Flavour violation in supersymmetric theories

We investigate in detail the question of lepton-flavour violation in a SU(2) × U(1) supersymmetric model, where the breaking of supersymmetry (SUSY) is achieved through the coupling to N = 1 supergravity. It is shown that in the limit of degenerate neutrino masses, lepton flavour is exactly conserved. Allowing for neutrino masses compatible with present experimental limits, we analyse SUSY contributions to several lepton-flavour violating processes, comparing the size of these contributions with those already present in the standard Glashow-Salam-Weinberg model. In the case of μ → eγ, SUSY leads to a branching ratio two or three orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding branching ratio in the standard model, for gravitino and photino masses compatible with the experimental limits on the muon anomalous magnetic moment. In contrast, SUSY contributions to are always small, of the order of 10⁻² of the corresponding amplitudes in the standard model, if the gravitino and photino masses are constrained by the K_L − K_S mass difference.     

Flavour physics and CP violation

It is well known that the study of flavour physics and CP violation is very important to critically test the Standard Model and to look for possible signature of new physics beyond it. The observation of CP violation in kaon system in 1964 has ignited a lot of experimental and theoretical efforts to understand its origin and to look for CP violation effects in other systems besides the neutral kaons. The two B-factories BABAR and BELLE, along with other experiments, in the last decade or so made studies in flavour physics and CP violation a very interesting one. In this article we discuss the status and prospectives of the flavour physics associated with the strange, charm and bottom sectors of the Standard Model. The important results in kaon sector will be briefly discussed. Recently, mixing in the charm system has been observed, which was being pursued for quite some time without any success. The smallness of the mixing parameters in the charm system is due to the hierarchical structure of the CKM matrix. Interestingly, so far we have not found CP violation in the charm system but in the future, with more dedicated experiments at charm threshold, the situation could change. Many interesting observations have been made in the case of bottom mesons and some of them show some kind of deviations from that of the Standard Model expectations which are mainly associated with the b → s flavour changing neutral current transitions. It is long believed that the B _s system could be the harbinger of new physics since it is a system in which both bottom and strange quarks are the constituents. Recently, D0 and CDF announced their result for the B _s mixing which is claimed to be the first possible new physics signature in the flavour sector. We plan to touch upon all important issues pointing out both theoretical and experimental developments and future prospects in this review article.     

New heavy charged leptons at future high energy electron-positron colliders

New heavy charged lepton production and decay signatures at future electron-positron colliders are investigated at GeV. The consequences of model dependence for vector singlets and vector doublets are studied. Distributions are calculated including hadronization effects and experimental cuts that suppress the standard model background. The final state leptonic energy distributions are shown to give a very clear signature for heavy charged leptons.Received: 28 May 2003, Revised: 3 July 2003, Published online: 5 September 2003     

Search for lepton flavor violation in K+ decays into a charged pion and two leptons

A search for lepton flavor violating decays, K+ --> mu+ mu+ pi-, K+ --> e+ e+ pi-, K+ --> pi+ e+ mu-, K+ --> mu+ e+ pi-, and pi0 --> e+ mu-, was performed using the data collected in Experiment E865 at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron. No signal was found in any of the decay modes. At the 90% confidence level, the branching ratios are less than 3.0x10(-9), 6.4x10(-10), 5. 2x10(-10), 5.0x10(-10), and 3.4x10(-9), respectively.     

Bounds on charged lepton mixing with exotic charged leptons

We examine the effects of mixing induced light heavy charged lepton neutral currents on the partial wave amplitude for the process l⁺l⁻ →ZZ (withl = e,μ or τ). By imposing the constraints that the amplitude should not exceed the perturbative unitarity limit at high energy (√s = Λ), we obtain bounds on light heavy charged lepton mixing parameter sin²(2θ _L ^a ) where θ _L ^a is the mixing angle of the ordinary charged lepton with its exotic partner. For Λ = 1 TeV, no bound is obtained on sin² (2θ _L ^a ) form _E < 0.69 TeV. However, sin² (2θ _L ^a ) ≤ 1.52×10⁻⁵ form _E = 5 TeV, sin² (2θ _L ^a ) ≤ 2.41 ×10⁻⁷ form _E = 10 TeV. Similarity for Λ = ∞ no bound is obtained on sin² (2θ _L ^a ) for m_E < 1.97 TeV and sin² (2θ _L ^a ) ≤ 0.15 form _E = 5 TeV and sin² (2θ _L ^a ) ≤ 3.88×10^-2 form _E = 10 TeV.     

Anomalous moments of heavy charged leptons

If leptons and quarks are composite particles we expect them to have anomalous moments: an anomalous magnetic moment and an analogue of this with respect to the weak neutral current. If these moments are suppressed by chiral symmetry they will have sizeable values only for heavy fermions, e.g. for fermions of the fourth generation. The forward-backward asymmetry of e⁺e⁻ → f̄f on the Z⁰ resonance is particularly suited for detecting the anomalous “weak magnetic” moment of f if f is the charged lepton of the fourth generation. Under favourable circumstances this moment may lead to a 10% effect.     

Radiative decays of charged leptons in arbitrary order

In radiative decays of charged leptons induced by non-degenerate neutrino masses and consequent lepton flavour-mixing, the dominant suppression factor at the 1-loop level is (Σ m _a ² )/m _W ² ,m _a being the mass of theath neutrino. We show that this suppression factor is presentin all orders in a class of models including the standard model.     

New partially charged leptons at underground experiments

Summary A cosmic-ray counter telescope has been operated at zenith angles 0°, 40°, 44° and 60° in order to look for charge-4/3 particles. A few million clean single cosmic rays of each zenith angle were analysed. If single-track events in (4/3)e zone areX _4/3-vector bosons ofSU ₅ and have a heavy mass (10¹⁵ GeV), it is important to detect (4/3)e heavy leptons at deep underground and to search an arrival direction of these leptons.

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Riassunto è stato messo in funzione un telescopio contatore di raggi cosmici ad angoli zenitali di 0°, 40°, 44° e 60° per cercare particelle con carica 4/3. Sono stati analizzati alcuni milioni di raggi cosmici singoli nitidi per ogni angolo zenitale. Se gli eventi ad una singola traccia nella zona (4/3)e sono bosoni vettorialiX _4/3 diSU ₅ ed hanno massa pesante (10¹⁵ GeV), è importante rilevare leptoni pesanti a (4/3)e in profondità e cercare una direzione di arrivo di questi leptoni.

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Резюме Телескоп счетчиков космических лучей используется при зенитных углах 0°, 40°, 44°, и 60° для поиска частиц с зарядом (4/3)e. Для каждого зенитного угла анализируется несколько миллионов событий. Если изолированные трековые события в области (4/3)e представляютX _4/3-векторные бозоныSU ₅ и обладают большой массой (10¹⁵ ГэВ), то важно детектировать тяжелые лептоны с зарядом (4/3)e глубоко под землей и определять направление прилета этих лептонов.

     

Flavour changing neutral processes in a composite model for quarks,leptons and technifermions

It is argued that flavour-changing neutral processes may be suppressed in a recently proposed composite model for quarks, leptons and technifermions, in which the technicolour dynamics are asymptotically non-free at the composite level and are assumed to have an ultraviolet fixed point.     

Branching fractions of tau leptons to three charged hadrons

From electron-positron collision data collected with the CLEO detector operating at Cornell Electron Storage Ring near sqrt[s]=10.6 GeV, improved measurements of the branching fractions for tau decays into three explicitly identified hadrons and a neutrino are presented as B(tau(-)-->pi(-)pi(+)pi(-)nu(tau))=(9.13+/-0.05+/-0.46)%, B(tau(-)-->K-pi(+)pi(-)nu(tau))=(3.84+/-0.14+/-0.38) x 10(-3), B(tau(-)-->K-K+pi(-)nu(tau))=(1.55+/-0.06+/-0.09) x 10(-3), and B(tau(-)-->K-K+K-nu(tau))<3.7 x 10(-5) at 90% C.L., where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.