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L. Merlo

Publications and source records attributed to L. Merlo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Low Seesaw Scale Solution for $M_W$ and $(g-2)_\mu$

In this short talk, we present a renormalizable model that can i) generate neutrino masses via a low-scale seesaw mechanism and ii) solve the long-standing $(g-2)_\mu$ and the more recent CDF II $M_W$-anomalies. This is minimally achieved by introducing two sterile neutrinos and a single electroweak-doublet vector-like lepton, with masses $< 2$ TeV. We focus on the one-generation scenario and the requirements to extend it to three generations.

hep-ph

The cost of an ALP solution to the neutral $B$-anomalies

The neutral anomalies in $B$ decays are analysed in terms of the tree-level exchange of an axion-like-particle (ALP), within the effective field theory framework. The complete two-dimensional parameter space for ALP couplings to electrons and muons is explored. The solutions to $R_K$ and to the two energy bins of $R_{K^\ast}$ are confronted with the impact of ALP exchange on other observables (meson oscillations, leptonic and semileptonic decays of $B$ mesons including searches for new resonances, astrophysical constraints), as well as with the theoretical domain of validity of the effective theory. Solutions based on ALPs heavier than $B$ mesons, or lighter than twice the muon mass, are shown to be excluded. In contrast, the exchange of on-shell ALPs provides solutions to $R_K$ and/or $R_{K^\ast}$ within $2\sigma$ sensitivity which are technically compatible with those constraints. Furthermore, a ''golden ALP mass'' is identified at the frontier between the two energy bin windows of $R_{K^\ast}$, which could simultaneously explain these two $R_{K^\ast}$ anomalies together with $R_K$; this calls for the convenience of different energy binning which would easily clear up this (unlikely) possibility. The impact of smearing on data analysis is also discussed. When loop effects are taken into account, the solutions found can be in addition compatible with the data on the $g-2$ of the electron but not simultaneously with those on the $g-2$ of the muon. Furthermore, loop effects may require fine-tunings of some coupling values.

hep-ph

A Bottom-Up Approach: The Data Driven Flavour Model

A bottom-up approach has been adopted to identify a flavour model that agrees with present experimental measurements. The charged fermion mass hierarchies suggest that only the top Yukawa term should be present at the renormalisable level. The flavour symmetry of the Lagrangian including the fermionic kinetic terms and only the top Yukawa is then a combination of $U(2)$ and $U(3)$ factors. Lighter charged fermion and active neutrino masses and quark and lepton mixings arise considering specific spurion fields. The associated phenomenology is investigated and the model turns out to have almost the same flavour protection of the Minimal Flavour Violation, in both quark and lepton sectors. Promoting the spurions to be dynamical fields, the associated scalar potential is also studied and a minimum is identified such that fermion masses and mixings are correctly reproduced.

hep-ph

Searching for BSM Physics in Yukawa Couplings and Flavour Symmetries

In the framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, we compare the lower bounds on the scale of new physics possibly contributing to the $f\bar{f}h$ effective couplings, obtained from the measurements of different observables, under the assumption that the Wilson coefficients of the relevant dim 6 operators respect certain flavour structure: either the Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) ansatz or a flavour symmetry, often invoked to explain the observed pattern of fermion masses and mixings. We perform a global analysis of the bounds following from the limits on the diagonal couplings measured in the Higgs boson production and decays at the LHC experiments. Another set of bounds is obtained from the limits on non-diagonal couplings constrained by the variety of flavour changing neutral current (FCNC) and radiative decay processes. With the present precision of the LHC data, the FCNC data give stronger bounds on the scale of new physics than the collider data (obviously, for the MFV ansatz only collider data are relevant): once the Wilson coefficients respect some flavour structure, the obtained bounds are in the TeV range. In the quark case, these limits are compatible with a few percent deviations from the SM Yukawa couplings and only mildly more stringent than those obtained from the available collider data. For leptons, instead, the FCNC bounds are stronger and then a signal in the near future collider data would mean the violation of the flavour symmetry or indicate the presence of additional beyond the Standard Model contributions, affecting the flavour observables, that leads to cancellations.

hep-ph

A New bound on CP Violation in the $\tau$ Lepton Yukawa Coupling and electroweak baryogenesis

The origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Universe is a fundamental question of physics. Electroweak baryogenesis is a compelling scenario for explaining it but it requires beyond the Standard Model sources of the CP symmetry violation. The simplest possibility is CP violation in the third generation fermion Higgs couplings, widely investigated theoretically and searched for experimentally. It has been found that the experimental bounds on the CP violation in the quark Yukawa couplings exclude their significant role in the electroweak baryogenesis, but it can be still played by the $\tau$ lepton Yukawa coupling. It is shown in this paper that, within the context of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory and assuming an underlying flavour symmetry of the Wilson coefficients, the electron dipole moment bound on the $\tau$ lepton Yukawa coupling is two orders of magnitude stronger than previously reported. This sheds strong doubts on its role in the electroweak baryogenesis, further stimulates the interest in its experimental verification and makes electroweak baryogenesis even more difficult to explain.

hep-ph

Probing Effective Field Theory Approach in the CP Violating Minimal Linear $\sigma$ Model

The Minimal Linear $\sigma$ Model is a useful theoretical laboratory. One can investigate in a perturbative renormalisable model the properties of the Higgs boson as a pseudo-Goldstone boson, the phenomenological effects of the radial mode of the field $\mathtt{s}$ which spontaneously breaks the global $SO(5)$ symmetry and the validity of conclusions based on the Effective Field Theory approach with the field $\mathtt{s}$ in the spectrum, after the decoupling of heavy degrees of freedom. In this paper all those issues are discussed in the framework of the Minimal Linear $\sigma$ Model with CP violating phases leading to pseudoscalar components in the effective Standard Model Yukawa couplings. Also the character of the electroweak phase transition in the presence of the field $\mathtt{s}$ is investigated.

hep-ph

Data Driven Flavour Model

A bottom-up approach has been adopted to identify a flavour model that agrees with present experimental measurements. The charged fermion mass hierarchies suggest that only the top Yukawa term should be present at the renormalisable level. Similarly, describing the lightness of the active neutrinos through the type-I Seesaw mechanism, right-handed neutrino mass terms should also be present at the renormalisable level. The flavour symmetry of the Lagrangian including the fermionic kinetic terms and only the top Yukawa is then a combination of $U(2)$ and $U(3)$ factors. Once considering the Majorana neutrino terms, the associated symmetry is $O(3)$. Lighter charged fermion and active neutrino masses and quark and lepton mixings arise considering specific spurion fields {\it \`a la} Minimal Flavour Violation. The associated phenomenology is investigated and the model turns out to have almost the same flavour protection as the Minimal Flavour Violation in both quark and lepton sectors. Promoting the spurions to dynamical fields, the associated scalar potential is also studied and a minimum is identified such that fermion masses and mixings are correctly reproduced. Very precise predictions for the Majorana phases follow from the minimisation of the scalar potential and thus the neutrinoless-double-beta decay may represent a smoking gun for the model.

hep-ph

Exotic Vector-Like Quark Phenomenology in the Minimal Linear $\sigma$ Model

Extensions of the Standard Model that include vector-like quarks commonly also include additional particles that may mediate new production or decay modes. Using as example the minimal linear $\sigma$ model, that reduces to the minimal $SO(5)/SO(4)$ composite Higgs model in a specific limit, we consider the phenomenology of vector-like quarks when a scalar singlet $\sigma$ is present. This new particle may be produced in the decays $T \to t \sigma$, $B \to b \sigma$, where $T$ and $B$ are vector-like quarks of charges $2/3$ and $-1/3$, respectively, with subsequent decay $\sigma \to W^+ W^-, ZZ, hh$. By scanning over the allowed parameter space we find that these decays may be dominant. In addition, we find that the presence of several new particles allows for single $T$ production cross sections larger than those expected in minimal models. We discuss the observability of these new signatures in existing searches.

hep-ph

Revisiting the production of ALPs at B-factories

In this paper, the production of Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) at $B$-factories via the process $e^+e^- \to \gamma a$ is revisited. To this purpose, the relevant cross-section is computed via an effective Lagrangian with simultaneous ALP couplings to $b$-quarks and photons. The interplay between resonant and non-resonant contributions is shown to be relevant for experiments operating at $\sqrt{s}=m_{\Upsilon(nS)}$, with $n=1,2,3$, while the non-resonant one dominates at $\Upsilon(4S)$. These effects imply that the experimental searches performed at different quarkonia resonances are sensitive to complementary combinations of ALP couplings. To illustrate these results, constraints from existing BaBar and Belle data on ALPs decaying into invisible final states are derived, and the prospects for the Belle-II experiment are discussed.

hep-ph

Same-sign WW Scattering in the HEFT: Discoverability vs. EFT Validity

Vector boson scatterings are fundamental processes to shed light on the nature of the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism. Deviations from the Standard Model predictions on the corresponding observables can be interpreted in terms of effective field theories, that however undergo consistency conditions. In this paper, the same-sign W W scattering is considered within the HEFT context and the correct usage of the effective field theory approach is discussed. Regions of the parameters space are identified where a signal of new physics could be measured at HL-LHC with a significance of more than 5$\sigma$ and the effective field theory description is consistently adopted. These results are then translated into bounds on the $\xi$ parameter in the composite Higgs scenario. The discussion on the agreement with previous literature and the comparison with the equivalent analysis in the SMEFT case are also included.

hep-ph

Predictive Leptogenesis from Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation

A predictive Leptogenesis scenario is presented based on the Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation symmetry. In the realisation with three right-handed neutrinos transforming under the same flavour symmetry of the lepton electroweak doublets, lepton masses and PMNS mixing parameters can be described according to the current data, including a large Dirac CP phase. The observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe can be achieved through Leptogenesis, with the CP asymmetry parameter $\varepsilon$ described in terms of only lepton masses, mixings and phases, plus two real parameters of the low-energy effective description. This is in contrast with the large majority of models present in the literature, where $\varepsilon$ depends on several high-energy parameters, preventing a direct connection between low-energy observables and the baryon to photon ratio today. Recovering the correct amount of baryon asymmetry in the Universe constrains the Majorana phases of the PMNS matrix within specific ranges of values: clear predictions for the neutrinoless double beta decay emerge, representing a potential smoking gun for this framework.

hep-ph

The Minimal Axion Minimal Linear $\sigma$ Model

The minimal $SO(5)/SO(4)$ linear $\sigma$ model is extended including an additional complex scalar field, singlet under the global $SO(5)$ and the Standard Model gauge symmetries. The presence of this scalar field creates the conditions to generate an axion \`a la KSVZ, providing a solution to the strong CP problem, or an axion-like-particle. Different choices for the PQ charges are possible and lead to physically distinct Lagrangians. The internal consistency of each model necessarily requires the study of the scalar potential describing the $SO(5)\to SO(4)$, electroweak and PQ symmetry breaking. A single minimal scenario is identified and the associated scalar potential is minimised including counterterms needed to ensure one-loop renormalizability. In the allowed parameter space, phenomenological features of the scalar degrees of freedom, of the exotic fermions and of the axion are illustrated. Two distinct possibilities for the axion arise: either it is a QCD axion with an associated scale larger than $\sim10^{5}$ TeV and therefore falling in the category of the invisible axions; or it is a more massive axion-like-particle, such as a $1$ GeV axion with an associated scale of $\sim200$ TeV, that may show up in collider searches.

hep-ph

The Minimal Flavour Violating Axion

The solution to the Strong CP problem is analysed within the Minimal Flavour Violation (MFV) context. An Abelian factor of the complete flavour symmetry of the fermionic kinetic terms may play the role of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry in traditional axion models. Its spontaneous breaking, due to the addition of a complex scalar field to the Standard Model scalar spectrum, generates the MFV axion, which may redefine away the QCD theta parameter. It differs from the traditional QCD axion for its couplings that are governed by the fermion charges under the axial Abelian symmetry. It is also distinct from the so-called Axiflavon, as the MFV axion does not describe flavour violation, while it does induce flavour non-universality effects. The MFV axion phenomenology is discussed considering astrophysical, collider and flavour data.

hep-ph

Revisiting Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation in the Light of Leptonic CP Violation

The Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation (MLFV) framework is discussed after the recent indication for CP violation in the leptonic sector. Among the three distinct versions of MLFV, the one with degenerate right-handed neutrinos will be disfavoured, if this indication is confirmed. The predictions for leptonic radiative rare decays and muon conversion in nuclei are analysed, identifying strategies to disentangle the different MLFV scenarios. The claim that the present anomalies in the semi-leptonic $B$-meson decays can be explained within the MLFV context is critically re-examined concluding that such an explanation is not compatible with the present bounds from purely leptonic processes.

hep-ph

Distinguishing A Higgs-Like Dilaton Scenario With A Complete Bosonic Effective Field Theory Basis

A Higgs-like dilaton owns couplings that differ from those of the Standard Model Higgs and of a generic Composite Higgs. The complete bosonic basis for a Higgs-like dilaton is presented at the first subleading order. A comparison with the Standard Model, the Standard Model Effective Field Theory and the generic Lagrangian for the minimal $SO(5)/SO(4)$ Composite Higgs model is performed. Observables that can disentangle the different hypotheses are identified.

hep-ph

ALPs Effective Field Theory and Collider Signatures

We study the leading effective interactions between the Standard Model fields and a generic singlet CP-odd (pseudo)Goldstone boson. Two possible frameworks for electroweak symmetry breaking are considered: linear and non-linear. For the latter case, the basis of leading effective operators is determined and compared with that for the linear expansion. Associated phenomenological signals at colliders are explored for both scenarios, deriving new bounds and analyzing future prospects, including LHC and High Luminosity LHC sensitivities. Mono-$Z$, mono-$W$, $W$-photon plus missing energy and on-shell top final states are most promising signals expected in both frameworks. In addition, non-standard Higgs decays and mono-Higgs signatures are especially prominent and expected to be dominant in non-linear realizations.

hep-ph

Gauged Lepton Flavour

The gauging of the lepton flavour group is considered in the Standard Model context and in its extension with three right-handed neutrinos. The anomaly cancellation conditions lead to a Seesaw mechanism as underlying dynamics for all leptons; requiring in addition a phenomenologically viable setup leads to Majorana masses for the neutral sector: the type I Seesaw Lagrangian in the Standard Model case and the inverse Seesaw in the extended model. Within the minimal extension of the scalar sector, the Yukawa couplings are promoted to scalar fields in the bifundamental of the flavour group. The resulting low-energy Yukawa couplings are proportional to inverse powers of the vacuum expectation values of those scalars; the protection against flavour changing neutral currents differs from that of Minimal Flavor Violation. In all cases, the $\mu-\tau$ flavour sector exhibits rich and promising phenomenological signals.

hep-ph

The complete HEFT Lagrangian after the LHC Run I

The complete effective chiral Lagrangian for a dynamical Higgs is presented and constrained by means of a global analysis including electroweak precision data together with Higgs and triple gauge boson coupling data from the LHC Run~I. The operators' basis up to next-to-leading order in the expansion consists of 148 (188 considering right-handed neutrinos) flavour universal terms and it is presented here making explicit the custodial nature of the operators. This effective Lagrangian provides the most general description of the physical Higgs couplings once the electroweak symmetry is assumed, and it allows for deviations from the $SU(2)_L$ doublet nature of the Standard Model Higgs. The comparison with the effective linear Lagrangian constructed with an exact $SU(2)_L$ doublet Higgs and considering operators with at most canonical dimension six is presented. A promising strategy to disentangle the two descriptions consists in analysing i) anomalous signals present only in the chiral Lagrangian and not expected in the linear one, that are potentially relevant for LHC searches, and ii) decorrelation effects between observables that are predicted to be correlated in the linear case and not in the chiral one. The global analysis presented here, that includes several kinematic distributions, is crucial for reducing the allowed parameter space and for controlling the correlations between parameters. This improves previous studies aimed at investigating the Higgs Nature and the origin of the electroweak symmetry breaking.

hep-ph