Electroweak jet cascading in the decay of superheavy particles

We study decays of superheavy particles X into leptons. We show that they initiate cascades similar to QCD parton jets, if m(X) greater or similar 10(6) GeV. Electroweak cascading is studied and the energy spectra of the produced leptons are calculated in the framework of a broken SU(2) model of weak interactions. As application, important for the Z-burst model for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, we consider decays of superheavy particles coupled on tree level only to neutrinos and derive a stringent limit for these decays from the observed diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray flux.     

Chiral perturbation theory with virtual photons and leptons

We construct a low-energy effective field theory which allows for a full treatment of the isospin-breaking effects in semileptonic weak interactions. To this end, we enlarge the particle spectrum of chiral perturbation theory with virtual photons by including also the light leptons as dynamical degrees of freedom. Using super-heat-kernel techniques, we determine the additional one-loop divergences generated by the presence of virtual leptons and give the full list of associated local counterterms. We illustrate the use of our effective theory by applying it to the decays and . Received: 9 September 1999 / Published online: 10 December 1999     

Generations of massless composite quarks and leptons

We present a QCD-like composite model in which quarks, leptons and technifermions are three-body systems made out of three kinds of massless elementary fermions t, c and w, each carrying technicolor, color and weak gauge interactions, respectively. Discrete symmetries, remnants of the U(1)_A of the original lagrangian, are responsible for the masslessness of all the quarks and leptons and give the precise meaning of the generations. The model exhibits three generations for both quarks and leptons. Small but non-zero masses of the quarks and leptons are produced by the technicolor condensate of the composite technifermions, which thereby leads to the non-trivial Cabibbo mixing. Proton decays are all forbidden at the mass scale of the QCD-like theory.     

Composite weak bosons and their radiative decays

In composite models of leptons, quarks, and weak bosons, radiative decays of the Z-boson may occur with a relatively large rate. In these decays a photon and a new spin zero particle are produced. The latter subsequently decays into lepton or quark pairs, or into a pair of photons. Various phenomenological aspects of these decays are studied. Radiative decays of the W^± boson are suppressed with respect to those of the Z⁰.     

Radiative corrections to K_{\ell 3} decays

We present a complete calculation of the decays and to in chiral perturbation theory with virtual photons and leptons. We introduce the concept of generalized form factors and kinematical densities in the presence of electromagnetism, and propose a possible treatment of the real photon emission in decays. We illustrate our results by applying them to the extraction of the Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix element from the experimental decay parameters. Received: 12 October 2001 / Published online: 11 January 2002     

Three-jet distributions ine + e − annihilation: Electromagnetic and weak production

Hard gluon bremsstrahlung off quarks ine ⁺ e ^? annihilation is expected to produce three-jet events. The angular distributions of the jets are calculated for electromagnetic and weak production in the high energy region (Z resonance decay included). Numerical estimates are presented for the vectoraxialvector interference terms within the Weinberg-Salam theory. We discuss (i) angular correlations between jets, (ii) semiinclusive pion distributions and (iii) we comment on angular asymmetries of leptons originating from heavy quark decays.     

Testing the Lorentz structure of the charged weak current in τ-decays

We review the current experimental situation on the determination of the Lorentz structure of the charged weak current in τ decays. We propose a method to extent these studies to decays of τ leptons to righthanded daughter leptons which are forbidden in the standard model. We reanalyse the available data in the framework of specific models and derive limits on the mass of charged Higgs bosons of m(H ^±) > 1.5 tan β GeV at 90 % c.l. and on righthanded W-bosons of m(W ₂) > 230 GeV at 90 % c.l., valid if the righthanded neutrinos associated with it are light compared to the τ.     

Radiative corrections to semileptonic decays of charged hyperons

We have studied the radiative corrections to the lepton energy spectrum in semileptonic hyperon decays. The calculation is performed relativistically for the baryons as well as for the leptons, under the assumption of the effective current-current interaction of the V-?A type for the baryonic part. We obtain the explicit formula of radiative corrections to the lepton energy spectrum which we can exactly evaluate in case of charged hyperon decays. Numerical values of the radiative corrections to the decays rate and the shape of the lepton energy spectrum are also given for some decay modes. It is shown that the spectral shape is little affected by the radiative corrections.     

SU(4) weak currents

We suggest SU_L(4) ? U(1) as the gauge symmetry of weak and electromagnetic interactions for quartets of quarks and leptons. We analyze how the (additional) SU_L(4) weak currents (besides the SU_L(2) subgroup) could affect the weak interactions of ordinary particles, the atomic parity violation, the neutral-current neutrino reactions and the decays of the τ heavy lepton and the charmed mesons. The suppression of neutral-current parity violation in atomic experiments can be naturally incorporated in this model while at the same time the success of the Weinberg-Salam model with respect to the inclusive neutral current data is kept. The model has limited freedom and therefore many definite predictions.     

Universality of the basic interactions

We propose the unification of weak, electromagnetic and strong interactions within a gauge theory based on the chiral group of elementary fermions (quarks and leptons). Several consequences, in particular one with respect to neutral currents in the weak interactions, are discussed.     

Trimuons in SU(3) gauge models

We discuss models of weak interactions which can account for the recently observed μ^?μ^?μ⁺ events in v_μ reactions by allowing for the production of a new heavy neutral lepton and a new quark. One model is based on an SU(3) × U(1) gauge theory in shich the left-handed leptons are classified in anti-triplets. The second model catagorizes the leptons in an octet in accord with the more restrictive SU(3) weak gauge theory.     

Measurement of theZ0 line shape parameters and the electroweak couplings of charged leptons

We report on an improved measurement of the mass of theZ ⁰ boson, its total width and its partial decay widths into hadrons and leptons, as well as the effective axial vector and vector couplings to charged leptons. These measurements are based on a data set of approximately 160 000 hadronicZ ⁰ decays and 18 000 decays into electrons, muons and taus, recorded by the OPAL experiment at centre of mass energies near the mass of theZ ⁰. The total width and the partial widths to visible final states, derived from the measured cross sections, are used to extract the invisible width. The effective couplings of theZ ⁰ to charged leptons are studied using measurements of the lepton pair cross sections and forward-backward asymmetries at the different centre of mass energy points of theZ ⁰ scan. The implications of our results in the context of the Standard Model are discussed.On leave from Research Institute for Computer Peripherals, Hangzhou, China     

Photon signatures for low energy supersymmetry breaking and broken R-parity

The possible phenomenological consequences of R-parity violating interactions in the framework of low energy supersymmetry breaking are studied. It is pointed out that even very weak R-parity violation would completely overshadow one of the basic signatures of low energy supersymmetry breaking models, that is the decay of the next to lightest supersymmetric particle into a photon (lepton) and missing energy. Thus, the observation of these decays would put very strong limits on R-parity violating couplings. Vice-versa, if R-parity violation is established experimentally, before a detailed knowledge of the spectrum is obtained, it will be very difficult to distinguish gravity mediated from low energy gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios. Those conclusions are very model independent. We also comment on the possibility of mixing between charged and neutral leptons with charginos and neutralinos, respectively, and its phenomenological consequences for the photon (lepton) signatures, in scenarios where this mixing is generated by the presence of bilinear or trilinear R-parity violating terms in the superpotential.     

Search for evidence of compositeness at LEP I

Extensive searches for evidence of compositeness of quarks and leptons have been made in the complete set of ALEPH data from LEP running at the Z peak. These include searches for radiative and weak decays of excited fermions, produced either in pairs or singly, and a scalar partner of the Z. Coupling and branching ratio limits deduced from these searches are presented. Received: 6 February 1998 / Published online: 2 July 1998     

Multilepton configurations in b and t decays

The probabilities of emitting one or more prompt charged leptons in b and t decays and in the decay of a b$\text{b}$ or t$\text{t}$ pair are computed and found to be large. Multilepton configurations can thus be used to identify the production of new flavours, and to obtain information on the weak mixing angles.     

The structure of weak interactions for composite quarks and leptons

We consider a model of quarks and leptons as quasi-Goldstone fermions which is based on an underlying supersymmetric SU(2)_HC × SU(2)′_HC preon theory. The spontaneous breakdown of a global U(6) × U(6)′ × U(1) symmetry to U(4) × U(4)′ × SU(2)_diag creates both quarks and leptons and at the same time allows for the possibility of having either residual or fundamental weak interactions. Effective lagrangians in the confining phase of the theory are compared to those emerging from a complementary picture and the problems connected with the nature of the weak interactions are discussed in this context also.     

Is there a new neutral lepton?

We discuss conservation laws of lepton flavors within the context of unified weak and electromagnetic gauge theories. We show that the present upper limit on the new (U) lepton-number violating processes U→3 charged leptons already requires the presence of a neutral lepton in the SU(2) ? U(1) theory. We discuss some of the possibilities and point out the constraints implied by lowering the bounds on μ→eγ and U→3 charged leptons.     

ANOMALOUS WEAK CHARGED CURRENTS OF LEPTONS AND QUARKS IN A SUBSTRUCTURE MODEL

We present a general approach to get the anomalous weak charged current of leptons and quarks in a substructure mode1,in which quarks, leptons and W-bosons are composed of preons (fermions and scalar bosons). We have shown that the (V+A) current can be determined by the structure of leptons and quarks and the anomalous weak current can be very small. In particular, it can approach zero, if the wave function of leptons (or quarks) has aspinor structure (I-P/m_f)F.     

Rare decays of the tau lepton at Belle

We report recent results of searches for lepton flavor violation and second class current in decays of τ leptons using the data sample collected in the Belle experiment at the KEKB electron-positron asymmetric-energy collider.     

Signatures of MSSM charged Higgs bosons via chargino–neutralino decay channels at the LHC

We assess the potential of detecting a charged Higgs boson of the MSSM at the LHC via its decays into a chargino and a neutralino. We focus our attention on the region of parameter space with and , where identification of the via other decay modes has proven to be ineffective. Searching for means to plug this hole, we simulate the decays and – the former can yield a single hard lepton (from the chargino decay) while the latter can yield three leptons (from the chargino and neutralino decays). Coupled with the dominant top quark + charged Higgs boson production mode, the resulting signature is one or three hard, isolated leptons, substantial missing transverse momentum and a reconstructed (via a 3-jet invariant mass) top quark. The single lepton channel is swamped by background processes; however, with suitable cuts, a trilepton signal emerges. While such a signal suffers from a low number of surviving events (after cuts) and is dependent on several MSSM input parameters (notably , and slepton masses), it does fill at least some of the void left by previous investigations. Received: 21 October 2000 / Published online: 23 February 2001