Analysis of the production of Higgs boson pairs at the one-loop level in the minimal supersymmetric standard model

Within theminimal supersymmetric standardmodel, the amplitudes and total cross sections for the processes e ⁺ e ^? → hh, e ⁺ e ^? → hH, e ⁺ e ^? → HH, and e ⁺ e ^? → AA are calculated in the first order of perturbation theory with allowance for a complete set of one-loop diagrams in the m _e → 0 approximation. Analytic expressions are obtained for the quantities under consideration; numerical results are presented in a graphical form. It is shown that the cross section for the process e ⁺ e ^? → hh is larger than those for the other processes (and is on the same order of magnitude as the cross section for the corresponding processes in the Standard Model). In the case of the collision energy equal to √s = 500 GeV, an integrated luminosity in the region ∫ ? ≥ 500 fb^?1, and a longitudinal polarization of the e ⁺ e ? beams used, 520, 320, and 300 production events are possible in the processes e ⁺ e ^? → hh (at M _h = 115 GeV), e ⁺ e ^? → HH, and e ⁺ e ^? → AA (at M _H,A = 120 GeV), respectively. Even at M _H,A ≈ 500 GeV and √s = 1.5 TeV, not less than 200 events for each of the processes can be accumulated. The cross section for the process e ⁺ e ^? → hH is small (about 10^?2 fb), which complicates the detection of the sought signal significantly.     

Application of the hidden local symmetry effective chiral Lagrangian to evaluation of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">ω</Emphasis>(782), <Emphasis Type="Italic">ϕ</Emphasis>(1020) → 5<Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis> decay widths

The amplitudes obtained from the effective chiral Lagrangian with anomalous terms based on hidden local symmetry are applied to the evaluation of the partial widths of the decays ω → 2π⁺2π^?π⁰ and ω → π⁺π^?3π⁰. Combining the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule, applied to the five-pion final state, with the Adler condition of vanishing of the amplitude at the vanishing of four-momentum of any final pion in the chiral limit, the ? → 2π⁺2π^?π⁰ and ? → π⁺π^?3π⁰ decay amplitudes are also calculated. The partial widths of the above decays are evaluated, and the resonance excitation curves in e⁺e^? annihilation are obtained, assuming reasonable particular relations among the free parameters characterizing the anomalous terms of the Lagrangian. The evaluated branching ratios \(Br_{\phi \to \pi + \pi - 3\pi ^0 } \approx 2 \times 10^{ - 7} \) and \(Br_{\phi \to 2\pi + 2\pi - \pi ^0 } \approx 5 \times 10^{ - 7} \) are such that with the luminosity L = 500 pb^?1, attained at the DAΦNE ? factory, one may already possess about 1340 events of the decays ? → 5π.     

Observation of coherent <Emphasis Type="Italic">π</Emphasis><Superscript>0</Superscript> electroproduction on deuterons at large momentum transfer

The first experimental results for the coherent π⁰ electroproduction on a deuteron, e+d → e+d+π⁰, at large momentum transfer, are reported. The experiment was performed at Jefferson Laboratory at an incident electron energy of 4.05 GeV. A large pion production yield has been observed in the kinematical region 1.1<Q²<1.8 GeV², from the threshold to 200-MeV excitation energy in the dπ⁰ system. The Q² dependence is compared with theoretical predictions.     

Separation of electrons and pions in the SND detector calorimeter

A method is developed for discriminating between e⁺e^? → e⁺e^? and e⁺e^? → π⁺π^? events in the center-of-mass (cms) energy range of 0.5 to 1.0 GeV by energy deposition in the electromagnetic calorimeter of the SND detector using a machine learning algorithm. Identification efficiencies for e⁺e^? → e⁺e^? and e⁺e^? → π⁺π^? events are 99.6 and 99.8%, respectively.     

Four-Leptonic Decays of Charged and Neutral <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis> Mesons within the Standard Model

The branching ratios and differential distributions for the four-leptonic decays \({B^ - } \to {\mu ^ + }{\mu ^ - }{\bar v_e}{e^ - }\), \({B^ - } \to {e^ + }{e^ - }{\bar v_\mu }{\mu ^ - }\), and \({B^ - } \to {\mu ^ + }{\bar v_\mu }{\mu ^ - }{\mu ^ - }\) are calculated within the Standard Model. The branching ratios for the rare decays B_d,s → e⁺e^?μ⁺μ^? and B_d,s → μ⁺μ^?μ⁺μ^? are estimated. Methods for testing the lepton universality in rare multileptonic decays of charged and neutral B mesons are proposed.     

Evaluation of the Integrated Cross Sections of Reactions of Exclusive Pion and Kaon Electroproduction off Protons in the Resonance Region at Photon Virtualities from 5 to 12 GeV<Superscript>2</Superscript>

The integrated cross sections of the ep → eπ⁺n, ep → eπ⁰p, ep → eK⁺Λ, and ep → eK⁺Σ⁰ reactions are evaluated in the energy range of nucleon resonance excitation at photon virtualities Q² from 5 to 12 GeV². These exclusive channels will be explored at photon virtualities Q² > 5 GeV² for the first time in future experiments with the CLAS12 detector. The cross-section evaluation is based on the extrapolation of exclusive contributions to the inclusive structure functions F₁ and F₂ from a region of Q² < 5 GeV², in which the experimental data are available, to the region of higher Q². This evaluation of cross sections is of particular importance in the development of the program of experiments with the CLAS12 detector for studying the structure of the ground and excited nucleon states, which may reveal the dynamics of strong interactions in the nonperturbative regime.     

Effect of FCNC mediated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> boson on lepton flavor violating decays

We study the three body lepton flavor violating (LFV) decays μ ^?→e ^? e ⁺ e ^?, \(\tau^{-} \to l_{i}^{-} l_{j}^{+} l_{j}^{-}\) and the semileptonic decay τ→μφ in the flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) mediated Z boson model. We also calculate the branching ratios for LFV leptonic B decays, B _d,s →μe, B _d,s →τe, B _d,s →τμ and the conversion of muon to electron in Ti nucleus. The new physics parameter space is constrained by using the experimental limits on μ ^?→e ^? e ⁺ e ^? and τ ^?→μ ^? μ ⁺ μ ^?. We find that the branching ratios for τ→eee and τ→μφ processes could be as large as \({\sim}{\mathcal{O}}(10^{-8})\) and \(\mathrm{Br}(B_{d,s} \to \tau \mu,~ \tau e) \sim {\mathcal{O}}(10^{-10})\). For other LFV B decays the branching ratios are found to be too small to be observed in the near future.     

Energy scan of cross sections for <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>–</Superscript> annihilation into quarkonia and light hadrons in the Belle experiment

The cross sections of the reactions e⁺e^– → ?(nS)π⁺π^? (n = 1, 2,3) and e⁺e^– → h _b (nP)π⁺π^? (n = 1, 2) are measured as a function of the cms collision energy from their thresholds up to 11.02 GeV using the data of the Belle experiment operating at the KEKB e⁺e^– collider. The peaks of the ?(10 860) and ?(11020) resonances are observed in the cross sections with an insignificant contribution of the continuum. The decay ?(11020) → h _b (nP)π⁺π^? is found to fully proceed through intermediate isovector states Z _b (10610) and Z _b (10650).     

VEPP-2000 project: Collider,detectors, and physics program

The new VEPP-2000 e⁺e^? collider of maximum energy 2000 MeV, which is under construction at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk), is briefly described. Experiments at VEPP-2000 will be performed with two upgraded detectors, CMD-2M and SND. A precise measurement of the total cross section for the process e⁺e^? → hadrons and of the partial cross sections for its exclusive hadronic channels is the main point of the physics program for this machine. These measurements will be aimed at testing QCD and the VMD and CVC models, as well as at refining the hadron contribution to fundamental constants such as the muon anomalous magnetic moment \(a_\mu = \frac{{g - 2}}{2}\) and the fine-structure constant α_em(M _Z ² ). Measurements of the nucleon form factors in the reactions e⁺e^? → p\(\bar p\), n\(\bar n\) at their threshold will also be of great importance.     

Lightest scalar resonances and the dynamics of the γγ → ππ reactions

The high-statistics Belle data on the γγ → π⁺π^? and γγ → π⁰π⁰ reactions have been jointly analyzed. The main dynamical mechanisms of these reactions for energies below 1.5 GeV have been revealed. It has been shown that the direct coupling constants of the σ(600) and f ₀(980) resonances with a γγ pair are small and that the σ(600) → γγ and f ₀(980) → γγ decays are four-quark transitions due primarily to π⁺π^? and K ⁺ K ^?-loop mechanisms, respectively. The role of the chiral shielding of the σ(600) resonance is emphasized. The widths of the f ₀(980) → γγ and σ(600) → γγ decays averaged over the resonance mass distributions, as well as the width of the f ₂(1270) → γγ decay, are estimated as \(\langle \Gamma _{f_0 \to \gamma \gamma } \rangle _{\pi \pi } \approx 0.19 keV, \langle \Gamma _{\sigma \to \gamma \gamma } \rangle _{\pi \pi } \approx 0.45 keV\), and \(\Gamma _{f_2 \to \gamma \gamma } (m_{f_2 }^2 ) \approx 3.8 keV\).     

Microscopics of mesonic degrees of freedom in nucleons and mesons in nuclei: Quasielastic meson knockout by high-energy electrons

The following questions are considered: (i) that of what quasielastic-knockout reactions are; (ii) that of what experience has been gained in measuring, in various channels, the momentum distributions and spectroscopic factors of nucleons and clusters in nuclei and of electrons in atoms, molecules, and solid-state bodies; (iii) that of how it is possible to introduce the concept of quasielastic knockout in the theory of meson-electroproduction processes p(e, e′m)B at beam energies of a few GeV and at moderate values of the square of the virtual-photon 4-momentum, Q ² = 2–4 (GeV/c)²; and (iv) that of how the momentum distributions of mesons in various channels of virtual proton decay, p → B + π, p → B + ρ, and p → Y + K, are predicted on the basis of the microscopic model of a fluctuation of the QCD vacuum in a nucleon. Proposals for relevant experiments are formulated. It is indicated that quasielastic-knockout processes like (e, e′π) provide the best way to study the problem of a scalar pion condensate in nuclei. In conclusion, it is emphasized that quasielastic processes ²H(e, e′p)B involving various spectator baryons B are of great value for determining the composition of multiquark configurations in nucleon-nucleon systems.     

37 Years with the light scalar mesons. The learned lessons

Attention is paid to the production mechanisms of light scalars that reveal their nature. We reveal the chiral shielding of the σ(600) meson. We show that the kaon loop mechanism of the ? radiative decays, ratified by experiment, is four-quark transition and points to the four-quark nature of light scalars. We show also that the light scalars are produced in the two photon collisions via four-quark transitions in contrast to the classic P wave tensor qq? mesons that are produced via two-quark transitions γγ → qq?. We study the mechanism of production of the light scalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → [σ(600) + f ₀(980)]e ⁺ν → π⁺π^? e ⁺ν, and compare it with the mechanism of production of the light pseudoscalar mesons in the D _s ⁺ → (η/η′)e ⁺ν decays: D _s ⁺ → ss?e ⁺ν → (η/η′)e ⁺ν. As a result we find support to four-quark nature of light scalars. In the end, we outline the future research program.     

Analytic calculation of feynman amplitudes

A new method is proposed for calculating amplitudes of processes involving spin-1/2 fermions. The method is based on the use of the isotropic-vierbein vectors in Minkowski space and the basis spinors associated with them. The amplitudes for the electron-positron interaction processes e^?e⁺ → ff and e^?e⁺ → W^?W⁺ and the amplitude for one of the possible diagrams for the process e⁺e^? → e⁺e^?e⁺e^?e⁺e^? are calculated in order to test and illustrate the potential of the method.     

Measurement of cross sections for processes involving <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>−</Superscript> annihilation to hadrons at the VEPP-2M collider

Results obtained by measuring, in experiments at the VEPP-2M e ⁺ e ^? collider with the CMD-2 and SND detectors at the Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics, cross sections for e ⁺ e ^? → hadrons annihilation processes at energies in the range 360 ≤ √s ≤ 1380 MeV are surveyed. The measured cross sections and the vector-meson parameters deduced from an analysis of these cross sections are presented. The cross section for the process e ⁺ e ^? → π ⁺ π ^? is compared with the spectral function for the decay τ ^? → π ^? π ⁰ ν _τ.     

Anomalous magnetic moment of the muon in the left-right model

The effect of Higgs bosons on the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is considered within the model that is based on the SU(2)_L×SU(2)_R×U(1)_B–L gauge group and which involves a bidoublet and two triplets of Higgs fields (left-right model). For the Yukawa coupling constants and the masses of Higgs bosons, the regions are found where the model leads to agreement with experimental results obtained at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) for the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. In order to explore corollaries from the constraints obtained for the parameters of the Higgs sector, the processes e⁺e^? → μ⁺μ^?, τ⁺τ^? and μ⁺μ^? → μ⁺μ^?, τ⁺τ^? are considered both within the left-right model and within the model involving two Higgs doublets (two-Higgs-doublet model). It is shown that, if the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson does indeed lie in the range 3.1–10 GeV, as is inferred from the condition requiring the consistency of the two-Higgs-doublet model with the data of the BNL experiment, this Higgs boson may be observed as a resonance peak at currently operating e⁺e^? colliders (VEPP-4M, CESR, KEKB, PEP-II, and SLC). In order to implement this program, however, it is necessary to reduce considerably the scatter of energy in the e⁺ and e^? beams used, since the decay width of the lightest neutral Higgs boson is extremely small at such mass values. It is demonstrated that, in the case of the left-right model, for which the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson is not less than 115 GeV, the resonance peak associated with it may be detected at a muon collider.     

Rare meson decay in supersymmetric theory with nonconservation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-parity

The decay of mesons K ⁺ → π ^? l ⁺ l′⁺ and D ⁺ → K ^? l ⁺ l′⁺ (l, l′ = e, μ) involving a change of lepton number ΔL = 2 is considered in a supersymmetric extension of the standard model in which R-parity is not conserved due to trilinear Yukawa interactions. The obtained estimates for the probabilities of these decays are significantly lower than the direct experimental upper limits.     

Model-independent analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">CP</Emphasis> violation effects in decays of the Higgs boson into a Pair of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> bosons

Effects of CP and T invariance violation are studied in the most general interaction of the Higgs boson with the intermediate vector W ^± and Z bosons. Various angular distributions of the cascade decay Φ → W ⁺ W ^?/ZZ → 4 of fermions in the transversity and helicity systems are calculated, and asymmetries are constructed and evaluated. It is shown that studying the azimuthal angle distribution of the process Φ → ZZ → (e ^? e ⁺)(μ^?μ⁺) in the transversity system is effective for measuring the spatial parity of the Higgs boson.     

Production of exotic Λ hypernuclei via mesonic beams

We study the production of neutron-rich hypernuclei _Λ ¹² Be, _Λ ¹⁶ C, and _Λ ¹⁰ Li by the (π^?, K⁺) and (K^?, π⁺) reactions in flight and treat two different mechanisms of production. The first mechanism is a two-step process with meson charge exchange (e.g., π^?p → π⁰n, π⁰p → K⁺Λ). The other mechanism is one-step production (π^?p → K⁺Σ^?) proceeding via a small Σ^? component, arising in Λ hypernuclei due to ΛN–ΣN coupling, as a doorway state. Typically, the two-step mechanism is more productive. The forward differential cross section of the ¹⁰B(π^?,K⁺) reaction is about 70 nb/sr at an incident momentum of 1.05 GeV/c. On the other hand, the one-step process can serve as a direct measurement of the Σ admixture if the two-step contribution is suppressed by a suitable choice of the reaction kinematics.     

Isospin violation in mixing and decays of <Emphasis Type="Italic">ρ</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">ω</Emphasis> mesons

The influence of isospin-violating (ρ⁰, ω) mixing is discussed for any pair of decays of ρ⁰, ω into the same final state. It is demonstrated, in analogy to the CP violation in neutral kaon decays, that isospin violation can manifest itself in various forms: direct violation in amplitudes and/or violation due to mixing. In addition to the known decays (ρ⁰, ω) → π⁺π^? and (ρ⁰, ω) → π⁰γ, the pair of decays to e⁺e^? and the whole set of radiative decays with participation of ρ⁰, ω (in initial or final states) are also shown to be useful and promising for studies. Existing data on these decays agree with the universal character of the mixing parameter and indirectly support enhancement of ρ⁰ → π⁰γ in respect to ρ^± → π^±γ. Future precise measurements will allow one to separate different forms of isospin violation and elucidate their mechanisms.     

Tests of discrete symmetries with the neutral kaon system at the KLOE and KLOE-2 experiments

The KLOE-2 experiment continues and extends the program of its predecessor KLOE in the field of discrete symmetry tests with the K meson system, among other studies which comprise light meson spectroscopy, dark matter searches and γγ physics. Together, KLOE and KLOE-2 have recorded the largest sample (almost 8 fb^??1) of e⁺e^? collisions at the energy equal to ? meson mass, amounting to 2.4 × 10¹⁰ of produced ? mesons. We report on the latest results and ongoing analyses of KLOE and KLOE-2 concerning discrete symmetry tests and measurements of symmetry-violating observables. A measurement of the CPT violation sensitive asymmetry in semileptonic decays of K˙S with 1.7 fb^??1 of KLOE data will be presented, which improves the sensitivity w.r.t. previous measurements about twice. Moreover, status of direct tests of T and CPT in transitions of neutral kaons performed with the ? →K˙SK˙L → πeν, 3π⁰(2π) processes will be reported, followed by the search of the CP-violating decay K˙S → 3π⁰ using the data recently acquired by KLOE-2.