arXiv subjects

Yosef Nir

Publications and source records attributed to Yosef Nir.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Flavor Changing Processes in Supersymmetric Models with Hybrid Gauge- and Gravity-Mediation

We consider supersymmetric models where gauge mediation provides the dominant contributions to the soft supersymmetry breaking terms while gravity mediation provides sub-dominant yet non-negligible contributions. We further assume that the gravity-mediated contributions are subject to selection rules that follow from a Froggatt-Nielsen symmetry. This class of models constitutes an example of viable and natural non-minimally flavor violating models. The constraints from mixing in the neutral K system imply that the modifications to the Standard Model predictions for mixing in the neutral B_d and B_s systems are generically at most at the percent level, but can be of order ten percent for large $\tan β$. The modifications for the neutral D system mixing are generically at most of order a few percent, but in a special subclass of models they can be of order one. We point out $ΔB=1$ processes relevant for flavor violation in hybrid mediation.

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arXiv2008

Measuring Flavor Mixing with Minimal Flavor Violation at the LHC

The mixing between third and second (or first) generation squarks is very small in supersymmetric models with minimal flavor violation such as gauge-, anomaly- or gaugino-mediation. An opportunity to measure this mixing will arise if the lightest stop is close enough in mass to the lightest neutralino, so that the decays into third generation quarks are kinematically forbidden. We analyze under which circumstances it might become possible to measure at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) the rate of the flavor changing stop decays.

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arXiv2008

Leptogenesis

Leptogenesis is a class of scenarios where the baryon asymmetry of the Universe is produced from a lepton asymmetry generated in the decays of a heavy sterile neutrino. We explain the motivation for leptogenesis. We review the basic mechanism, and describe subclasses of models. We then focus on recent developments in the understanding of leptogenesis: finite temperature effects, spectator processes, and in particular the significance of flavor physics.

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arXiv2008

Beyond MSSM Baryogenesis

Taking the MSSM as an effective low-energy theory, with a cut-off scale of a few TeV, can make significant modifications to the predictions concerning the Higgs and stop sectors. We investigate the consequences of such a scenario for electroweak baryogenesis. We find that the window for MSSM baryogenesis is extended and, most important, can be made significantly more natural. Specifically, it is possible to have one stop lighter than the top and the other significantly lighter than TeV simultaneously with the Higgs mass above the LEP bound. In addition, various aspects concerning CP violation are affected. Most notably, it is possible to have dynamical phases in the bubble walls at tree level, providing CP violating sources for Standard Model fermions.

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arXiv2007

The Standard Model and Supersymmetric Flavor Puzzles at the Large Hadron Collider

Can the Large Hadron Collider explain the masses and mixings of the known fermions? A promising possibility is that these masses and mixings are determined by flavor symmetries that also govern new particles that will appear at the LHC. We consider well-motivated examples in supersymmetry with both gravity- and gauge-mediation. Contrary to spreading belief, new physics need not be minimally flavor violating. We build non-minimally flavor violating models that successfully explain all known lepton masses and mixings, but span a wide range in their predictions for slepton flavor violation. In natural and favorable cases, these models have metastable sleptons and are characterized by fully reconstructible events. We outline many flavor measurements that are then possible and describe their prospects for resolving both the standard model and new physics flavor puzzles at the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2007

Probing Minimal Flavor Violation at the LHC

If the LHC experiments discover new particles that couple to the Standard Model fermions, then measurements by ATLAS and CMS can contribute to our understanding of the flavor puzzles. We demonstrate this statement by investigating a scenario where extra SU(2)-singlet down-type quarks are within the LHC reach. By measuring masses, production cross sections and relative decay rates, minimal flavor violation (MFV) can in principle be excluded. Conversely, these measurements can probe the way in which MFV applies to the new degrees of freedom. Many of our conclusions are valid in a much more general context than this specific extension of the Standard Model.

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arXiv2007

The importance of N2 leptogenesis

We argue that fast interactions of the lightest singlet neutrino $N_1$ would project part of a preexisting lepton asymmetry $L_p$ onto a direction that is protected from $N_1$ washout effects, thus preventing it from being erased. In particular, we consider an asymmetry generated in $N_2$ decays, assuming that $N_1$ interactions are fast enough to bring $N_1$ into full thermal equilibrium. If $N_1$ decays occur at $T\gsim 10^9$ GeV, that is, before the muon Yukawa interactions enter into thermal equilibrium, then generically part of $L_p$ survives. In this case some of the constraints implied by the standard $N_1$ leptogenesis scenario hold only if $L_p \approx 0$. For $T\lsim 10^9$ GeV, $L_p$ is generally erased, unless special alignment/orthogonality conditions in flavor space are realized.

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arXiv2007

Probing new physics with flavor physics (and probing flavor physics with new physics)

This is a written version of a series of lectures aimed at graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in particle theory/string theory/particle experiment familiar with the basics of the Standard Model. We begin with an overview of flavor physics and its implications for new physics. We emphasize the "new physics flavor puzzle". Then, we give four specific examples of flavor measurements and the lessons that have been (or can be) drawn from them: (i) Charm physics: lessons for supersymmetry from the upper bound on $Δm_D$. (ii) Bottom physics: model independent lessons on the KM mechanism and on new physics in neutral B mixing from $S_{ψK_S}$. (iii) Top physics and beyond: testing minimal flavor violation at the LHC. (iv) Neutrino physics: interpreting the data on neutrino masses and mixing within flavor models.

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arXiv2007

Probing CP violation in neutrino oscillations with neutrino telescopes

Measurements of flavor ratios of astrophysical neutrino fluxes are sensitive to the two yet unknown mixing parameters $θ_{13}$ and $δ$ through the combination $\sinθ_{13}\cosδ$. We extend previous studies by considering the possibility that neutrino fluxes from more than a single type of sources will be measured. We point out that, if reactor experiments establish a lower bound on $θ_{13}$, then neutrino telescopes might establish an upper bound on $|\cosδ|$ that is smaller than one, and by that prove that CP is violated in neutrino oscillations. Such a measurement requires several favorable ingredients to occur: (i) $θ_{13}$ is not far below the present upper bound; (ii) The uncertainties in $θ_{12}$ and $θ_{23}$ are reduced by a factor of about two; (iii) Neutrino fluxes from muon-damped sources are identified, and their flavor ratios measured with accuracy of order 10% or better. For the last condition to be achieved with the planned km^3 detectors, the neutrino flux should be close to the Waxman-Bahcall bound. It motivates neutrino telescopes that are effectively about 10 times larger than IceCube for energies of O(100 TeV), even at the expense of a higher energy threshold.

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arXiv2007

Lessons from BaBar and Belle measurements of D-Dbar mixing parameters

The BaBar and Belle experiments have recently presented evidence for D-Dbar mixing. We explain the following points: (i) The measurements imply width difference $y \sim 0.01$. In the limit of small CP violation, the CP-odd state is longer-lived; (ii) $y\sim0.01$ is consistent with the Standard Model. It suggests that SU(3) breaking from phase space effects is likely to play a major role; (iii) There is no evidence for either large mass splitting or CP violation. Consequently, there is no hint for new physics; (iv) The stronger bounds on the mass splitting and on CP violation imply that, if squarks are observed at the LHC, it is unlikely that they will be non-degenerate.

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arXiv2007

Introduction to leptogenesis

The discovery of neutrino masses makes leptogenesis a very attractive scenario for explaining the puzzle of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We present the basic ingredients of leptogenesis, explain the predictive power of this scenario (and its limitations), and describe recent theoretical developments.

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arXiv2007

Relating leptogenesis parameters to light neutrino masses

We obtain model independent relations among neutrino masses and leptogenesis parameters. We find exact relations that involve the CP asymmetries $ε_{N_α}$, the washout parameters $\tilde m_α$ and $θ_{αβ}$, and the neutrino masses $m_i$ and $M_α$, as well as powerful inequalities that involve just $\tilde m_α$ and $m_i$. We prove that the Yukawa interactions of at least two of the heavy singlet neutrinos are in the strong washout region ($\tilde m_α\gg10^{-3} eV$).

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arXiv2006

New Physics and CP Violation in Singly Cabibbo Suppressed D Decays

We analyze various theoretical aspects of CP violation in singly Cabibbo suppressed (SCS) D-meson decays, such as $D \to K K,ππ$. In particular, we explore the possibility that CP asymmetries will be measured close to the present level of experimental sensitivity of $O(10^{-2})$. Such measurements would signal new physics. We make the following points: (i) The mechanism at work in neutral D decays could be indirect or direct CP violation (or both). (ii) One can experimentally distinguish between these possibilities. (iii) If the dominant CP violation is indirect, then there are clear predictions for other modes. (iv) Tree-level direct CP violation in various known models is constrained to be much smaller than $10^{-2}$. (v) SCS decays, unlike Cabibbo favored or doubly Cabibbo suppressed decays, are sensitive to new contributions from QCD penguin operators and especially from chromomagnetic dipole operators. This point is illustrated with supersymmetric gluino-squark loops, which can yield direct CP violating effects of $O(10^{-2})$.

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arXiv2006

Constraining the Phase of B_s - \bar{B}_s Mixing

New physics contributions to B_s-\bar{B}_s mixing can be parametrized by the size (r_s^2) and the phase (2θ_s) of the total mixing amplitude relative to the Standard Model amplitude. The phase has so far been unconstrained. We first use the D0 measurement of the semileptonic CP asymmetry A_SL to obtain the first constraint on the semileptonic CP asymmetry in B_s decays, A_SL^s=-0.008 \pm 0.011. Then we combine recent measurements by the CDF and D0 collaborations - the mass difference (ΔM_s), the width difference (ΔΓ_s) and A_SL^s - to constrain 2θ_s. The errors on ΔΓ_s and A_SL^s should still be reduced to have a sensitive probe of the phase, yet the central values are such that the regions around 2θ_s ~ 3π/2 and, in particular, 2θ_s ~ π/2, are disfavored.

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arXiv2006

Solving Flavor Puzzles with Quiver Gauge Theories

We consider a large class of models where the SU(5) gauge symmetry and a Froggatt-Nielsen (FN) Abelian flavor symmetry arise from a U(5)\times U(5) quiver gauge theory. An intriguing feature of these models is a relation between the gauge representation and the horizontal charge, leading to a restricted set of possible FN charges. Requiring that quark masses are hierarchical, the lepton flavor structure is uniquely determined. In particular, neutrino mass anarchy is predicted.

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arXiv2006

The importance of flavor in leptogenesis

We study leptogenesis from the out-of-equilibrium decays of the lightest heavy neutrino $N_1$ in the medium (low) temperature regime, $T\lsim 10^{12}$ GeV ($10^{10}$ GeV), where the rates of processes mediated by the $τ$ (and $μ$) Yukawa coupling are non negligible, implying that the effects of lepton flavors must be taken into account. We find important quantitative and qualitative differences with respect to the case where flavor effects are ignored: (i) The cosmic baryon asymmetry can be enhanced by up to one order of magnitude; (ii) The sign of the asymmetry can be opposite to what one would predict from the sign of the total lepton asymmetry $ε_1$; (iii) Successful leptogenesis is possible even with $ε_1=0$.

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arXiv2005

On Higgs and sphaleron effects during the leptogenesis era

We discuss the effects of various processes that can be active during the leptogenesis era, and present the Boltzmann equations that take them into account appropriately. A non-vanishing Higgs number asymmetry is always present, enhancing the washout of the lepton asymmetry. This is the main new effect when leptogenesis takes place at $T>10^{12}$ GeV, reducing the final baryon asymmetry and tightening the leptogenesis bound on the neutrino masses. If leptogenesis occurs at lower temperatures, electroweak sphalerons partially transfer the lepton asymmetry to a baryonic one, while Yukawa interactions and QCD sphalerons partially transfer the asymmetries of the left-handed fields to the right-handed ones, suppressing the washout processes. Depending on the specific temperature range in which leptogenesis occurs, the final baryon asymmetry can be enhanced or suppressed by factors of order 20%--40% with respect to the case when these effects are altogether ignored.

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arXiv2005

CP violation in meson decays

This is a written version of a series of lectures aimed at graduate students in the field of (theoretical and experimental) high energy physics. The main topics covered are: (i) The flavor sector of the Standard Model and the Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism of CP violation; (ii) Formalism and theoretical interpretation of CP violation in meson decays; (iii) K decays; (iv) D decays; (v) B decays: b -> c c-bar s, b -> s s-bar s, b -> u u-bar d and b -> c u-bar s, u c-bar s; (vi) CP violation as a probe of new physics and, in particular, of supersymmetry.

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