched for to date, leading to experimental upper bounds which are many orders of magnitude above the expectations of the standard model. This leaves ample opportunity to look for indications of new physics in these processes. At the same time, most, but not all, $\Delta S=2$ interactions beyond the standard model are severely constrained by kaon-mixing data. We present two scenarios where new physics satisfying the kaon-mixing constraints can enhance the hyperon decay rates to levels that can be probed in future quests by BESIII and LHCb and at the proposed Super Tau-Charm Factory. Both scenarios require significant fine-tuning., Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, slightly expanded, in line with journal version

We present a concise overview on $CP$ violation in hyperon decays, including past, present, and future efforts to search for it. We highlight in particular the most recent results of the BESIII experiment using a quantum-entangled pair of hyperon and antihyperon produced by a charmonium resonance formed in $e^+e^-$ annihilation. The subsequent nonleptonic decays of these hyperon pairs allow for the simultaneous determination of various parameters pertaining to $CP$ violation in the decays. We compare the reported data with the corresponding current predictions for $CP$ asymmetries within the standard model of particle physics. Moreover, we touch on how much these asymmetries might be enhanced by possible new physics beyond the standard model. We also comment briefly on the importance of the proposed super tau-charm factories in future quests for hyperon $CP$-violation., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, slightly expanded version of invited Perspective paper published in Science Bulletin (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2022.08.012)

Non-leptonic two-body weak decays of baryons are an important tool to probe the combined charge-conjugation--parity symmetry (CP) violation. We explain why the decays of strange baryons provide complementary information to the decays of kaons. A model-independent parameterization of the non-leptonic decays of the $\Lambda$- and $\Xi$-baryons is reviewed, and the amplitudes are updated according to the latest experimental input. We demonstrate the potential of performing precision tests in strange baryon decays at the next generation electron-positron $J/\psi$ factories with luminosity of $10^{35}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$. The copious production of spin-entangled hyperon-antihyperon pairs via the $J/\psi$ resonance allows for a direct comparison of the baryon and antibaryon decay properties. Using analytic approximations and numerical calculations, we study the quantitative impact of spin correlations and polarization in such CP tests. We show that by using a longitudinally-polarized electron beam, the statistical precision of the CP tests can be significantly improved compared to the experiments without polarized beams. Furthermore, we map out further directions for possible improvements, like analysis of incompletely reconstructed events or a combination of the isospin related processes. Altogether, these methods are promising for the observation of a statistically significant CP-violation signal with a strength corresponding to the standard model predictions. Our conclusions should encourage more detailed feasibility studies, including optimisation of the measurement methods and studies of systematic effects. Finally, our results call for an update of the theory predictions with increased precision., Comment: contribution to Snowmass 2021, 59 pages, 18 figures, 7 tables

We investigate the possibility that scalar leptoquarks generate consequential effects on the flavor-changing neutral-current decays of charmed hadrons into final states with missing energy ($\not\!\!E$) carried away by either standard model or sterile neutrinos. We focus on scenarios involving the $R_2$, $\tilde R_2$, and $\bar S_1$ leptoquarks and take into account various pertinent constraints, learning that meson-mixing ones and those inferred from collider searches can be of significance. We find in particular that the branching fractions of charmed meson decays $D\to M\!\not\!\!E$, $M=\pi,\rho$, and $D_s\to K^{(*)}\!\not\!\!E$ and singly charmed baryon decays $\Lambda_c^+\to p\!\not\!\!E$ and $\Xi_c\to\Sigma\!\not\!\!E$ are presently allowed to attain the $10^{-7}$-$10^{-6}$ levels if induced by $R_2$ and that the impact of $\tilde R_2$ is comparatively much less. In contrast, the contributions of $\bar S_1$, which couples to right-handed up-type quarks and the sterile neutrinos, could lead to branching fractions as high as order $10^{-3}$. This suggests that these charmed hadron decays might be within reach of the BESIII and Belle II experiments or future super charm-tau factories and could serve as potentially promising probes of leptoquark interactions with sterile neutrinos., Comment: 16 pages, no figure, comments & references added, matches journal version

The latest search for the rare kaon decay $K^+\to\pi^+\nu\bar\nu$ by the NA62 experiment has produced evidence for it with a branching fraction consistent with the prediction of the standard model. The new result implies that in this decay, with the $\nu\bar\nu$ pair appearing as missing energy ($\not\!\!E$), the room for possible new physics is no longer sizable and that therefore its contributions to underlying four-particle $s\to d\!\not\!\!E$ operators with parity-even $ds$ quark bilinears have become significantly constrained. Nevertheless, we point out that appreciable manifestations from beyond the standard model induced by the corresponding operators with mainly parity-odd $ds$ quark bilinears could still occur in $K\to\pi\pi\!\not\!\!E$ modes, on which there are only minimal empirical details at present. We find in particular that new physics of this kind may enhance the branching fraction of $K_L\to\pi^0\pi^0\!\not\!\!E$ to values reaching its current experimental upper limit and the branching fractions of $K^+\to\pi^+\pi^0\!\not\!\!E$ and $K_L\to\pi^+\pi^-\!\not\!\!E$ to the levels of $10^{-7}$ and $10^{-6}$, respectively. Thus, quests for these decays in existing kaon facilities such as KOTO and NA62 or future ones could provide valuable information complementary to that gained from $K\to\pi\!\not\!\!E$., Comment: 15 pages, no figure, kaon mixing constraint included, references added, matches publication

We explore kaon decays with missing energy carried away by a massless dark photon, $\bar\gamma$, assumed to have flavor-changing dipole-type couplings to the $d$ and $s$ quarks. We consider in particular the neutral-kaon modes $K_L\to\gamma\bar\gamma$ and $K_L\to\pi^0\gamma\bar\gamma$ and their $K_S$ counterparts, as well as the charged-kaon channel $K^+\to\pi^+\gamma\bar\gamma$, each of which also has an ordinary photon, $\gamma$, in the final state. In addition, we look at $K_{L,S}\to\pi^+\pi^-\bar\gamma$ and $K^+\to\pi^+\pi^0\bar\gamma$. Interestingly, the same $ds\bar\gamma$ interactions give rise to the flavor-changing two-body decays of hyperons with missing energy and are subject to model-independent constraints that can be inferred from the existing hyperon data. Taking this into account, we obtain branching fractions ${\cal B}(K_L\to\gamma\bar\gamma)$ and ${\cal B}(K_L\to\pi^0\gamma\bar\gamma)$ which can be as high as $10^{-3}$ and $10^{-6}$, respectively, one or both of which may be within the sensitivity reach of the KOTO experiment. Furthermore, we find that ${\cal B}(K^+\to\pi^+\gamma\bar\gamma)$ and ${\cal B}(K^+\to\pi^+\pi^0\bar\gamma)$ are allowed to be maximally of order $10^{-6}$ as well, which may be probed by NA62. Complementarily, the hyperon modes can have rates which are potentially accessible by BESIII. Thus, these ongoing experiments could soon be able to offer significant tests on the existence of the massless dark photon., Comment: 11 pages, no figure, slightly revised, references added, matches publication

A massless dark photon could affect standard-model particles only via higher-dimensional operators and would therefore have eluded recent searches for its massive counterpart, which were based on the assumption that the latter had renormalizable interactions with known fermions due to gauge kinetic mixing. In this study we entertain the possibility that the massless dark photon has nonnegligible flavor-changing dipole-type couplings with the $u$ and $c$ quarks, giving rise to the decays of charmed hadrons into a lighter hadron plus missing energy carried away by the dark photon. We propose to investigate decays of this kind, especially those in which the parents are the charmed pseudoscalar-mesons $D^+$, $D^0$, and $D_s^+$ and singly charmed baryons $\Lambda_c^+$, $\Xi_c^+$, and $\Xi_c^0$. Employing a simplified new-physics model satisfying the relevant constraints, we find that the branching fractions of these processes could be as large as several times $10^{-5}$. This suggests that one or more of them might in the near future fall within reach of the ongoing Belle II and BESIII experiments. Since the same underlying operators are responsible for all of these transitions, detecting one of them automatically implies particular predictions for the others, allowing for additional experimental checks on the massless-dark-photon scenario., Comment: 15 pages, no figure, minor errors corrected, matches publication

Rare kaon decays with missing energy, $K\to\pi$+$E_{\rm miss}$, have received considerable attention because their rates can be calculated quite precisely within the standard model (SM), where the missing energy is carried away by an undetected neutrino-antineutrino pair. Beyond the SM, clean theoretical predictions can also be made regarding these processes. One such prediction is the so-called Grossman-Nir (GN) bound, which states that the branching fractions of the $K_L$ and $K^+$ modes must satisfy the relation $\mathcal{B}(K_L\to\pi^0$+$E_{\rm miss})\lesssim4.3\,\mathcal{B}(K^+\to\pi^+$+$E_{\rm miss})$ and applies within and beyond the SM, as long as the hadronic transitions change isospin by $\Delta I=1/2$. In this paper we extend the study of these modes to include new-physics scenarios where the missing energy is due to unobserved lepton-number-violating neutrino pairs, invisible light new scalars, or pairs of such scalars. The new interactions are assumed to arise above the electroweak scale and described by an effective field theory. We explore the possibility of violating the GN bound through $\Delta I=3/2$ contributions to the $K\to\pi$ transitions within these scenarios and find that large violations are only possible in the case where the missing energy is due to an invisible light new scalar., Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, slightly expanded, typos corrected, matches publication

The ratio $\mathcal{B}(K_L\to\pi^0\nu\bar\nu)/\mathcal{B}(K^+\to\pi^+\nu\bar\nu)$ of the branching fractions of kaon decays $K_L\to\pi^0\nu\bar\nu$ and $K^+\to\pi^+\nu\bar\nu$ has a maximum of about 4.3 under the assumption that the underlying interactions change isospin by $\Delta I=1/2$. This is referred to as the Grossman-Nir (GN) bound, which is respected by the standard model (SM) and by many scenarios beyond it. Recent preliminary results of the KOTO and NA62 Collaborations searching for these kaon modes seem to imply a violation of this bound. The KOTO findings also suggest that $\mathcal{B}(K_L\to\pi^0\nu\bar\nu)$ could be much larger, by nearly two orders of magnitude, than that predicted in the SM. In this work we study the possibility of violating the GN bound in an effective field theory approach with only SM fields. We show that the bound holds, in addition to the original GN scenarios, whether or not the kaon decays conserve lepton number. We demonstrate that the inclusion of $\Delta I=3/2$ operators can lead to a violation of the GN bound and illustrate with an example of how the KOTO numbers may be reached with a new physics scale of order tens of GeV., Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, minor changes for typos

We entertain the possibility that scalar leptoquarks (LQs) generate consequential effects on the strangeness-changing decays of hyperons and kaons involving missing energy carried away by a pair of invisible fermions. Although such processes have suppressed rates in the standard model (SM), they could get significant enhancement in the presence of the LQs. In order to respect the available data on the kaon modes $K\to\pi\nu\bar\nu$ and increase the rates of the hyperon decays substantially at the same time, two different scalar LQs are needed. If the LQs have Yukawa couplings solely to SM fermions, we find that the hyperon rates cannot attain values within the reach of ongoing or near-future experiments because of the combined constraints from the measurements on kaon mixing and lepton-flavor-violating processes. However, if we include light right-handed neutrinos in the LQ interactions, their contributions can evade the leading restrictions and translate into hyperon rates which may be big enough to be probed by upcoming searches. Thus, these hyperon modes could provide a new avenue for seeking sterile neutrinos., Comment: 17 pages, no figure, expanded, matches publication

That massless dark photons could exist and have flavor-changing magnetic-dipole interactions with down-type light quarks is an attractive possibility which may be realized in various new-physics scenarios. It is potentially testable not only in kaon processes but also via two-body hyperon decays involving missing energy carried away by the massless dark photon. We explore the latter within a simplified model approach and take into account constraints from the kaon sector. We find that the branching fractions of some of these hyperon modes are allowed to be as high as a few times $10^{-4}$. Such numbers are likely to be within the sensitivity reaches of ongoing experiments like BESIII and future ones at super charm-tau factories., Comment: 8 pages, no figure, somewhat expanded, references added, matches publication

We consider the strangeness-changing decays of hyperons into another baryon and missing energy which is carried away by a pair of invisible spinless bosons. Pursuing a model-independent approach and taking into account constraints from the kaon sector, we find that these hyperon modes can have large rates, especially if the bosons have parity-odd effective couplings to light quarks. In that case the rates could attain values which are well within the expected reach of the currently running BESIII experiment. Since the branching fractions of hyperon decays with missing energy are tiny in the standard model, observing them at ongoing or upcoming facilities would likely be indicative of new physics. In addition, we show that the kaon restrictions may be weakened or absent if the bosons have nonnegligible mass. Specifically, if the bosons interact with the quarks solely via an axial-vector current, in the mass region from about 115 to 175 MeV the constraints from rare kaon decays no longer apply and a couple of the hyperon modes become the only direct probes of such interactions. We also make comparisons with the previously explored new-physics scenario where the invisible particles are spin-1/2 fermions., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, slightly modified, matches journal version

We consider lepton-flavor violation in strangeness changing ($|\Delta S|=1$) semileptonic $\tau$-lepton decays arising from new physics encoded in a standard model effective Lagrangian. Its invariance under the standard model gauge group entails the relevance of other processes which can serve as complementary probes of the new physics operators. We show in particular that for some of them the bounds implied by current data on the rare kaon decays involving a neutrino pair, $K\to \pi\nu\bar\nu$, are stronger than the existing limits from direct searches for lepton-flavor-violating semileptonic $\tau$ decays. We discuss additional processes affected by the same operators and find that certain leptonic charged-meson decays also provide stricter constraints on a few more of them. Upcoming results of ongoing experiments such as Belle II and NA62 will further test the new physics parameter space., Comment: 16 pages, no figure, slightly expanded, references added, matches journal version

Studies of lepton-flavor violation in strangeness-changing ($|\Delta S|=1$) transitions have a~long tradition in the kaon sector where they provide some of the strongest limits on physics beyond the standard model. Recent hints of violation of lepton-flavor universality in $B$-meson decays have revived interest in lepton-flavor violation as the two phenomena appear simultaneously in many extensions of the standard model. At the same time, the LHCb experiment has produced new results for the hyperon process $\Sigma^+\to p\mu^+\mu^-$ and may be in a position to study other rare hyperon decay modes. With this in mind, we investigate $|\Delta S|=1$ hyperon decays into different-flavor lepton pairs $e^\pm\mu^\mp$ in a model-independent manner and contrast the coverage of parameter space that can be achieved with what is known from kaon modes. We include a comparison with selected two-body leptonic decays of charged mesons, with $K\to \pi\nu\bar\nu$ modes, with $\mu\to e$ conversion, and with lepton-flavor violating decays of other neutral mesons, all of which constrain the same parameter space in a complementary~way., Comment: 30 pages, 4 figures, somewhat expanded, typos corrected, references added, matches publication

We explore the strangeness-changing decays of the lightest hyperons into another baryon plus missing energy within and beyond the standard model (SM). In the SM these processes arise from the loop-induced quark transition $s\to d\nu\bar\nu$ and their branching fractions are estimated to be less than $10^{-11}$. In the presence of new physics (NP) the rates of these hyperon decays with missing energy could increase significantly with respect to the SM expectations because of modifications to the SM process or contributions from additional modes with new invisible particles. Adopting a model-independent approach and taking into account constraints from the kaon sector, we find that the current data on $K\to\pi\nu\bar\nu$ do not permit sizable NP impact on the hyperon decays via underlying operators having mainly parity-even quark parts. In contrast, NP operators with primarily parity-odd quark parts are much less restricted by the existing bounds on $K\to\rm invisible$ and $K\to\pi\pi\nu\bar\nu$ and consequently could produce substantially amplifying effects on the hyperon modes. Their NP-enhanced branching fractions could reach levels potentially observable in the ongoing BESIII experiment., Comment: 16 pages, no figure, slightly enlarged, references added, typos corrected, matches publication

The anomalous results of recent measurements on various $b\to s\mu^+\mu^-$ processes could be initial evidence of physics beyond the standard model (SM). Assuming this to be the case, we entertain the possibility that the underlying new physics also affects the rare nonleptonic decays of the $\bar B_s^0$ meson. We consider in particular new physics arising from the interactions of a heavy $Z'$ boson and investigate their influence on the decay modes $\bar B_s^0\to(\eta,\eta',\phi)\omega$, which receive sizable QCD- and electroweak-penguin contributions. These decays are not yet observed, and their rates are estimated to be relatively small in the SM. Taking into account the pertinent constraints, we find that the $Z'$ effects can greatly increase the rates of $\bar B_s^0\to(\eta,\phi)\omega$, by as much as two orders of magnitude, with respect to the SM expectations. We have previously shown that $\bar B_s^0\to(\eta,\phi)\pi^0$, with similarly suppressed SM rates, could also undergo substantial $Z'$-induced enhancement. These rare modes can therefore serve as complementary probes of the potential new physics which may be responsible for the $b\to s\mu^+\mu^-$ anomalies., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, slightly expanded, matches publication

The LHCb Collaboration has recently reported evidence for the rare hyperon decay $\Sigma^+\to p\mu^+\mu^-$ that is consistent with the standard model expectation. Motivated by this new result we revisit the calculation of this mode including both long and short distance contributions. In the standard model this mode is completely dominated by long distance physics and thus subject to large uncertainties. We present a range of predictions for the rate, the dimuon invariant mass spectrum, and a muon polarization asymmetry that covers these uncertainties as well as known constraints. We study the interplay between short and long distance contributions which could result in additional asymmetries, but we find that they are negligible within the standard model. We propose a parameterization of these asymmetries in terms of a couple of constants that can arise from new physics., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, somewhat expanded, remarks on e+e- mode & references added, matches publication

The present data on a number of observables in $b\to s\mu^+\mu^-$ processes manifest some tensions with the standard model (SM). Assuming that these anomalies have a new physics origin, we consider the possibility that a $Z'$ boson is responsible for them. We further assume that its interactions with quarks also affect rare nonleptonic decays of the $\bar B_s^0$ meson which are purely isospin-violating and tend to be dominated by electroweak-penguin contributions, namely $\bar B_s^0\to(\eta,\eta',\phi)(\pi^0,\rho^0)$. Most of these decays are not yet observed, and their rates are expected to be relatively small in the SM. Taking into account constraints from various measurements, including the evidence for $\bar B_s^0\to\phi\rho^0$ recently seen by LHCb, we find that the $Z'$ effects on $\bar B_s^0\to(\eta,\phi)\pi^0$ can make their rates bigger than the SM predictions by up to an order of magnitude. For $\bar B_s^0\to\eta'\pi^0,(\eta,\eta')\rho^0$, the enhancement factors are at most a few. Since the $Z'$ contributions to the different channels depend on different combinations of its couplings, observations of more of these decays in future experiments, along with improved $b\to s\mu^+\mu^-$ data, will probe this $Z'$ scenario more thoroughly., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, somewhat revised, comments & references added, matches publication

A recent LHCb measurement of the ratio $R_{K^*}$ of $B\to K^*\mu\bar\mu$ to $B\to K^*e\bar e$ branching fractions has produced results in mild tension with the standard model (SM). This adds to the known anomalies also induced by the $b\to s\ell\bar\ell$ transitions, resulting in a confidence level now as high as 4$\sigma$. We analyze whether the parameter space preferred by all the $b\to s\ell\bar\ell$ anomalies is compatible with a heavy $Z'$ boson assumed to have nonuniversal couplings to SM fermions dictated by the principle of minimal flavor violation (MFV). We deal with the MFV couplings of the $Z'$ to leptons in the context of the type-I seesaw scenario for generating neutrino masses. The flavor-violating $Z'$ interactions are subject to stringent constraints from other processes, especially $B$-$\bar B$ mixing, charged lepton decays $\ell_i\to\ell_j\ell_k\bar\ell_l$ occurring at tree level, and the loop induced $\mu\to e\gamma$. We perform scans for parameter regions allowed by various data and predict the ranges for a number of observables. Some of the predictions, such as the branching fractions of lepton-flavor violating $\tau\to3\mu$, $B\to K e\mu$, $K_L\to e\mu$, and $Z\to\ell\ell'$, are not far below their experimental bounds and therefore could be probed by searches in the near future. The viable parameter space depends strongly on the neutrino mass hierarchy, with a preference for the inverted one., Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, slightly enlarged, comments & references added, matches journal version

We study an economical model of weakly-interacting massive particle dark matter (DM) which has spin 3/2 and interacts with the 125-GeV Higgs boson via effective scalar and pseudoscalar operators. We apply constraints on the model from the relic density data, LHC measurements of the Higgs boson, and direct and indirect searches for DM, taking into account the effective nature of the DM-Higgs couplings. We show that this DM is currently viable in most of the mass region from about 58 GeV to 2.3 TeV and will be probed more stringently by ongoing and upcoming experiments. Nevertheless, the presence of the DM-Higgs pseudoscalar coupling could make parts of the model parameter space elusive from future tests. We find that important aspects of this scenario are quite similar to those of its more popular spin-1/2 counterpart., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, somewhat expanded, references added, matches publication

We explore simple Higgs-portal models of dark matter (DM) with spin 1/2, 3/2, and 1, respectively, applying to them constraints from the LUX and PandaX-II direct detection experiments and from LHC measurements on the 125-GeV Higgs boson. With only one Higgs doublet, we find that the spin-1/2 DM having a purely scalar effective coupling to the doublet is viable only in a narrow range of mass near the Higgs pole, whereas the vector DM is still allowed if its mass is also close to the Higgs pole or exceeds 1.4 TeV, both in line with earlier analyses. Moreover, the spin-3/2 DM is in a roughly similar situation to the spin-1/2 DM, but has surviving parameter space which is even more restricted. We also consider the two-Higgs-doublet extension of each of the preceding models, assuming that the expanded Yukawa sector is that of the two-Higgs-doublet model of type II. We show that in these two-Higgs-doublet-portal models significant portions of the DM mass regions excluded in the simplest scenarios by direct search bounds can be reclaimed due to suppression of the effective DM interactions with nucleons at some ratios of the $CP$-even Higgs bosons' couplings to the up and down quarks. The regained parameter space contains areas which can yield a DM-nucleon scattering cross-section that is far less than its current experimental limit or even goes below the neutrino-background floor., Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, somewhat expanded, references added, main conclusions unchanged, matches publication

Direct searches for dark matter (DM) by the LUX and PandaX-II Collaborations employing xenon-based detectors have recently come up with the most stringent limits to date on the spin-independent elastic scattering of DM off nucleons. For Higgs-portal scalar DM models, the new results have precluded any possibility of accommodating low-mass DM as suggested by the DAMA and CDMS II Si experiments utilizing other target materials, even after invoking isospin-violating DM interactions with nucleons. In the simplest model, SM+D, which is the standard model plus a real singlet scalar named darkon acting as the DM candidate, the LUX and PandaX-II limits rule out DM masses roughly from 4 to 450 GeV, except a small range around the resonance point at half of the Higgs mass where the interaction cross-section is near the neutrino-background floor. In the THDM II+D, which is the type-II two-Higgs-doublet model combined with a darkon, the region excluded in the SM+D by the direct searches can be recovered due to suppression of the DM effective interactions with nucleons at some values of the ratios of Higgs couplings to the up and down quarks, making the interactions significantly isospin-violating. However, in either model, if the 125-GeV Higgs boson is the portal between the dark and SM sectors, DM masses less than 50 GeV or so are already ruled out by the LHC constraint on the Higgs invisible decay. In the THDM II+D, if the heavier $CP$-even Higgs boson is the portal, theoretical restrictions from perturbativity, vacuum stability, and unitarity requirements turn out to be important instead and exclude much of the region below 100 GeV. For larger DM masses, the THDM II+D has plentiful parameter space that corresponds to interaction cross-sections under the neutrino-background floor and therefore is likely to be beyond the reach of future direct searches without directional sensitivity., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, somewhat enlarged, references added, main conclusions unchanged, matches publication

We consider the flavor-changing decays of the Higgs boson in a grand unified theory framework which is based on the SU(5) gauge group and implements the principle of minimal flavor violation. This allows us to explore the possibility of connecting the tentative hint of the Higgs decay $h\to\mu\tau$ recently reported in the CMS experiment to potential new physics in the quark sector. We look at different simple scenarios with minimal flavor violation in this context and how they are subject to various empirical restrictions. In one specific case, the relative strengths of the flavor-changing leptonic Higgs couplings are determined mainly by the known quark mixing parameters and masses, and a branching fraction ${\cal B}(h\to\mu\tau)\sim1\%$ is achievable without the couplings being incompatible with the relevant constraints. Upcoming data on the Higgs leptonic decays and searches for the $\mu\to e\gamma$ decay with improved precision can offer further tests on this scenario., Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, somewhat expanded, references added, main conclusions unchanged, matches published version

A new heavy resonance may be observable at the LHC if it has a significant decay branching fraction into a pair of photons. We entertain this possibility by looking at the modest excess in the diphoton invariant mass spectrum around 750 GeV recently reported in the ATLAS and CMS experiments. Assuming that it is a spinless boson, dubbed $\tilde s$, we consider it within a model containing two weak scalar doublets having zero vacuum expectation values and a scalar singlet in addition to the doublet responsible for breaking the electroweak symmetry. The model also possesses three Dirac neutral singlet fermions, the lightest one of which can play the role of dark matter and which participate with the new doublet scalars in generating light neutrino masses radiatively. We show that the model is consistent with all phenomenological constraints and can yield a production cross section $\sigma(pp\rightarrow\tilde{s}\rightarrow\gamma\gamma)$ of roughly the desired size, mainly via the photon-fusion contribution, without involving extra colored fermions or bosons. We also discuss other major decay modes of $\tilde s$ which are potentially testable in upcoming LHC measurements., Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, retitled, expanded to address dark matter & neutrino mass, matches journal version

We consider the tentative indication of flavor-violating Higgs boson decay $h\to\mu\tau$ recently reported in the CMS experiment within the framework of minimal flavor violation. Specifically, we adopt the standard model extended with the seesaw mechanism involving right-handed neutrinos plus effective dimension-six operators satisfying the minimal flavor violation principle in the lepton sector. We find that it is possible to accommodate the CMS $h\to\mu\tau$ signal interpretation provided that the right-handed neutrinos couple to the Higgs boson in some nontrivial way. We take into account empirical constraints from other lepton-flavor-violating processes and discuss how future searches for the $\mu\to e\gamma$ decay and $\mu\to e$ conversion in nuclei may further probe the lepton-flavor-violating Higgs couplings., Comment: 15 pages, no figures, minor errors corrected, references added, matches publication

The latest measurements of rare $b\to s$ decays in the LHCb experiment have led to results in tension with the predictions of the standard model (SM), including a tentative indication of the violation of lepton flavor universality. Assuming that this situation will persist because of new physics, we explore some of the potential consequences in the context of the SM extended with the seesaw mechanism involving right-handed neutrinos plus effective dimension-six lepton-quark operators under the framework of minimal flavor violation. We focus on a couple of such operators which can accommodate the LHCb anomalies and conform to the minimal flavor violation hypothesis in both their lepton and quark parts. We examine specifically the lepton-flavor-violating decays $B\to K^{(*)}\ell\ell'$, $B_s\to\phi\ell\ell'$, $B\to(\pi,\rho)\ell\ell'$, and $B_{d,s}\to\ell\ell'$, as well as $K_L\to e\mu$ and $K\to\pi e\mu$, induced by such operators. The estimated branching fractions of some of these decay modes with $\mu\tau$ in the final states are allowed by the pertinent experimental constraints to reach a few times $10^{-7}$ if other operators do not yield competitive effects. We also look at the implications for $B\to K^{(*)}\nu\nu$ and $K\to\pi\nu\nu$, finding that their rates can be a few times larger than their SM values. These results are testable in future experiments., Comment: 16 pages, no figures, clarifying comments added, references updated, matches journal version

We study some implications of the presence of two inert scalar doublets which are charged under a dark Abelian gauge symmetry. Specifically, we investigate the effects of the new scalars on oblique electroweak parameters and on the interactions of the 125 GeV Higgs boson, especially its decay modes $h\to\gamma\gamma,\gamma Z$, and trilinear coupling, all of which will be probed with improved precision in future Higgs measurements. Moreover, we explore how the inert scalars may give rise to strongly first-order electroweak phase transition and also show its correlation with sizable modifications to the Higgs trilinear coupling., Comment: 17 page, 8 figures

We explore realizations of minimal flavor violation (MFV) for leptons in the simplest seesaw models where the neutrino mass generation mechanism is driven by new fermion singlets (type I) or triplets (type III) and by a scalar triplet (type II). We also discuss similarities and differences of the MFV implementation among the three scenarios. To study the phenomenological implications, we consider a number of effective dimension-six operators that are purely leptonic or couple leptons to the standard-model gauge and Higgs bosons and evaluate constraints on the scale of MFV associated with these operators from the latest experimental information. Specifically, we employ the most recent measurements of neutrino mixing parameters as well as the currently available data on flavor-violating radiative and three-body decays of charged leptons, mu -> e conversion in nuclei, the anomalous magnetic moments of charged leptons, and their electric dipole moments. The most stringent lower-limit on the MFV scale comes from the present experimental bound on mu -> e gamma and can reach 500 TeV or higher, depending on the details of the seesaw scheme. With our numerical results, we illustrate some important differences among the seesaw types. In particular, we show that in types I and III there are features which can bring about potentially remarkable effects which do not occur in type II. In addition, we comment on how one of the new effective operators can induce flavor-changing dilepton decays of the Higgs boson, which may be probed in upcoming searches at the LHC., Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, slightly revised to match publication

We explore scalar dark matter that is part of a lepton flavor triplet satisfying symmetry requirements under the hypothesis of minimal flavor violation. Beyond the standard model, the theory contains in addition three right-handed neutrinos that participate in the seesaw mechanism for light neutrino mass generation. The dark-matter candidate couples to standard-model particles via Higgs-portal renormalizable interactions as well as to leptons through dimension-six operators, all of which have minimal flavor violation built-in. We consider restrictions on the new scalars from the Higgs boson measurements, observed relic density, dark-matter direct detection experiments, LEP II measurements on e+e- scattering into a photon plus missing energy, and searches for flavor-violating lepton decays. The viable parameter space can be tested further with future data. Also, we investigate the possibility of the new scalars' couplings accounting for the tentative hint of Higgs flavor-violating decay h -> mu tau recently detected in the CMS experiment. They are allowed by constraints from other Higgs data to produce a rate of this decay roughly compatible with the CMS finding., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, expanded to include LEP constraints, references added, to appear in JHEP

We consider some implications of X-ray lines from certain astronomical objects as potential effects of dark matter decay in the context of the scotogenic model, where neutrinos acquire mass radiatively via one-loop interactions with dark matter. As an example, we focus on the 3.5 keV line recently detected in the X-ray spectra of galaxy clusters, assuming that it stands future scrutiny. We explore the scenario in which the line originates from the slow decay of fermionic dark matter in the model. After obtaining a number of benchmark points representing the parameter space consistent with the new data and various other constraints, we make predictions on several observables in leptonic processes. They include the effective Majorana mass in neutrinoless double-beta decay, the sum of neutrino masses, and the rate of flavor-changing decay mu -> e gamma, as well as the cross sections of e+e- collisions into final states containing nonstandard particles in the model. These are testable in ongoing or future experiments and thus offer means to probe the scotogenic scenario studied., Comment: 12 pages, no figures, slightly revised, references added, main conclusions unchanged, journal version

We study the electric dipole moments (EDMs) of fermions in the standard model supplemented with right-handed neutrinos and its extension including neutrino seesaw mechanism under the framework of minimal flavor violation (MFV). In the quark sector, we find that the current experimental bound on the neutron EDM does not yield a significant restriction on the scale of MFV. In addition, we consider how MFV may affect the contribution of the strong theta-term to the neutron EDM. For the leptons, the existing EDM data also do not lead to strict limits if neutrinos are Dirac particles. On the other hand, if neutrinos are Majorana in nature, we find that the constraints become substantially stronger. Moreover, the results of the latest search for the electron EDM by the ACME Collaboration are sensitive to the MFV scale of order a few hundred GeV or higher. We also look at constraints from $CP$-violating electron-nucleon interactions that have been probed in atomic and molecular EDM searches., Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures. New materials added

The latest data from the ACME Collaboration have put a stringent constraint on the electric dipole moment d_e of the electron. Nevertheless, the standard model (SM) prediction for d_e is many orders of magnitude below the new result, making this observable a powerful probe for physics beyond the SM. We carry out a model-independent study of d_e in the SM with right handed neutrinos and its extension with the neutrino seesaw mechanism under the framework of minimal flavor violation. We find that d_e crucially depends on whether neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles. In the Majorana case, d_e can reach its experimental bound, and it constrains the scale of minimal flavor violation to be above a few hundred GeV or more. We also explore extra CP-violating sources in the Yukawa couplings of the right-handed neutrinos. Such new sources can have important effects on d_e., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, revised to match version published in PRD (Rapid Communication)

We explore the possibility of employing e+e- colliders to probe the scotogenic model, in which neutrinos get mass radiatively via one-loop interactions involving dark matter. Assuming the lightest one of the new particles in the model to be fermionic cold dark matter and taking into account various constraints, including those from LHC Higgs experiments, we show that LEP II data on e+e- scattering into a pair of charged leptons plus missing energy can place significant extra restrictions on the parameter space containing sufficiently low masses of the charged scalars in the model. On the other hand, LEP II data on e+e- collisions into a photon plus missing energy do not yield strong constraints. The allowed parameter space can still accommodate Higgs exotic decays into the nonstandard particles and thus is testable at the LHC. We also consider using future measurements of these two types of e+e- scattering at the International Linear Collider to examine the scenario of interest further and find that they can provide complementary information about it, whether or not they reveal scotogenic effects., Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, expanded, references added, main results unchanged, matches journal version

We construct a model based on an extra gauge symmetry, SU(2)_X x U(1)_{B-L}, which can provide gauge bosons to serve as weakly-interacting massive particle dark matter. The stability of the dark matter is naturally guaranteed by a discrete Z_2 symmetry that is a subgroup of SU(2)_X. The dark matter interacts with standard model fermions by exchanging gauge bosons which are linear combinations of SU(2)_X x U(1)_{B-L} gauge bosons. With the appropriate choice of representation for the new scalar multiplet whose vacuum expectation value spontaneously breaks the SU(2)_X symmetry, the relation between the new gauge boson masses can naturally lead to resonant pair annihilation of the dark matter. After exploring the parameter space of the new gauge couplings subject to constraints from collider data and the observed relic density, we use the results to evaluate the cross section of the dark matter scattering off nucleons and compare it with data from the latest direct detection experiments. We find allowed parameter regions that can be probed by future direct searches for dark matter and LHC searches for new particles., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, expanded with discussion on gauge kinetic mixing and references added, matches publication

The CDMS II experiment has observed three events which may have arisen from weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter (DM) with mass of order 9 GeV colliding with nuclei. Although the implied WIMP parameter region seems to be excluded by limits from the XENON experiments, it is interesting that most of this tension can go away if the WIMP-nucleon interaction violates isospin. This motivates us to explore some of the implications for models in which a real gauge-singlet scalar particle, the darkon, serves as the WIMP, taking into account the recent discovery of a Higgs boson at the LHC and Planck determination of the DM relic density. In the simplest scenario, involving only the standard model plus a darkon, the Higgs boson is largely invisible due to its decay into a pair of darkons having the WIMP mass suggested by CDMS II and hence cannot be identified with the one found at the LHC. We find, on the other hand, that a two-Higgs-doublet model supplemented with a darkon has ample parameter space to accommodate well both the new potential DM hint from CDMS II and the Higgs data from the LHC, whether or not the darkon-nucleon interaction conserves isospin., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, somewhat revised, references added, results unchanged, matches journal version

The recent observation of a Higgs boson at the LHC and experimental confirmation of nonvanishing neutrino-mixing parameter sin(theta_13) offer important means to test physics beyond the standard model. We explore this within the context of the scotogenic model, in which neutrinos acquire mass radiatively via one-loop interactions with dark matter. Starting with a two-parameter neutrino-mixing matrix which is consistent with the latest neutrino-oscillation data at the one-sigma level, we derive different sets of solutions for the Yukawa couplings of the nonstandard particles in the model and use the results to consider the Higgs decays into final states involving the new particles. Assuming that the lightest one of them serves as fermionic cold dark matter, we show that such decays are allowed by various experimental and theoretical constraints to have substantial rates that are already restricted by the current LHC data. We also look at their correlations with the Higgs decays into gamma gamma and gamma Z. Upcoming LHC measurements of the Higgs boson can therefore either detect scotogenic signals or place further constraints on the model., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, slightly revised, references added, matches journal version

Though not completely a surprise according to the standard model and existing indirect constraints, the Higgs-like particle, h, of mass around 125 GeV recently observed at the LHC may offer an additional window to physics beyond the standard model. In particular, its decay pattern can be modified by the existence of new particles. One of the popular scenarios involves a Z' boson associated with an extra Abelian gauge group. In this study, we explore the potential effects of such a boson with family-nonuniversal couplings on the leptonic decays of h, both flavor-conserving and flavor-changing. For current constraints, we take into account leptonic decays at the Z pole, LEP II scattering data, limits on various flavor-changing lepton transitions, and lepton magnetic dipole moments. Adopting a model-independent approach and assuming that the Z' has negligible mixing with the Z boson, we find that present data allow the Z' effects to reach a few percent or higher on h decays into a pair of leptons. Future measurements on h at the LHC or a linear collider can therefore detect the Z' contributions or impose further constraints on its couplings. We also consider Z'-mediated four-lepton decays of the Z and W bosons., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, slightly revised, references added, matches publication

In view of ongoing measurements of the Higgs-like boson at the LHC and direct searches for dark matter, we explore the possibility of accommodating the potential results in a simple new-physics model with discrete gauge symmetry as well as light neutrino masses. Specifically, we study collider and relic-density constraints on the new gauge coupling, predict the cross section of the dark matter scattering off nucleons, and compare it with current direct search data. We also discuss some of the implications if the dark matter is light. The new gauge sector of the model allows it to be compatible with the latest LHC information on the Higgs-like particle and simultaneously satisfy the requirements in its dark matter sector., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, expanded, references added, main results unchanged, matches published version

We consider nonstandard interactions of neutrinos with electrons arising from a new light spin-1 particle with mass of tens of GeV or lower and couplings to the neutrinos and electron. This boson is not necessarily a gauge boson and is assumed to have no mixing with standard-model gauge bosons. Adopting a model-independent approach, we study constraints on the flavor-conserving and -violating couplings of the boson with the leptons from a number of experimental data. Specifically, we take into account the (anti)neutrino-electron scattering and e^+ e^- -> nu nubar gamma measurements and keep explicitly the dependence on the new particle mass in all calculations. We find that one of the two sets of data can provide the stronger constraints, depending on the mass and width of the boson. Also, we evaluate complementary constraints on its separate flavor-conserving couplings to the electron and neutrinos from other latest experimental results., Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, expanded including supplementary experimental constraints, references added, matches journal version

The most recent results of searches at the LHC for the Higgs boson h have turned up possible hints of such a particle with mass m_h about 125 GeV consistent with standard model (SM) expectations. This has many potential implications for the SM and beyond. We consider some of them in the contexts of a simple Higgs-portal dark matter (DM) model, the SM plus a real gauge-singlet scalar field D as the DM candidate, and a couple of its variations. In the simplest model with one Higgs doublet and three or four generations of fermions, for D mass m_D < m_h/2 the invisible decay h -> DD tends to have a substantial branching ratio. If future LHC data confirm the preliminary Higgs indications, m_D will have to exceed m_h/2. To keep the DM lighter than m_h/2, one will need to extend the model and also satisfy constraints from DM direct searches. The latter can be accommodated if the model provides sizable isospin violation in the DM-nucleon interactions. We explore this in a two-Higgs-doublet model combined with the scalar field D. This model can offer a 125-GeV SM-like Higgs and a light DM candidate having isospin-violating interactions with nucleons at roughly the required level, albeit with some degree of fine-tuning., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, slightly revised, main conclusions unchanged, references added, matches published version

Recent LHC searches have not found a clear signal of the Higgs boson h of the standard model (SM) with three or four families in the mass range m_h = 120-600 GeV. If the Higgs had an unexpectedly large invisible branching ratio, the excluded m_h regions would shrink. This can be realized in the simplest weakly interacting massive particle dark matter (DM) model, which is the SM plus a real gauge-singlet scalar field D as the DM, via the invisible mode h -> DD. Current data allow this decay to occur for D-mass values near, but below, m_h/2 and those compatible with the light DM hypothesis. For such D masses, h -> DD can dominate the Higgs width depending on m_h, and thus sizable portions of the m_h exclusion zones in the SM with three or four families may be recovered. Increased luminosity at the LHC may even reveal a Higgs having SM-like visible decays still hiding in the presently disallowed regions. The model also accommodates well the new possible DM hints from CRESST-II and will be further tested by improved data from future DM direct searches., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, title and content somewhat revised, main conclusions unchanged, matches published version

We explore a Z' boson with family-nonuniversal couplings to charged leptons. The general effect of Z-Z' mixing, of both kinetic and mass types, is included in the analysis. Adopting a model-independent approach, we perform a comprehensive study of constraints on the leptonic Z' couplings from currently available experimental data on a number of flavor-conserving and flavor-changing transitions. Detailed comparisons are made to extract the most stringent bounds on the leptonic couplings. Such information is fed into predictions of various processes that may be experimentally probed in the near future., Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures, slightly enlarged, references added, matches journal version

The anomalously large like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in semileptonic b-hadron decays recently measured by the D0 Collaboration may be hinting at the presence of CP-violating new physics in the mixing of B_s mesons. It has been suggested that the effect of a nonstandard spin-1 particle lighter than the b quark with flavor-changing couplings to b and s quarks can reproduce the D0 result within its one-sigma range. Here we explore the possibility that the new particle also couples to charged leptons l=e,mu and thus contributes to rare b -> s processes involving the leptons. We consider in particular constraints on its couplings from existing experimental data on the inclusive B -> X_s l^+ l^- and exclusive B -> K^{(*)} l^+ l^- decays, as well as the anomalous magnetic moments of the leptons. We find that there is parameter space of the particle that is allowed by the current data. Future measurements of these B transitions and rare decays of the B_s meson, such as B_s -> (phi,eta,eta') l^+ l^- and B_s -> l^+ l^-, at LHCb and next-generation B factories can probe its presence or couplings more stringently., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures

The recent measurement of the like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in semileptonic b-hadron decays by the D0 Collaboration is about 3 sigmas away from the standard-model prediction, hinting at the presence of CP-violating new physics in the mixing of B_s mesons. We consider the possibility that this anomalous result arises from the contribution of a light spin-1 particle. Taking into account various experimental constraints, we find that the effect of such a particle with mass below the b-quark mass can yield a prediction consistent with the anomalous D0 measurement within its one-sigma range., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, somewhat expanded, references added, main conclusions unchanged, matches published version

We evaluate the rare radiative kaon decays K_{L,S} -> 3 gamma. Applying the requirements of gauge invariance and Bose symmetry, we derive a general form of the decay amplitude, including both parity-conserving and parity-violating contributions. We employ a chiral-Lagrangian approach combined with dimensional analysis arguments to estimate the branching ratios of these decays in the standard model, obtaining values as large as B(K_L -> 3 gamma) ~ 1 x 10^{-14} and B(K_S -> 3 gamma) ~ 2 x 10^{-17}, which exceed those found previously by a few orders of magnitude. Measurements on the branching ratios which are significantly larger than these numbers would likely hint at the presence of new physics beyond the standard model., Comment: 10 pages, no figures

We consider a scalar dark matter model, the SM4+D, consisting of the standard model with four generations (SM4) and a real gauge-singlet scalar called darkon, D, as the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark-matter (DM) candidate. We explore constraints on the darkon sector of the SM4+D from WIMP DM direct-search experiments, including CDMS II and CoGeNT, and from the decay of a B meson into a kaon plus missing energy. We find that a sizable portion of the darkon parameter space is still compatible with the experimental data. Since the darkon-Higgs interaction may give rise to considerable enhancement of the Higgs invisible decay mode, the existence of the darkon could lead to the weakening or evasion of some of the restrictions on the Higgs mass in the presence of fourth-generation quarks. In addition, it can affect the flavor-changing decays of these new heavy quarks into a lighter quark and the Higgs boson, as the Higgs may subsequently decay invisibly. Therefore we also study these flavor-changing neutral transitions involving the darkon, as well as the corresponding top-quark decay t -> cDD, some of which may be observable at the Tevatron or LHC and thus provide additional tests for the SM4+D., Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures