arXiv subjects

David Marzocca

Publications and source records attributed to David Marzocca.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Pseudo-observables in electroweak Higgs production

We discuss how the leading electroweak Higgs production processes at the LHC, namely vector-boson fusion and Higgs+W/Z associated production, can be characterized in generic extensions of the Standard Model by a proper set of pseudo-observables (PO). We analyze the symmetry properties of these PO and their relation with the PO set appearing in Higgs decays. We discuss in detail the kinematical studies necessary to extract the production PO from data, and present a first estimate of the LHC sensitivity on these observables in the high-luminosity phase. The impact of QCD corrections and the kinematical studies necessary to test the validity of the momentum expansion at the basis of the PO decomposition are also discussed.

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arXiv2015

Higgs Pseudo Observables and Radiative Corrections

We show how leading radiative corrections can be implemented in the general description of $h\to 4\ell$ decays by means of Pseudo Observables (PO). With the inclusion of such corrections, the PO description of $h\to 4\ell$ decays can be matched to next-to-leading-order electroweak calculations both within and beyond the Standard Model (SM). In particular, we demonstrate that with the inclusion of such corrections the complete next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction for the $h\to 2e2μ$ dilepton mass spectrum is recovered within 1% accuracy. The impact of radiative corrections for non-standard PO is also briefly discussed.

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arXiv2015

On the breaking of Lepton Flavor Universality in B decays

In view of recent experimental indications of violations of Lepton Flavor Universality (LFU) in $B$ decays, we analyze constraints and implications of LFU interactions, both using an effective theory approach, and an explicit dynamical model. We show that a simple dynamical model based on a $SU(2)_L$ triplet of massive vector bosons, coupled predominantly to third generation fermions (both quarks and leptons), can significantly improve the description of present data. In particular, the model decreases the tension between data and SM predictions concerning: i) the breaking of $τ$-$μ$ universality in $B\to D^{(*)} \ell ν$ decays; ii) the breaking of $μ$-$e$ universality in $B \to K \ell^+\ell^-$ decays; iii) the difference between exclusive and inclusive determinations of $|V_{cb}|$ and $|V_{ub}|$. The minimal version of the model is in tension with ATLAS and CMS direct searches for the new massive vectors (decaying into $τ^+τ^-$ pairs), but this tension can be decreased with additional non-standard degrees of freedom. Further predictions of the model both at low- and high-energies, in view of future high-statistics data, are discussed.

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arXiv2015

Electroweak bounds on Higgs pseudo-observables and $h \to 4 \ell$ decays

We analyze the bounds on the Higgs pseudo-observables following from electroweak constraints, under the assumption that the Higgs particle is the massive excitation of an $SU(2)_L$ doublet. Using such bounds, detailed predictions for $h\to 4\ell$ decay rates, dilepton spectra, and lepton-universality ratios are presented.

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arXiv2015

Pseudo-observables in Higgs decays

We define a set of pseudo-observables characterizing the properties of Higgs decays in generic extensions of the Standard Model with no new particles below the Higgs mass. The pseudo-observables can be determined from experimental data, providing a systematic generalization of the "kappa-framework" so far adopted by the LHC experiments. The pseudo-observables are defined from on-shell decay amplitudes, allow for a systematic inclusion of higher-order QED and QCD corrections, and can be computed in any Effective Field Theory (EFT) approach to Higgs physics. We analyze the reduction of the number of independent pseudo-observables following from the hypotheses of lepton-universality, CP invariance, custodial symmetry, and linearly realized electroweak symmetry breaking. We outline the importance of kinematical studies of $h\to 4\ell$ decays for the extraction of such parameters and present their predictions in the linear EFT framework.

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arXiv2014

Stable fermion mass matrices and the charged lepton contribution to neutrino mixing

We study the general properties of hierarchical fermion mass matrices in which the small eigenvalues are stable with respect to perturbations of the matrix entries and we consider specific applications to the charged lepton contribution to neutrino mixing. In particular, we show that the latter can account for the whole lepton mixing. In this case a value of $\sin θ_{13} \gtrsim m_e/m_μ\sinθ_{23} \approx 0.03$, as observed, can be obtained without the need of any fine-tuning, and present data allow to determine the last row of the charged lepton mass matrix with good accuracy. We also consider the case in which the neutrino sector only provides a maximal 12 rotation and show that i) present data provide a $2σ$ evidence for a non-vanishing $31$ entry of the charged lepton mass matrix and ii) a plausible texture for the latter can account at the same time for the atmospheric mixing angle, the $θ_{13}$ angle, and the deviation of the $θ_{12}$ angle from $π/2$ without fine-tuning or tension with data. Finally, we show that the so-called "inverted order" of the 12 and 23 rotations in the charged lepton sector can be obtained without fine-tuning, up to corrections of order $m_e/m_μ$.

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arXiv2014

Prospects for bounds on electroweak and Higgs observables via scaling effects

In these proceedings we briefly review the basic concepts underlying indirect bounds on the Wilson coefficients of some Standard Model dimension-6 operators, relevant to electroweak and Higgs observables, obtained via renormalization group (RG) mixing to strongly constrained observables. With the present data we derive RG-induced bounds, stronger than the direct constraints, on some Higgs couplings and anomalous triple gauge couplings. Any deviation from these bounds would suggest a particular pattern of correlations among the Wilson coefficients, thus offering a new window on the new physics sector. Prospects for these effects at the LHC and at proposed future lepton colliders (ILC and TLEP) are assessed.

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arXiv2014

Composite Dark Matter and LHC Interplay

The actual realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking in the context of a natural extension of the Standard Model (SM) and the nature of Dark Matter (DM) are two of the most compelling questions in high-energy particle physics. Composite Higgs models may provide a unified picture in which both the Higgs boson and the DM particle arise as pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons of a spontaneously broken global symmetry at a scale $f\sim$ TeV. In this paper we analyze a general class of these models based on the coset SO(6)/SO(5). Assuming the existence of light and weakly coupled spin-1 and spin-1/2 resonances which mix linearly with the elementary SM particles, we are able to compute the effective potential of the theory by means of some generalized Weinberg sum rules. The properties of the Higgs boson, DM, top quark and the above resonances are thus calculable and tightly connected. We perform a wide phenomenological analysis, considering both collider physics at the LHC and astrophysical observables. We find that these models are tightly constrained by present experimental data, which are able to completely exclude the most natural setup with $f\simeq 800$ GeV. Upon increasing the value of $f$, an allowed region appears. In particular for $f\simeq 1.1$ TeV we find a concrete realization that predicts $m_{DM}\simeq 200$ GeV for the DM mass. This DM candidate lies close to the present sensitivity of direct detection experiments and will be ruled out - or discovered - in the near future.

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arXiv2014

Scaling and tuning of EW and Higgs observables

We study deformations of the SM via higher dimensional operators. In particular, we explicitly calculate the one-loop anomalous dimension matrix for 13 bosonic dimension-6 operators relevant for electroweak and Higgs physics. These scaling equations allow us to derive RG-induced bounds, stronger than the direct constraints, on a universal shift of the Higgs couplings and some anomalous triple gauge couplings by assuming no tuning at the scale of new physics, i.e. by requiring that their individual contributions to the running of other severely constrained observables, like the electroweak oblique parameters or $Γ(h \rightarrow γγ)$, do not exceed their experimental direct bounds. We also study operators involving the Higgs and gluon fields.

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arXiv2014

Supersymmetry with a pNGB Higgs and Partial Compositeness

We study the consequences of combining SUSY with a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson Higgs coming from an SO(5)/SO(4) coset and partial compositeness. In particular, we focus on how electroweak symmetry breaking and the Higgs mass are reproduced in models where the symmetry SO(5) is linearly realized. The global symmetry forbids tree-level contributions to the Higgs potential coming from D-terms, differently from what happens in most of the SUSY little-Higgs constructions. While the stops are generally heavy, light fermion top partners below 1 TeV are predicted. In contrast to what happens in non-SUSY composite Higgs models, they are necessary to reproduce the correct top, rather than Higgs, mass. En passant, we point out that, independently of SUSY, models where tR is fully composite and embedded in the 5 of SO(5) generally predict a too light Higgs.

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arXiv2014

Nonzero |U_e3| from Charged Lepton Corrections and the Atmospheric Neutrino Mixing Angle

After the successful determination of the reactor neutrino mixing angle θ_13 ~ 0.16 \neq 0, a new feature suggested by the current neutrino oscillation data is a sizeable deviation of the atmospheric neutrino mixing angle θ_23 from π/4. Using the fact that the neutrino mixing matrix U = U_e^\dagger U_ν, where U_e and U_νresult from the diagonalisation of the charged lepton and neutrino mass matrices, and assuming that U_νhas a i) bimaximal (BM), ii) tri-bimaximal (TBM) form, or else iii) corresponds to the conservation of the lepton charge L' = L_e - L_μ- L_τ(LC), we investigate quantitatively what are the minimal forms of U_e, in terms of angles and phases it contains, that can provide the requisite corrections to U_νso that θ_13, θ_23 and the solar neutrino mixing angle θ_12 have values compatible with the current data. Two possible orderings of the 12 and the 23 rotations in U_e, "standard" and "inverse", are considered. The results we obtain depend strongly on the type of ordering. In the case of "standard" ordering, in particular, the Dirac CP violation phase δ, present in U, is predicted to have a value in a narrow interval around i) δ~ πin the BM (or LC) case, ii) δ~ 3π/2 or π/2 in the TBM case, the CP conserving values δ= 0, π, 2πbeing excluded in the TBM case at more than 4σ. In the addendum we discuss the implications of the latest 2013 data.

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arXiv2013

On the effect of resonances in composite Higgs phenomenology

We consider a generic composite Higgs model based on the coset SO(5)/SO(4) and study its phenomenology beyond the leading low-energy effective lagrangian approximation. Our basic goal is to introduce in a controllable and simple way the lowest-lying, possibly narrow, resonances that may exist is such models. We do so by proposing a criterion that we call partial UV completion. We characterize the simplest cases, corresponding respectively to a scalar in either singlet or tensor representation of SO(4) and to vectors in the adjoint of SO(4). We study the impact of these resonances on the signals associated to high-energy vector boson scattering, pointing out for each resonance the characteristic patterns of depletion and enhancement with respect to the leading-order chiral lagrangian. En route we derive the O(p^4) general chiral lagrangian and discuss its peculiar accidental and approximate symmetries.

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arXiv2012

General Composite Higgs Models

We construct a general class of pseudo-Goldstone composite Higgs models, within the minimal SO(5)/SO(4) coset structure, that are not necessarily of moose-type. We characterize the main properties these models should have in order to give rise to a Higgs mass around 125 GeV. We assume the existence of relatively light and weakly coupled spin 1 and 1/2 resonances. In absence of a symmetry principle, we introduce the Minimal Higgs Potential (MHP) hypothesis: the Higgs potential is assumed to be one-loop dominated by the SM fields and the above resonances, with a contribution that is made calculable by imposing suitable generalizations of the first and second Weinberg sum rules. We show that a 125 GeV Higgs requires light, often sub-TeV, fermion resonances. Their presence can also be important for the models to successfully pass the electroweak precision tests. Interestingly enough, the latter can also be passed by models with a heavy Higgs around 320 GeV. The composite Higgs models of the moose-type considered in the literature can be seen as particular limits of our class of models.

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arXiv2011

Sizeable θ_13 from the Charged Lepton Sector in SU(5), (Tri-)Bimaximal Neutrino Mixing and Dirac CP Violation

The recent results from T2K and MINOS experiments point towards a relatively large value of the reactor angle θ_13 in the lepton sector. In this paper we show how a large θ_13 can arise from the charged lepton sector alone in the context of an SU(5) GUT. In such a scenario (tri-)bimaximal mixing in the neutrino sector is still a viable possibility. We also analyse the general implications of the considered scenario for the searches of CP violation in neutrino oscillations.

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