Symplectic modular symmetry in heterotic string vacua: flavor, CP, and R-symmetries

We examine a common origin of four-dimensional flavor, CP, and U(1)R symmetries in the context of heterotic string theory with standard embedding. We find that flavor and U(1)R symmetries are unified into the Sp(2h + 2, ℂ) modular symmetries of Calabi-Yau threefolds with h being the number of moduli fields. Together with the $$ {\mathbb{Z}}_2^{\mathrm{CP}} $$ ℤ 2 CP CP symmetry, they are enhanced to GSp(2h + 2, ℂ) ≃ Sp(2h + 2, ℂ) ⋊ $$ {\mathbb{Z}}_2^{\mathrm{CP}} $$ ℤ 2 CP generalized symplectic modular symmetry. We exemplify the S3, S4, T′, S9 non-Abelian flavor symmetries on explicit toroidal orbifolds with and without resolutions and ℤ2, S4 flavor symmetries on three-parameter examples of Calabi-Yau threefolds. Thus, non-trivial flavor symmetries appear in not only the exact orbifold limit but also a certain class of Calabi-Yau three-folds. These flavor symmetries are further enlarged to non-Abelian discrete groups by the CP symmetry.

Spectral action and the electroweak θ-terms for the Standard Model without fermion doubling

We compute the leading terms of the spectral action for a noncommutative geometry model that has no fermion doubling. The spectral triple describing it, which is chiral and allows for CP-symmetry breaking, has the Dirac operator that is not of the product type. Using Wick rotation we derive explicitly the Lagrangian of the model from the spectral action for a flat metric, demonstrating the appearance of the topological θ-terms for the electroweak gauge fields.

A New Generation of Neutrino Cross Section Experiments: Challenges and Opportunities

Our knowledge of neutrino cross sections at the GeV scale, instrumental to test CP symmetry violation in the leptonic sector, has grown substantially in the last two decades. Still, their precision and understanding are far from the standard needed in contemporary neutrino physics. Nowadays, the knowledge of the neutrino cross section at O(10%) causes the main systematic uncertainty in oscillation experiments and jeopardizes their physics reach. In this paper, we envision the opportunities for a new generation of cross section experiments to be run in parallel with DUNE and HyperKamiokande. We identify the most prominent physics goals by looking at the theory and experimental limitations of the previous generation of experiments. We highlight the priorities in the theoretical understanding of GeV cross sections and the experimental challenges of this new generation of facilities.

Explicit perturbations to the stabilizer τ = i of modular $$ {A}_5^{\prime } $$ symmetry and leptonic CP violation

In a class of neutrino mass models with modular flavor symmetries, it has been observed that CP symmetry is preserved at the fixed point (or stabilizer) of the modulus parameter τ = i, whereas significant CP violation emerges within the neighbourhood of this stabilizer. In this paper, we first construct a viable model with the modular $$ {A}_5^{\prime } $$ A 5 ′ symmetry, and explore the phenomenological implications for lepton masses and flavor mixing. Then, we introduce explicit perturbations to the stabilizer at τ = i, and present both numerical and analytical results to understand why a small deviation from the stabilizer leads to large CP violation. As low-energy observables are very sensitive to the perturbations to model parameters, we further demonstrate that the renormalization-group running effects play an important role in confronting theoretical predictions at the high-energy scale with experimental measurements at the low-energy scale.

Constraining CP4 3HDM with Top Quark Decays

CP4 3HDM is a unique three-Higgs-doublet model equipped with a higher-order CP-symmetry in the scalar and Yukawa sector. Based on a single assumption (the minimal model with a CP-symmetry of order 4 and no accidental symmetry), it leads to a remarkable correlation between its scalar and Yukawa sectors, which echoes in its phenomenology. A recent scan of the parameter space of CP4 3HDM under the assumption of scalar alignment identified a few dozens of points which passed many flavor constraints. In the present work, however, we show that almost all of these points are now ruled out by the recent LHC searches of t→H+b with subsequent hadronic decays of H+. Apart from a few points with charged Higgses heavier than the top quark, only one point survives all the checks, the model with an exotic, non-2HDM-like generation pattern of H+ couplings with quarks. One can expect many more points with exotic H+ couplings to quarks if the scalar alignment assumption is relaxed.

CP symmetry and symplectic modular invariance

We analyze CP symmetry in symplectic modular-invariant supersymmetric theories. We show that for genus g\ge 3g≥3 the definition of CP is unique, while two independent possibilities are allowed when g\le 2g≤2. We discuss the transformation properties of moduli, matter multiplets and modular forms in the Siegel upper half plane, as well as in invariant subspaces. We identify CP-conserving surfaces in the fundamental domain of moduli space. We make use of all these elements to build a CP and symplectic invariant model of lepton masses and mixing angles, where known data are well reproduced and observable phases are predicted in terms of a minimum number of parameters.

Axion-Like Particle Searches with IACTs

The growing interest in axion-like particles (ALPs) stems from the fact that they provide successful theoretical explanations of physics phenomena, from the anomaly of the CP-symmetry conservation in strong interactions to the observation of an unexpectedly large TeV photon flux from astrophysical sources, at distances where the strong absorption by the intergalactic medium should make the signal very dim. In this latter condition, which is the focus of this review, a possible explanation is that TeV photons convert to ALPs in the presence of strong and/or extended magnetic fields, such as those in the core of galaxy clusters or around compact objects, or even those in the intergalactic space. This mixing affects the observed γ-ray spectrum of distant sources, either by signal recovery or the production of irregularities in the spectrum, called `wiggles’, according to the specific microscopic realization of the ALP and the ambient magnetic field at the source, and in the Milky Way, where ALPs may be converted back to γ rays. ALPs are also proposed as candidate particles for the Dark Matter. Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) have the potential to detect the imprint of ALPs in the TeV spectrum from several classes of sources. In this contribution, we present the ALP case and review the past decade of searches for ALPs with this class of instruments.

A new bound on CP violation in the τ 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 τ 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 τ 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.

New physics and the tau polarization vector in b → $$ \mathrm{c}\tau {\overline{\nu}}_{\tau } $$ decays

For a general Hb → $$ {H}_c\tau {\overline{\nu}}_{\tau } $$ H c τ ν ¯ τ decay we analyze the role of the τ polarization vector $$ {\mathcal{P}}^{\mu } $$ P μ in the context of lepton flavor universality violation studies. We use a general phenomenological approach that includes, in addition to the Standard Model (SM) contribution, vector, axial, scalar, pseudoscalar and tensor new physics (NP) terms which strength is governed by, complex in general, Wilson coefficients. We show that both in the laboratory frame, where the initial hadron is at rest, and in the center of mass of the two final leptons, a $$ \overrightarrow{\mathcal{P}} $$ P → component perpendicular to the plane defined by the three-momenta of the final hadron and the τ lepton is only possible for complex Wilson coefficients, being a clear signal for physics beyond the SM as well as time reversal (or CP-symmetry) violation. We make specific evaluations of the different polarization vector components for the Λb → Λc, $$ {\overline{B}}_c $$ B ¯ c → ηc, J/ψ and $$ \overline{B} $$ B ¯ → D(*) semileptonic decays, and describe NP effects in the complete two-dimensional space associated with the independent kinematic variables on which the polarization vector depends. We find that the detailed study of $$ {\mathcal{P}}^{\mu } $$ P μ has great potential to discriminate between different NP scenarios for 0− → 0− decays, but also for Λb → Λc transitions. For this latter reaction, we pay special attention to corrections to the SM predictions derived from complex Wilson coefficients contributions.