arXiv subjects

Apostolos Pilaftsis

Publications and source records attributed to Apostolos Pilaftsis.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Minimal Resonant Leptogenesis and Lepton Flavour Violation

We discuss minimal non-supersymmetric models of resonant leptogenesis, based on an approximate flavour symmetries. As an illustrative example, we consider a resonant tau-leptogenesis model, compatible with universal right-handed neutrino masses at the GUT scale, where the required heavy-neutrino mass splittings are generated radiatively. In particular, we explicitly demonstrate, how a minimum number of three heavy Majorana neutrinos is needed, in order to obtain successful leptogenesis and experimentally testable rates for processes of lepton flavour violation, such as mu --> e gamma and mu --> e conversion in nuclei.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

CP Violation in Correlated Production and Decay of Unstable Particles

We study resonant CP-violating Einstein--Podolsky--Rosen correlations that may take place in the production and decay of unstable scalar particles at high-energy colliders. We show that as a consequence of unitarity and CPT invariance of the S-matrix, in 2 --> 2 scatterings mediated by mixed scalar particles, at least three linearly independent decay matrices associated with the unstable scalar states are needed to obtain non-zero CP-odd observables that are also odd under C-conjugation. Instead, for the correlated production and decay of two unstable particle systems in 2 --> 4 processes, we find that only two independent decay matrices are sufficient to induce a net non-vanishing CP-violating phenomenon. As an application of this theorem, we present numerical estimates of CP asymmetries for the correlated production and decay of supersymmetric scalar top--anti-top pairs at the LHC, and demonstrate that these could reach values of order one. As a byproduct of our analysis, we develop a novel spinorial trace technique, which enables us to efficiently evaluate lengthy expressions of squared amplitudes describing the resonant scalar transitions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

On the Classification of Accidental Symmetries of the Two Higgs Doublet Model Potential

Recently, it has been shown [arXiv:1106.3482] that the two-Higgs-doublet-model potential may exhibit a maximum of 13 distinct accidental symmetries. Such a classification is based on a six-dimensional bilinear scalar field formalism realizing the SO(1,5) symmetry group. This note presents the transformation relations for each of the 13 symmetries in the original scalar field space and their one-to-one correspondence to the space of scalar bilinears, thereby providing firm support for the completeness of the classification.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Vacuum Topology of the Two Higgs Doublet Model

We perform a systematic study of generic accidental Higgs-family and CP symmetries that could occur in the two-Higgs-doublet-model potential, based on a Majorana scalar-field formalism which realizes a subgroup of GL(8,C). We derive the general conditions of convexity and stability of the scalar potential and present analytical solutions for two non-zero neutral vacuum expectation values of the Higgs doublets for a typical set of six symmetries, in terms of the gauge-invariant parameters of the theory. By means of a homotopy-group analysis, we identify the topological defects associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of each symmetry, as well as the massless Goldstone bosons emerging from the breaking of the continuous symmetries. We find the existence of domain walls from the breaking of Z_2, CP1 and CP2 discrete symmetries, vortices in models with broken U(1)_PQ and CP3 symmetries and a global monopole in the SO(3)_HF-broken model. The spatial profile of the topological defect solutions is studied in detail, as functions of the potential parameters of the two-Higgs doublet model. The application of our Majorana scalar-field formalism in studying more general scalar potentials that are not constrained by the U(1)_Y hypercharge symmetry is discussed. In particular, the same formalism may be used to properly identify seven additional symmetries that may take place in a U(1)_Y-invariant scalar potential.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Lepton Flavour Violation and theta(13) in Minimal Resonant Leptogenesis

We study the impact of minimal non-supersymmetric models of resonant leptogenesis on charged lepton flavour violation and the neutrino mixing angle theta(13). Possible low-scale flavour realisations of resonant tau-, mu- and e-leptogenesis provide very distinct and predictive frameworks to explain the observed baryon asymmetry in the Universe by sphaleron conversion of an individual tau-, mu- and e-lepton-number asymmetry which gets resonantly enhanced via out-of-equilibrium decays of nearly degenerate heavy Majorana neutrinos. Based on approximate flavour symmetries, we construct viable scenarios of resonant tau-, mu- and e-leptogenesis compatible with universal right-handed neutrino masses at the GUT scale, where the required heavy-neutrino mass splittings are generated radiatively. The heavy Majorana neutrinos in such scenarios can be as light as 100 GeV and their couplings to two of the charged leptons may be large. In particular, we explicitly demonstrate the compelling role that the three heavy Majorana neutrinos play, in order to obtain successful leptogenesis and experimentally testable rates for lepton flavour violating processes, such as mu --> e gamma and mu --> e conversion in nuclei.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Maximal Electric Dipole Moments of Nuclei with Enhanced Schiff Moments

The electric dipole moments (EDMs) of heavy nuclei, such as 199Hg, 225Ra and 211Rn, can be enhanced by the Schiff moments induced by the presence of nearby parity-doublet states. Working within the framework of the maximally CP-violating and minimally flavour-violating (MCPMFV) version of the MSSM, we discuss the maximal values that such EDMs might attain, given the existing experimental constraints on the Thallium, neutron and Mercury EDMs. The maximal EDM values of the heavy nuclei are obtained with the help of a differential-geometrical approach proposed recently that enables the maxima of new CP-violating observables to be calculated exactly in the linear approximation. In the case of 225Ra, we find that its EDM may be as large as 6 to 50 x 10^{-27} e.cm.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Charged LFV in a low-scale seesaw mSUGRA model

We investigate the influence of the boundary conditions of minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) on the supersymmetric mechanism for lepton flavour violation (LFV) proposed recently [1], within the framework of the MSSM extended by TeV-scale singlet heavy neutrinos. We find that the consideration of the mSUGRA boundary condition may increase the branching ratios of the muon and tauon decaying into three charged leptons by up to a factor of 5, whereas the corresponding branching ratio for their photonic decays remains almost unchanged.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Note on a Differential-Geometrical Construction of Optimal Directions in Linearly-Constrained Systems

This note presents an analytic construction of the optimal unit-norm direction hat(x) = x/|x| that maximizes or minimizes the objective linear expression, B . hat(x), subject to a system of linear constraints of the form [A] . x = 0, where x is an unknown n-dimensional real vector to be determined up to an overall normalization constant, 0 is an m-dimensional null vector, and the n-dimensional real vector B and the m\times n-dimensional real matrix [A] (with 0 =< m < n) are given. The analytic solution to this problem can be expressed in terms of a combination of double wedge and Hodge-star products of differential forms.

math.OC↗

arXiv2010

A Geometric Approach to CP Violation: Applications to the MCPMFV SUSY Model

We analyze the constraints imposed by experimental upper limits on electric dipole moments (EDMs) within the Maximally CP- and Minimally Flavour-Violating (MCPMFV) version of the MSSM. Since the MCPMFV scenario has 6 non-standard CP-violating phases, in addition to the CP-odd QCD vacuum phase θ_QCD, cancellations may occur among the CP-violating contributions to the three measured EDMs, those of the Thallium, neutron and Mercury, leaving open the possibility of relatively large values of the other CP-violating observables. We develop a novel geometric method that uses the small-phase approximation as a starting point, takes the existing EDM constraints into account, and enables us to find maximal values of other CP-violating observables, such as the EDMs of the Deuteron and muon, the CP-violating asymmetry in b --> s γdecay, and the B_s mixing phase. We apply this geometric method to provide upper limits on these observables within specific benchmark supersymmetric scenarios, including extensions that allow for a non-zero θ_QCD.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

The Minimal Scale Invariant Extension of the Standard Model

We perform a systematic analysis of an extension of the Standard Model that includes a complex singlet scalar field and is scale invariant at the tree level. We call such a model the Minimal Scale Invariant extension of the Standard Model (MSISM). The tree-level scale invariance of the model is explicitly broken by quantum corrections, which can trigger electroweak symmetry breaking and potentially provide a mechanism for solving the gauge hierarchy problem. Even though the scale invariant Standard Model is not a realistic scenario, the addition of a complex singlet scalar field may result in a perturbative and phenomenologically viable theory. We present a complete classification of the flat directions which may occur in the classical scalar potential of the MSISM. After calculating the one-loop effective potential of the MSISM, we investigate a number of representative scenarios and determine their scalar boson mass spectra, as well as their perturbatively allowed parameter space compatible with electroweak precision data. We discuss the phenomenological implications of these scenarios, in particular, whether they realize explicit or spontaneous CP violation, neutrino masses or provide dark matter candidates. In particular, we find a new minimal scale-invariant model of maximal spontaneous CP violation which can stay perturbative up to Planck-mass energy scales, without introducing an unnaturally large hierarchy in the scalar-potential couplings.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Flavour Geometry and Effective Yukawa Couplings in the MSSM

We present a new geometric approach to the flavour decomposition of an arbitrary soft supersymmetry-breaking sector in the MSSM. Our approach is based on the geometry that results from the quark and lepton Yukawa couplings, and enables us to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for a linearly-independent basis of matrices related to the completeness of the internal [SU(3) x U(1)]^5 flavour space. In a second step, we calculate the effective Yukawa couplings that are enhanced at large values of tan(beta) for general soft supersymmetry-breaking mass parameters. We highlight the contributions due to non-universal terms in the flavour decompositions of the sfermion mass matrices. We present numerical examples illustrating how such terms are induced by renormalization-group evolution starting from universal input boundary conditions, and demonstrate their importance for the flavour-violating effective Yukawa couplings of quarks.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Supersymmetric Lepton Flavour Violation in Low-Scale Seesaw Models

We study a new supersymmetric mechanism for lepton flavour violation in muon and tau decays and muon -> e conversion in nuclei, within a minimal extension of the MSSM with low-mass heavy singlet neutrinos and sneutrinos. We find that the decays mu -> e gamma, tau -> e gamma and tau -> mu gamma are forbidden in the supersymmetric limit of the theory, whereas other processes, such as mu -> eee, mu -> e conversion, tau -> eee and tau -> e mu mu, are allowed and can be dramatically enhanced several orders of magnitude above the observable level by potentially large neutrino Yukawa coupling effects. The profound implications of supersymmetric lepton flavour violation for present and future experiments are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Supersymmetric Lepton Flavor Violation

We study a new supersymmetric mechanism for lepton flavor violation in a minimal extension of the MSSM with low-mass heavy singlet neutrinos, which is fully independent of the flavor structure of the soft SUSY breaking sector. We find that l -> l' gamma processes are forbidden in the SUSY limit, whilst the processes l -> l'l1 l2 and mu -> e conversion in nuclei can be enhanced well above the observable level, via large neutrino Yukawa-coupling effects.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Electric Dipole Moments in the MSSM Reloaded

We present a detailed study of the Thallium, neutron, Mercury and deuteron electric dipole moments (EDMs) in the CP-violating Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM). We take into account the complete set of one-loop graphs, the dominant Higgs-mediated two-loop diagrams, the complete CP-odd dimension-six Weinberg operator and the Higgs-mediated four-fermion operators. We improve upon earlier calculations by including the resummation effects due to CP-violating Higgs-boson mixing and to threshold corrections to the Yukawa couplings of all up- and down-type quarks and charged leptons. As an application of our study, we analyse the EDM constraints on the CPX, trimixing and Maximally CP- and Minimally Flavour-Violating (MCPMFV) scenarios. Cancellations may occur among the CP-violating contributions to the three measured EDMs arising from the 6 CP-violating phases in the MCPMFV scenario, leaving open the possibility of relatively large contributions to other CP-violating observables. The analytic expressions for the EDMs are implemented in an updated version of the code CPsuperH2.0.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

The Little Review on Leptogenesis

This is a brief review on the scenario of baryogenesis through leptogenesis. Leptogenesis is an appealing scenario that may relate the observed baryon asymmetry in the Universe to the low-energy neutrino data. In this review talk, particular emphasis is put on recent developments on the field, such as the flavourdynamics of leptogenesis and resonant leptogenesis near the electroweak phase transition. It is illustrated how these recent developments enable the modelling of phenomenologically predictive scenarios that can directly be tested at the LHC and indirectly in low-energy experiments of lepton-number and lepton-flavour violation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Thermal Right-Handed Sneutrino Dark Matter in the F_D-Term Model of Hybrid Inflation

We compute the relic abundance of the right-handed sneutrinos in the supersymmetric F_D-term model of hybrid inflation. As well as providing a natural solution to the mu- and gravitino overabundance problems, the F_D-term model offers a new viable candidate to account for the cold dark matter in the Universe: the lightest right-handed sneutrino. In particular, the F_D-term model predicts a new quartic coupling of purely right-handed sneutrinos to the Higgs doublets that thermalizes the sneutrinos and makes them annihilate sufficiently fast to a level compatible with the current cosmic microwave background data. We analyze this scenario in detail and identify favourable regions of the parameter space within the framework of minimal supergravity, for which the lightest right-handed sneutrino becomes the thermal dark matter, in agreement with WMAP observations of cosmological inflation. Constraints derived from direct dark matter searches experiments are presented.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Thermal Right-Handed Sneutrino Dark Matter

We discuss the relic abundance of the right-handed sneutrinos in the supersymmetric F_D-term model of hybrid inflation. As well as providing a natural solution to the mu- and gravitino overabundance problems, the model offers the lightest right-handed sneutrino as a candidate for thermal dark matter. The F_D-term model predicts a new quartic coupling of purely right-handed sneutrinos to the Higgs doublets that thermalizes the sneutrinos and makes them annihilate sufficiently fast to a level compatible with the current cosmic microwave background data. We discuss this scenario and identify favourable regions of the parameter space within mSUGRA.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

The One-Loop Effective Potential in Non-Linear Gauges

We calculate the 1-loop effective potential of an Abelian Higgs model within the R_{ξ/σ} class of non-linear gauges that preserves the Higgs-boson low-energy theorem. The R_{ξ/σ} gauge involves two gauge-fixing parameters ξand σ, and is a renormalizable extension of the Feynman--'t Hooft R_ξset of gauges beyond the 1-loop level. By taking consistently into account Goldstone--gauge-boson mixing effects, we show how the 1-loop effective potential evaluated at its extrema is independent of both ξand σ, in agreement with the Nielsen identity. The 1-loop constant and wavefunction renormalizations are presented within this non-linear R_{ξ/σ} class of gauges.

hep-ph↗