title:
Studies of the Triple Pomeron Vertex in Perturbative QCD and Its
  Applications in Phenomenology

abstract:
  We study the properties of the Triple Pomeron Vertex in the perturbative QCD
using the twist expansion method. Such analysis allows us to find the momenta
configurations preferred by the vertex. When the momentum transfer is zero, the
dominant contribution in the limit when Nc goes to infty comes from
anticollinear pole. This is in agreement with result obtained without
expanding, but by direct averaging of the Triple Pomeron Vertex over angles.
Resulting theta functions show that the anticollinear configuration is optimal
for the vertex. In the finite Nc case the collinear term also contributes.
Using the Triple Pomeron Vertex we construct a pomeron loop and we also
consider four gluon propagation between two Triple Pomeron Vertices. We apply
the Triple Pomeron Vertex to construct the Hamiltonian from which we derive the
Balitsky- Kovchegov equation for an unintegrated gluon density. In order to
apply this equation to phenomenology, we apply the Kwiecinski-Martin-Stasto
model for higher order corrections to a linear part of the Balitsky-Kovchegov
equation. We introduce the definition of the saturation scale which reflects
properties of this equation. Finally, we use it for computation of observables,
such as the F2 structure function and diffractive Higgs boson production cross
section. The impact of screening corrections on F2 is negligible, but those
effects turn out to be significant for diffractive Higgs boson production at
LHC.


title: Form Factors and Wave Functions of Vector Mesons in Holographic QCD

abstract:
  Within the framework of a holographic dual model of QCD, we develop a
formalism for calculating form factors of vector mesons. We show that the
holographic bound states can be described not only in terms of eigenfunctions
of the equation of motion, but also in terms of conjugate wave functions that
are close analogues of quantum-mechanical bound state wave functions. We derive
a generalized VMD representation for form factors, and find a very specific VMD
pattern, in which form factors are essentially given by contributions due to
the first two bound states in the Q^2-channel. We calculate electric radius of
the rho-meson, finding the value <r_rho^2>_C = 0.53 fm^2.


title: Quasi-degenerate neutrinos and leptogenesis from L_mu-L_tau

abstract:
  We provide a framework for quasi-degenerate neutrinos consistent with a
successful leptogenesis, based on the L_mu-L_tau flavor symmetry and its
breaking pattern. In this scheme, a fine-tuning is needed to arrange the small
solar neutrino mass splitting. Once it is ensured, the atmospheric neutrino
mass splitting and the deviation from the maximal atmospheric mixing angle are
driven by the same symmetry breaking parameter lambda~0.1, and the reactor
angle is predicted to be slightly smaller than lambda, while the Dirac CP phase
is generically of order one. Given that the pseudo-Dirac nature of right-handed
neutrinos is protected from the flavor symmetry breaking, a small mass
splitting can be generated radiatively. For moderate values of tan(beta)~10,
this allows for low-scale supersymmetric leptogenesis, overcoming a strong
wash-out effect of the quasi-degenerate light neutrinos and evading the
gravitino overproduction.


title: QCD sum rules study of $QQ-\bar{u}\bar{d}$ mesons

abstract:
  We use QCD sum rules to study the possible existence of $QQ-\bar{u}\bar{d}$
mesons, assumed to be a state with $J^{P}=1^{+}$. For definiteness, we work
with a current with an axial heavy diquark and a scalar light antidiquark, at
leading order in $\alpha_s$. We consider the contributions of condensates up to
dimension eight. For the $b$-quark, we predict $M_{T_{bb}}= (10.2\pm 0.3) {\rm
GeV}$, which is below the $\bar{B}\bar{B}^*$ threshold. For the $c$-quark, we
predict $M_{T_{cc}}= (4.0\pm 0.2) {\rm GeV}$, in agreement with quark model
predictions.


title:
Axial current matrix elements and pentaquark decay widths in chiral
  soliton models

abstract:
  Here I explain why in chiral soliton models the hadronic transition operator
of the pentaquark decay cannot be identified from the axial current.


title:
Reply to: ''Improved Determination of the CKM Angle alpha from B -> pipi
  decays''

abstract:
  In reply to hep-ph/0701204 we demonstrate why the arguments made therein do
not address the criticism exposed in hep-ph/0607246 on the fundamental
shortcomings of the Bayesian approach when it comes to the extraction of
parameters of Nature from experimental data. As for the isospin analysis and
the CKM angle alpha it is shown that the use of uniform priors for the observed
quantities in the Explicit Solution parametrization is equivalent to a
frequentist construction resulting from a change of variables, and thus relies
neither on prior PDFs nor on Bayes' theorem. This procedure provides in this
particular case results that are similar to the Confidence Level approach, but
the treatment of mirror solutions remains incorrect and it is far from being
general. In a second part it is shown that important differences subsist
between the Bayesian and frequentist approaches, when following the proposal of
hep-ph/0701204 and inserting additional information on the hadronic amplitudes
beyond isospin invariance. In particular the frequentist result preserves the
exact degeneracy that is expected from the remaining symmetries of the problem
while the Bayesian procedure does not. Moreover, in the Bayesian approach
reducing inference to the 68% or 95% credible interval is a misconception of
the meaning of the posterior PDF, which in turn implies that the significant
dependence of the latter to the chosen parametrization cannot be viewed as a
minor effect, contrary to the claim in hep-ph/0701204.


title: Supersymmetric Jarlskog Invariants: the Neutrino Sector

abstract:
  We generalize the notion of the Jarlskog invariant to supersymmetric models
with right--handed neutrinos. This allows us to formulate basis--independent
necessary and sufficient conditions for CP conservation in such models.


title:
Probing Low Energy Neutrino Backgrounds with Neutrino Capture on Beta
  Decaying Nuclei

abstract:
  We study the interaction of low energy neutrinos on nuclei that spontaneously
undergo beta decay showing that the product of the cross section times neutrino
velocity takes values as high as 10^{-42} cm^2 c for some specific nuclei that
decay via allowed transitions. The absence of energy threshold and the value of
the cross section single out these processes as a promising though very
demanding approach for future experiments aimed at a direct detection of low
energy neutrino backgrounds such as the cosmological relic neutrinos.


title: New Physics with IceCube

abstract:
  IceCube, a cubic kilometer neutrino telescope will be capable of probing
neutrino-nucleon interactions in the ultrahigh energy regime, far beyond the
energies reached by colliders. In this article we introduce a new observable
that combines several advantages: it only makes use of the upward-going
neutrino flux, so that the Earth filters the atmospheric muons, and it is only
weakly dependent on the initial astrophysical flux uncertainties.


title: Narrow-width approximation limitations

abstract:
  The quality of the narrow-width approximation is examined for partonic and
convolved cross sections of sample processes. By comparison with accurate
predictions significant limitations are revealed.


title: Seesaw Neutrinos from the Heterotic String

abstract:
  We study the possibility of realizing the neutrino seesaw mechanism in the
E8XE8 heterotic string. In particular, we consider its Z_6 orbifold
compactifications leading to the supersymmetric standard model gauge group and
matter content. We find that these models possess all the necessary ingredients
for the seesaw mechanism, including the required Dirac Yukawa couplings and
large Majorana mass terms. We argue that this situation is quite common in
heterotic orbifolds. In contrast to the conventional seesaw of grand unified
theories (GUTs), no large GUT representations are needed to generate the
Majorana mass terms. The total number of right--handed neutrinos can be very
large, up to O(100).


title:
Soft gluon corrections to double transverse-spin asymmetries for
  small-$Q_T$ dilepton production at RHIC and J-PARC

abstract:
  We calculate the double transverse-spin asymmetries, $\aqt$, in transversely
polarized Drell-Yan process at the transverse-momentum $Q_T$ of the produced
lepton pair. We perform all-order resummation of the logarithmically enhanced
contributions in the relevant Drell-Yan cross sections at small $Q_T$, which
are due to multiple soft gluon emission in QCD, up to the next-to-leading
logarithmic accuracy. The asymmetries $\aqt$ to be observed in polarized
experiments at RHIC and J-PARC are studied numerically as a function of $Q_T$.
We show that the effects of the soft gluon resummation to the polarized and
unpolarized cross sections largely cancel in $\aqt$, but the significant
corrections still remain and are crucial for making a reliable QCD prediction
of $\aqt$. In particular, the soft gluon corrections enhance $\aqt$
considerably in the small $Q_T$ region compared with the asymmetry in the
fixed-order $\alpha_s$ perturbation theory. We also derive a novel asymptotic
formula which embodies those remarkable features of $\aqt$ at small $Q_T$ in a
compact analytic form and is useful to extract the transversity $\delta q(x)$
from the experimental data.


title: Probing seesaw at LHC

abstract:
  We have recently proposed a simple SU(5) theory with an adjoint fermionic
multiplet on top of the usual minimal spectrum. This leads to the hybrid
scenario of both type I and type III seesaw and it predicts the existence of
the fermionic SU(2) triplet between 100 GeV and 1 TeV for a conventional GUT
scale of about 10^{16} GeV, with main decays into W (Z) and leptons, correlated
through Dirac Yukawa couplings, and lifetimes shorter than about 10^{-12} sec.
These decays are lepton number violating and they offer an exciting signature
of Delta L=2 dilepton events together with 4 jets at future pp (p\bar p)
colliders. Increasing the triplet mass endangers the proton stability and so
the seesaw mechanism could be directly testable at LHC.


title: Non-perturbative QCD Effects and the Top Mass at the Tevatron

abstract:
  We present a new, universally applicable toy model of colour reconnections in
hadronic final states. The model is based on hadronising strings and has one
free parameter. We next present an implementation of this model in the Pythia
event generator and provide several parameter sets ("tunes"), constrained by
fits to Tevatron minimum-bias data. Finally, we consider the sensitivity of a
simplified top mass analysis to these effects, in exclusive semi-leptonic top
events at the Tevatron. A first attempt at isolating the genuine
non-perturbative effects gives an estimate of order delta(m_top) ~ 0.5 GeV from
non-perturbative uncertainties, and a further delta(m_top) ~ 1 GeV from shower
effects.


title:
Small Shear Viscosity of a Quark-Gluon Plasma Implies Strong Jet
  Quenching

abstract:
  We derive an expression relating the transport parameter $\hat{q}$ and the
shear viscosity $\eta$ of a weakly coupled quark-gluon plasma. A deviation from
this relation can be regarded as a quantitative measure of ``strong coupling''
of the medium. The ratio $T^3/\hat{q}$, where $T$ is the temperature, is a more
broadly valid measure of the coupling strength of the medium than $\eta/s$,
where $s$ denotes the entropy density. Different estimates of $\hat{q}$ derived
from existing RHIC data are shown to imply radically different structures of
the produced matter.


title: Hadron production in heavy relativistic systems

abstract:
  We investigate particle production in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC energies
as function of incident energy, and centrality in a three-sources Relativistic
Diffusion Model. Pseudorapidity distributions of produced charged hadrons in Au
+ Au and Cu + Cu collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6 GeV, 62.4 GeV, 130 GeV and 200
GeV show an almost equilibrated midrapidity source that tends to increase in
size towards higher incident energy, and more central collisions. It may
indicate quark-gluon plasma formation prior to hadronization.


title: Study of flavour dependencies in leptogenesis

abstract:
  We study the impact of flavours on the efficiency factors and give analytical
and numerical results of the baryon asymmetry taking into account the different
charged lepton Yukawa contributions and the complete (diagonal and
off-diagonal) $L$ to $B-L$ conversion $A$ matrix. With this treatment we update
the lower bound on the lightest right-handed neutrino mass.


title:
On the Existence of Angular Correlations in Decays with Heavy Matter
  Partners

abstract:
  If heavy partners of the Standard Model matter fields are discovered at the
LHC it will be imperative to determine their spin in order to uncover the
underlying theory. In decay chains, both the spin and the mass hierarchy of all
particles involved can influence the resulting angular correlations. We present
the necessary conditions for decays involving the matter partners to exhibit
angular correlations. In particular we find that when the masses are not
degenerate, a heavy fermionic sector always displays angular correlations in
cascade decays. When the masses are closely degenerate the size of spin effects
is controlled by a global phase parameter. In a large region of the parameter
space, correlations are strongly suppressed. In other regions, such as in UED
model where this phase is fixed by 5-d Lorentz invariance, the correlations are
pronounced. In addition, we show that in certain cases one may even have enough
information to determine the spin of other heavy partners involved in the decay
(such as the Lightest Stable Partner or a heavy gluon).


title: Naturalised Supersymmetric Grand Unification

abstract:
  We construct a simple model of an SU(5) GUT with gauge mediated supersymmetry
breaking from a metastable vacuum of a hidden sector. All mass parameters and
hierarchies of our model are generated dynamically from retrofitting. This
includes the mu-parameter and the GUT scale. However, as typical for SU(5)
GUTs, proton longevity remains a problem.


title: TASI 2006 Lectures on Leptogenesis

abstract:
  The origin of the asymmetry between matter and anti-matter of the Universe
has been one of the great challenges in particle physics and cosmology.
Leptogenesis as a mechanism for generating the cosmological baryon asymmetry of
the Universe has gained significant interests ever since the advent of the
evidence of non-zero neutrino masses. In these lectures presented at TASI 2006,
I review various realizations of leptogenesis and allude to recent developments
in this subject.


title:
MARMOSET: The Path from LHC Data to the New Standard Model via On-Shell
  Effective Theories

abstract:
  We describe a coherent strategy and set of tools for reconstructing the
fundamental theory of the TeV scale from LHC data. We show that On-Shell
Effective Theories (OSETs) effectively characterize hadron collider data in
terms of masses, production cross sections, and decay modes of candidate new
particles. An OSET description of the data strongly constrains the underlying
new physics, and sharply motivates the construction of its Lagrangian.
Simulating OSETs allows efficient analysis of new-physics signals, especially
when they arise from complicated production and decay topologies. To this end,
we present MARMOSET, a Monte Carlo tool for simulating the OSET version of
essentially any new-physics model. MARMOSET enables rapid testing of
theoretical hypotheses suggested by both data and model-building intuition,
which together chart a path to the underlying theory. We illustrate this
process by working through a number of data challenges, where the most
important features of TeV-scale physics are reconstructed with as little as 5
inverse femtobarns of simulated LHC signals.


title: Kaon semileptonic decay (K_{l3}) form factors from the instanton vacuum

abstract:
  We investigate the kaon semileptonic decay (K_{l3}) form factors within the
framework of the nonlocal chiral quark model from the instanton vacuum, taking
into account the effects of flavor SU(3) symmetry breaking. We also consider
the problem of gauge invariance arising from the momentum-dependent quark mass
in the present work. All theoretical calculations are carried out without any
adjustable parameter, the average instanton size (rho ~ 1/3 fm) and the
inter-instanton distance (R ~ 1 fm) having been fixed. We also show that the
present results satisfy the Callan-Treiman low-energy theorem as well as the
Ademollo-Gatto theorem. Using the K_{l3} form factors, we evaluate relevant
physical quantities. It turns out that the effects of flavor SU(3) symmetry
breaking are essential in reproducing the kaon semileptonic form factors. The
present results are in a good agreement with experiments, and are compatible
with other model calculations.


title:
Scalar form factors $f_{\pi\pi}(Q^2)$ and $f_{KK}(Q^2)$ with light-cone
  QCD sum rules

abstract:
  In this article, we calculate the scalar form-factors $f_{\pi\pi}(Q^2)$ and
$f_{KK}(Q^2)$ in the framework of the light-cone QCD sum rules approach. The
numerical value of the $f_{\pi\pi}(Q^2)$ changes quickly with variation of
$Q^2$ near zero momentum transfer, while the $f_{KK}(Q^2)$ has rather good
behavior at small momentum transfer. The value $f_{KK}(0) =2.21^{+0.35}_{-0.19}
GeV$ is compatible with the result from the leading order chiral perturbation
theory. At large momentum transfer with $Q^2> 6GeV^2$, the form-factor
$f_{\pi\pi}(Q^2)$ takes up the asymptotic behavior $\frac{1}{Q^2}$
approximately, while the $f_{KK}(Q^2)$ decreases more quickly than
$\frac{1}{Q^2}$.


title: Charmonium production in hadronic experiments at the energy 70 GeV

abstract:
  The production of the charmonium states in hadronic experiments is considered
in NLO at the strong coupling constant. It is shown, that such an approach
solves some significant problems, arising when only leading order processes are
considered. In particular, in such a consideration distributions over the
transverse momentum of the final charmonium can be obtained. There appears also
a natural explanation to the existence of $\chi_{c1}$-meson in final state,
that is observed experimentally and cannot be produced in leading order
processes.


title:
Turbulent Supernova Shock Waves and the Sterile Neutrino Signature in
  Megaton Water Detectors

abstract:
  The signatures of sterile neutrinos in the supernova neutrino signal in
megaton water Cerenkov detectors are studied. Time dependent modulation of the
neutrino signal emerging from the sharp changes in the oscillation probability
due to shock waves is shown to be a smoking gun for the existence of sterile
neutrinos. These modulations and indeed the entire neutrino oscillation signal
is found to be different for the case with just three active neutrinos and the
cases where there are additional sterile species mixed with the active
neutrinos. The effect of turbulence is taken into account and it is found that
the effect of the shock waves, while modifed, remain significant and
measurable. Supernova neutrino signals in water detectors can therefore give
unambiguous proof for the existence of sterile neutrinos, the sensitivity
extending beyond that for terrestial neutrino experiments. In addition the time
dependent modulations in the signal due to shock waves can be used to trace the
evolution of the shock wave inside the supernova.


title: Analytical approaches to the calculation of f+(0)

abstract:
  Kl3 decays constitute, at present, the golden modes to extract |Vus| from
experimental data. Its incertitude is dominated by the theoretical error in the
determination of the vector form factor at zero transfer of momentum. I review
the most relevant analytical approaches for the calculation of this parameter.


title:
Discriminating among the theoretical origins of new heavy Majorana
  neutrinos at the CERN LHC

abstract:
  A study on the possibility of distinguishing new heavy Majorana neutrino
models at LHC energies is presented. The experimental confirmation of standard
neutrinos with non-zero mass and the theoretical possibility of lepton number
violation find a natural explanation when new heavy Majorana neutrinos exist.
These new neutrinos appear in models with new right-handed singlets, in new
doublets of some grand unified theories and left-right symmetrical models. It
is expected that signals of new particles can be found at the CERN high-energy
hadron collider (LHC). We present signatures and distributions that can
indicate the theoretical origin of these new particles. The single and pair
production of heavy Majorana neutrinos are calculated and the model dependence
is discussed. Same-sign dileptons in the final state provide a clear signal for
the Majorana nature of heavy neutrinos, since there is lepton number violation.
Mass bounds on heavy Majorana neutrinos allowing model discrimination are
estimated for three different LHC luminosities.


title:
Energy loss of a heavy quark produced in a finite-size quark-gluon
  plasma

abstract:
  We study the energy loss of an energetic heavy quark produced in a high
temperature quark-gluon plasma and travelling a finite distance before emerging
in the vacuum. While the retardation time of purely collisional energy loss is
found to be of the order of the Debye screening length, we find that the
contributions from transition radiation and the Ter-Mikayelian effect do not
compensate, leading to a reduction of the zeroth order (in an opacity
expansion) energy loss.


title: Primordial Lithium Abundance in Catalyzed Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

abstract:
  There exists a well known problem with the Li7+Be7 abundance predicted by
standard big bang nucleosynthesis being larger than the value observed in
population II stars. The catalysis of big bang nucleosynthesis by metastable,
\tau_X \ge 10^3 sec, charged particles X^- is capable of suppressing the
primordial Li7+Be7, abundance and making it consistent with the observations.
We show that to produce the correct abundance, this mechanism of suppression
places a requirement on the initial abundance of X^- at temperatures of 4\times
10^8 K to be on the order of or larger than 0.02 per baryon, which is within
the natural range of abundances in models with metastable electroweak-scale
particles. The suppression of Li7+Be7, is triggered by the formation of
(Be7X^-), compound nuclei, with fast depletion of their abundances by catalyzed
proton reactions, and in some models by direct capture of X^- on Be7. The
combination of Li7+Be7 and Li6 constraints favours the window of lifetimes,
1000s \la tau_X \leq 2000 s.


title:
Compressed supersymmetry and natural neutralino dark matter from top
  squark-mediated annihilation to top quarks

abstract:
  The parameters of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model appear to require
uncomfortably precise adjustment in order to reconcile the electroweak symmetry
breaking scale with the lower mass limits on a neutral Higgs scalar boson. This
problem can be significantly ameliorated in models with a running gluino mass
parameter that is smaller than the wino mass near the scale of unification of
gauge couplings. A "compressed" superpartner mass spectrum results; compared to
models with unified gaugino masses, the ratios of the squark and gluino masses
to the lightest superpartner mass are reduced. I argue that in this scenario
the annihilation of bino-like neutralino pairs to top-antitop quark pairs
through top squark exchange can most naturally play the crucial role in
ensuring that the thermal relic dark matter density is not too large, with only
a small role played by coannihilations. The lightest superpartner mass must
then exceed the top quark mass, and the lighter top squark cannot decay to a
top quark. These conditions have important implications for collider searches.


title: CP-violation from non-unitary leptonic mixing

abstract:
  A low-energy non-unitary leptonic mixing matrix is a generic effect of a
large class of theories accounting for neutrino masses. It is shown how the
extra CP-odd phases of a general non-unitary matrix allow for sizeable
CP-asymmetries in channels other than those dominant in the standard unitary
case. The $\nu_\mu\to \nu_\tau$ channel turns out to be an excellent tool to
further constrain moduli and phases. Furthermore, we clarify the relationship
between our approach and the so-called "non-standard neutrino interactions"
schemes: the sensitivities explored here apply as well to such constructions.


title:
Extra Neutral Gauge Boson from Two Versions of the 3-3-1 Model in Future
  Linear Colliders

abstract:
  Our aim is to establish some signatures of the extra gauge boson
${Z^\prime}$, predicted in two versions of ${SU (3)_C \times SU (3)_L \times U
(1)_X}$ model and to show possible differences between these signatures. First,
by considering the process $e^+ + e^- \longrightarrow \mu^+ +\mu^- $, we obtain
some observables and next, by considering additional hadronic final states, we
obtain lower bounds for $M_{Z^\prime}$, within 95% C.L.. We also include our
preliminary results concerning $p \bar p$ and $p p$ collisions in order to
support our conclusions about the possibility to discriminate the various
versions of 3-3-1 model.
  From our analysis we conclude that linear colliders can show a clear
signature for the existence of $Z^\prime$ predicted in the 3-3-1 model and also
that it can discriminate the versions.


title: Bound kaon approach for the ppK- system in the Skyrme model

abstract:
  The bound kaon approach to the strangeness in the Skyrme model is applied to
exploring the possibility of deeply bound $ppK^-$ states. We derive the
equation of motion for the kaon in the background of baryon number two Skyrmion
expressed by the product ansatz. Collective coordinate quantization is
performed to extract the spin-singlet proton-proton state. The numerical
solution of the equation of motion shows that the kaon can acquire large
binding energy for reasonable proton-proton relative distances. For this deep
binding, the Wess-Zumino-Witten term plays an important role. The kaon tends to
be centered between the protons.


title:
Mass dependence of the vacuum energy density in the massive Schwinger
  model

abstract:
  The vacuum energy density of the massive Schwinger model is shown to be not
power expandable in the fermion mass.


title: The synchrotron radiation from the Volkov solution of the Dirac equation

abstract:
  The aim of this article is to show it is possible to get the power spectrum
of the synchrotron radiation from the Volkov solution of the Dirac equation and
the S-matrix. We also generalize the Bargmann-Michel-Telegdi equation for the
spin motion in case it involves the radiative term. This equation can play
crucial role for the spin motion of protons in LHC. The axion production in the
magnetic field described by the Volkov solution is discussed.


title:
Comparison of Inclusive Charm and Beauty Cross Sections in
  Deep-inelastic Scattering at HERA with Theoretical Predictions

abstract:
  The measurements of inclusive charm and beauty cross sections in
deep-inelastic scattering $ep$ collisions at HERA are compared with the
predictions of perturbative quantum chromodynamics from the CTEQ and MRST
fitting groups, employing a range of theoretical schemes. The differences in
the theoretical predictions are discussed and the theoretical uncertainties
investigated.


title: A global reanalysis of nuclear parton distribution functions

abstract:
  We determine the nuclear modifications of parton distribution functions of
bound protons at scales $Q^2\ge 1.69$ GeV$^2$ and momentum fractions
$10^{-5}\le x\le 1$ in a global analysis which utilizes nuclear hard process
data, sum rules and leading-order DGLAP scale evolution. The main improvements
over our earlier work {\em EKS98} are the automated $\chi^2$ minimization,
simplified and better controllable fit functions, and most importantly, the
possibility for error estimates. The resulting 16-parameter fit to the N=514
datapoints is good, $\chi^2/{\rm d.o.f}=0.82$. Within the error estimates
obtained, the old {\em EKS98} parametrization is found to be fully consistent
with the present analysis, with no essential difference in terms of $\chi^2$
either. We also determine separate uncertainty bands for the nuclear gluon and
sea quark modifications in the large-$x$ region where they are not stringently
constrained by the available data. Comparison with other global analyses is
shown and uncertainties demonstrated. Finally, we show that RHIC-BRAHMS data
for inclusive hadron production in d+Au collisions lend support for a stronger
gluon shadowing at $x<0.01$ and also that fairly large changes in the gluon
modifications do not rapidly deteriorate the goodness of the overall fits, as
long as the initial gluon modifications in the region $x\sim 0.02-0.04$ remain
small.


title:
Effective Quark Antiquark Potential in the Quark Gluon Plasma from
  Gravity Dual Models

abstract:
  We estimate the effective heavy quark and antiquark potential in the quark
gluon plasma using the gravity dual theory. Two models are considered:
$AdS_{5}$ and Sakai-Sugimoto model. The effective potential, obtained by using
the rotating fundamental open-string configurations, has the angular momentum
dependence which generalizes the static central potential. Motivated by the
asymptotic form for zero angular momentum state, we fit the effective potential
for $J=1,2$ states in the binding region. The fitting parameters are found to
be functions of temperature. Finally, we discuss the differences and
similarities of the effective potential between the two gravity dual models. An
interesting result is that position of the minimum of potential is determined
only by angular momentum and independent of the temperature.


title: Study of $B \to K_0^* (1430)\ell\bar{\ell} $ Decays

abstract:
  We examine the exclusive rare decays of $B \to K_{0}^*(1430)\ell\bar{\ell} $
with $K_{0}^*(1430)$ being the p-wave scalar meson and $\ell=\nu,e,\mu,\tau$ in
the standard model. The form factors for the $B\to K_{0}^{*}$ transition matrix
elements are evaluated in the light front quark model. For the decays of $B \to
K_{0}^*\ell\bar{\ell}$, the branching ratios are found to be
$(11.6,1.63,1.62,0.029)\times 10^{-7}$ with $\ell=(\nu,e,\mu,\tau)$ and the
integrated longitudinal lepton polarization asymmetries $(-0.97,-0.95,-0.03)$
with $\ell=(e,\mu,\tau)$, respectively.


title: Yukawa Couplings in a Model with Gauge, Higgs and Matter Unification

abstract:
  We discuss how unification of the gauge, Higgs and (three chiral family)
matter superfields can be realized from the compactification of a six
dimensional supersymmetric SU(8) gauge theory over the orbifold R^4 x T^2/Z_3.
The bulk gauge interaction includes Yukawa interactions to generate masses for
quarks and leptons after the electroweak symmetry is broken. The Yukawa
matrices in this case turn out to be antisymmetric, and thus not
phenomenologically viable. To overcome this we introduce brane fields which are
vector-like under the standard model gauge symmetry, and so do not alter the
number of chiral families. In such a setup, the observed fermion masses and
mixings can be realized by taking into account suppression effects from the
effective Wilson line couplings and large volume of the extra dimensions.


title:
Analytically derived limits on short-range fifth forces from quantum
  states of neutrons in the Earth's gravitational field

abstract:
  Recently, quantum states of ultra-cold neutrons in the Earth's gravitational
field have been observed for the first time. From the fact that they are
consistent with Newtonian gravity on the 10 %-level, analytical limits on alpha
and lambda of short-range Yukawa-like additional interactions are derived
between lambda = 1 micrometer and 1 mm. We arrive for lambda > 10 micrometer at
alpha < 2 \cdot 10^11 at 90 % confidence level. This translates into a limit
g_s g_p / (\hbar c) < 2 \cdot 10^{-15} on the pseudo-scalar coupling of axions
in the previously experimentally unaccessible astrophysical axion window.


title: The Conformal Template and New Perspectives for Quantum Chromodynamics

abstract:
  Conformal symmetry provides a systematic approximation to QCD in both its
perturbative and nonperturbative domains. One can use the AdS/CFT
correspondence between Anti-de Sitter space and conformal gauge theories to
obtain an analytically tractable approximation to QCD in the regime where the
QCD coupling is large and constant. For example, there is an exact
correspondence between the fifth-dimensional coordinate of AdS space and a
specific impact variable which measures the separation of the quark
constituents within the hadron in ordinary space-time. This connection allows
one to compute the analytic form of the frame-independent light-front
wavefunctions of mesons and baryons, the fundamental entities which encode
hadron properties and allow the computation of exclusive scattering amplitudes.
One can also use conformal symmetry as a template for perturbative QCD
predictions where the effects of the nonzero beta function can be
systematically included in the scale of the QCD coupling. This leads to fixing
of the renormalization scale and commensurate scale relations which relate
observables without scale or scheme ambiguity. I also discuss a number of novel
phenomenological features of QCD, including leading-twist single-spin
asymmetries, diffractive deep inelastic scattering, hard diffractive hadronic
reactions, the breakdown of the Lam-Tung relation in Drell-Yan reactions,
nuclear shadowing, non-universal antishadowing, and the unexpected effects of
direct higher-twist processes.


title: Conformal Gauge Mediation

abstract:
  We propose a one-parameter theory for gauge mediation of supersymmetry (SUSY)
breaking. The spectrum of SUSY particles such as squarks and sleptons in the
SUSY standard-model and the dynamics of SUSY-breaking sector are, in principle,
determined only by one parameter in the theory, that is, the mass of
messengers. Above the messenger threshold all gauge coupling and Yukawa
coupling constants in the SUSY-breaking sector are on the infrared fixed point.
We find that the present theory may predict a split spectrum of the
standard-model SUSY particles, m_{gaugino} < m_{sfermion}, where m_{gaugino}
and m_{sfermion} are SUSY-breaking masses for gauginos and squarks/sleptons,
respectively.


title: High energy electroweak DVCS processes in neutrino-nucleon scattering

abstract:
  In this work we estimate the differential and total cross sections for the
high energy deeply virtual Compton scattering in the weak sector. In the weak
neutral sector one considers neutrino scattering off an unpolarized proton
target through the exchange of Z0. We numerically compute the process Z* p -->
\gamma p within the QCD color dipole formalism, which successfully describes
the current high energy electromagnetic DVCS experimental data. We also discuss
possible applications for the weak charged sector and perform predictions for
scattering on nuclear targets.


title: CP Violation and B Physics at the LHC

abstract:
  In this decade, there are huge efforts to explore B-meson decays, which
provide an interesting playground for stringent tests of the Standard-Model
description of the quark-flavour sector and the CP violation residing there.
Thanks to the $e^+e^-$ B factories at KEK and SLAC, CP violation is now a
well-established phenomenon in the B-meson system, and recently, also
$B^0_s$--$\bar B^0_s$ mixing could be measured at the Tevatron. The decays of
$B^0_s$ mesons are the key target of the B-physics programme at the LHC, and
will be the focus of this presentation, discussing the theoretical aspects of
various benchmark channels and the question of how much space for new-physics
effects in their observables is left by the recent experimental results.


title: QCD corrections to J/psi and Upsilon production at hadron colliders

abstract:
  We calculate the cross section for hadroproduction of a pair of heavy quarks
in a 3S1 color-singlet state at next-to-leading order in QCD. This corresponds
to the leading contribution in the NRQCD expansion for J/psi and Upsilon
production. The higher-order corrections have a large impact on the p_T
distributions, enhancing the production at high p_T both at the Tevatron and at
the LHC. The total decay rate of a 3S1 into hadrons at NLO is also computed,
confirming for the first time the result obtained by Mackenzie and Lepage in
1981.


title: The large degeneracy of excited hadrons and quark models

abstract:
  The pattern of a large approximate degeneracy of the excited hadron spectra
(larger than the chiral restoration degeneracy) is present in the recent
experimental report of Bugg. Here we try to model this degeneracy with state of
the art quark models. We review how the Coulomb Gauge chiral invariant and
confining Bethe-Salpeter equation simplifies in the case of very excited
quark-antiquark mesons, including angular or radial excitations, to a Salpeter
equation with an ultrarelativistic kinetic energy with the spin-independent
part of the potential. The resulting meson spectrum is solved, and the excited
chiral restoration is recovered, for all mesons with J > 0. Applying the
ultrarelativistic simplification to a linear equal-time potential, linear Regge
trajectories are obtained, for both angular and radial xcitations. The spectrum
is also compared with the semi-classical Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization relation.
However the excited angular and radial spectra do not coincide exactly. We then
search, with the classical Bertrand theorem, for central potentials producing
always classical closed orbits with the ultrarelativistic kinetic energy. We
find that no such potential exists, and this implies that no exact larger
degeneracy can be obtained in our equal-time framework, with a single principal
quantum number comparable to the non-relativistic Coulomb or harmonic
oscillator potentials. Nevertheless we find plausible that the large
experimental approximate degeneracy will be modelled in the future by quark
models beyond the present state of the art.


title: Pseudoscalar Meson Nonet at Zero and Finite Temperature

abstract:
  Theoretical understanding of experimental results from relativistic heavy-ion
collisions requires a microscopic approach to the behavior of QCD n-point
functions at finite temperatures, as given by the hierarchy of Dyson-Schwinger
equations, properly generalized within the Matsubara formalism. The convergence
of sums over Matsubara modes is studied. The technical complexity of
finite-temperature calculations mandates modeling. We present a model where the
QCD interaction in the infrared, nonperturbative domain, is modeled by a
separable form. Results for the mass spectrum of light quark flavors (u, d, s)
and for the pseudoscalar bound-state amplitudes at finite temperature are
presented.


title: Sterile neutrinos

abstract:
  Neutrino masses are usually described by adding to the Standard Model some
SU(2)-singlet fermions that have the Yukawa couplings, as well as some Majorana
mass terms. The number of such fields and the scales of their Majorana masses
are not known. Several independent observations point to the possibility that
some of these singlets may have masses well below the electroweak scale. A
sterile neutrino with mass of a few keV can account for cosmological dark
matter. The same particle would be emitted anisotropically from a cooling
neutron star born in a supernova explosion. This anisotropy can be large enough
to explain the observed velocities of pulsars. A lighter sterile neutrino, with
mass of the order of eV, is implied by the LSND results; it can have profound
implications for cosmology. We review the physics of sterile neutrinos and the
roles they may play in astrophysics and cosmology.


title:
A Guide to Flavour Changing Neutral Currents in the Littlest Higgs Model
  with T-Parity

abstract:
  Flavour changing neutral current processes, being strongly suppressed in the
Standard Model (SM), provide a unique window to new physics at scales much
above the electroweak scale. Here, we summarize the recent progress in flavour
physics studies of the Littlest Higgs model with T-parity, both in the quark
and lepton sector. Particular emphasis is put on various correlations that
could distinguish this model from other extensions of the SM.


title: Production of Polarized Vector Mesons off Nuclei

abstract:
  Using the light-cone QCD dipole formalism we investigate manifestations of
color transparency (CT) and coherence length (CL) effects in electroproduction
of longitudinally (L) and transversally (T) polarized vector mesons. Motivated
by forthcoming data from the HERMES experiment we predict both the A and Q^2
dependence of the L/T- ratios, for rho^0 mesons produced coherently and
incoherently off nuclei. For an incoherent reaction the CT and CL effects add
up and result in a monotonic A dependence of the L/T-ratio at different values
of Q^2. On the contrary, for a coherent process the contraction of the CL with
Q^2 causes an effect opposite to that of CT and we expect quite a nontrivial A
dependence, especially at Q^2 >> m_V^2.


title: A model for CMB anisotropies on large angular scales

abstract:
  We investigate the possibility that a low-temperature, low-frequency anomaly
in the black-body spectrum, as it emerges when enlarging the Standard Model's
gauge-group factor U(1)$_Y$ to SU(2) (Yang-Mills scale $\sim 10^{-4}$ eV),
explains the discrepancy between the Local Group's velocity as directly
observed and as inferred by assuming a purely kinematic origin of the CMB
dipole. This discrepancy determines the kinetic term for temperature
fluctuations in our model action. Upon subtracting the dipole contribution this
model can then be used to predict the low multipoles with $l\ge 2$ in the CMB
temperature-temperature correlation and to reinvestigate the issue of
statistical isotropy.


title: NLO QCD corrections to t tbar + jet production at hadron colliders

abstract:
  We report on the calculation of the next-to-leading order QCD corrections to
the production of top--anti-top quark pairs in association with a hard jet at
the Tevatron and at the LHC. We present results for the t tbar + jet cross
section and the forward--backward charge asymmetry. The corrections stabilize
the leading-order prediction for the cross section. The charge asymmetry
receives large corrections.


title: Study of Metastable Staus at Linear Colliders

abstract:
  We consider scenarios in which the lightest sparticle (LSP) is the gravitino
and the next-to-lightest sparticle (NLSP) is a metastable stau. We examine the
production of stau pairs in e^{+}e^{-} annihilation at ILC and CLIC energies.
In addition to three minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) benchmark scenarios proposed
previously, we consider a new high-mass scenario in which effects catalyzed by
stau bound states yield abundances of {6,7}Li that fit the astrophysical data
better than standard Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. This scenario could be probed
only at CLIC energies. In each scenario, we show how the stau mixing angle may
be determined from measurements of the total stau pair-production cross
sections with polarized beams, and of the tau polarization in stau decays.
Using realistic ILC and CLIC luminosity spectra, we find for each scenario the
centre-of-mass energy that maximizes the number of staus with \beta \gamma <
0.4, that may be trapped in a generic detector. The dominant sources of such
slow-moving staus are generically the pair production and cascade decays of
heavier sparticles with higher thresholds, and the optimal centre-of-mass
energy is typically considerably beyond 2 m_{\tilde\tau_1}.


title: Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis with Long-Lived Charged Slepton

abstract:
  We consider constraints on long-lived charged scalar leptons \tilde{l}^\pm in
supersymmetric models, where gravitino is the lightest superparticle. We study
the decay and hadronization processes of \tilde{l}^\pm. We also take into
account the significant enhancement of Li6 production due to the formation of
the bound-state (He4 \tilde{l}^-); for this purpose, we use the reaction rate
given by the most recent calculation based on coupled-channel method.


title: On Non-singlets in Kaon Production in Semi-inclusive DIS reactions

abstract:
  We consider semi-inclusive unpolarized DIS for the production of charged
kaons and the different possibilities, both in LO and NLO, to test the
conventionally used assumptions $s-\bar s=0$ and $D_d^{K^+-K^-}=0$. The
considered tests have the advantage that they do not require any knowledge of
the fragmentation functions.


title: Simple parameterization of nuclear attenuation data

abstract:
  Based on the nuclear attenuation data obtained by the HERMES experiment on
nitrogen and krypton nuclei, it is shown that the nuclear attenuation $R_M^{h}$
can be parametrised in a form of a linear polynomial $P_1=a_{11}$ + $\tau
a_{12}$, where $\tau$ is the formation time, which depends on the energy of the
virtual photon $\nu$ and fraction of that energy $z$ carried by the final
hadron. Three widely known parameterizations for $\tau$ were used for the
performed fit. The fit parameters $a_{11}$ and $a_{12}$ do not depend on $\nu$
and $z$.


title: Essentials of the Muon g-2

abstract:
  The muon anomalous magnetic moment is one of the most precisely measured
quantities in particle physics. Recent high precision measurements (0.54ppm) at
Brookhaven reveal a ``discrepancy'' by 3 standard deviations from the
electroweak Standard Model which could be a hint for an unknown contribution
from physics beyond the Standard Model. This triggered numerous speculations
about the possible origin of the ``missing piece''. The remarkable 14-fold
improvement of the previous CERN experiment, actually animated a multitude of
new theoretical efforts which lead to a substantial improvement of the
prediction of a_mu. The dominating uncertainty of the prediction, caused by
strong interaction effects, could be reduced substantially, due to new hadronic
cross section measurements in electron-positron annihilation at low energies.
After an introduction and a brief description of the principle of the
experiment, I present a major update and review the status of the theoretical
prediction and discuss the role of the hadronic vacuum polarization effects and
the hadronic light--by--light scattering contribution. Prospects for the future
will be briefly discussed. As, in electroweak precision physics, the muon g-2
shows the largest established deviation between theory and experiment at
present, it will remain one of the hot topics for further investigations.


title:
Bound on the Photon Charge from the Phase Coherence of Extragalactic
  Radiation

abstract:
  If the photon possessed a nonzero charge, then electromagnetic waves
traveling along different paths would acquire Aharonov-Bohm phase differences.
The fact that such an effect has not hindered interferometric astronomy places
a bound on the photon charge estimated to be at the 10^(-32) e level if all
photons have the same charge and 10^(-46) e if different photons can carry
different charges.


title:
Stuckelberg Axions and the Effective Action of Anomalous Abelian Models
  2. A SU(3)_C x SU(2)_W x U(1)_Y x U(1)_B model and its signature at the LHC

abstract:
  We elaborate on an extension of the Standard Model with a gauge structure
enlarged by a single anomalous U(1), where the presence of a Wess-Zumino term
is motivated by the Green-Schwarz mechanism of string theory. The additional
gauge interaction is anomalous and requires an axion for anomaly cancelation.
The pseudoscalar implements the St\"{u}ckelberg mechanism and undergoes mixing
with the standard Higgs sector to render the additional U(1) massive. We
consider a 2-Higgs doublet model. We show that the anomalous effective vertices
involving neutral currents are potentially observable. We clarify their role in
the case of simple processes such as $Z^*\to \gamma \gamma$, which are at
variance with respect to the Standard Model. A brief discussion of the
implications of these studies for the LHC is included.


title: The galactic 511 keV line from electroweak scale WIMPs

abstract:
  We consider possible mechanisms via which electroweak scale WIMPs \chi^0
could provide the source of the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV photon flux from the
galactic centre. We consider scenarios where the WIMP spectrum contains
near-degeneracies, with MeV-scale splitting, and focus on three possible
production mechanisms for galactic positrons: (i) collisional excitation of the
WIMP to a nearby charged state, \chi^0 + \chi^0 -> \chi^+ + \chi^-, with the
subsequent decay producing positrons; (ii) capture of the WIMP by nuclei in the
galactic interstellar medium, \chi^0 + N -> e^+ + (\chi^- N); and (iii) the
decay of a nearby long-lived state surviving from the Big Bang, \chi^0_2 ->
\chi_1^0 + e^+ + e^-. We find that process (i) requires a cross-section which
is significantly larger than the unitarity bound, process (ii) is allowed by
unitarity, but is impractical due to terrestrial bounds on the \chi-N
cross-section, while process (iii) is viable and we construct a simple model
realization with singlet dark matter fields interacting with the Standard Model
via the Higgs sector.


title:
Hadroproduction of J/psi and Upsilon in association with a heavy-quark
  pair

abstract:
  We calculate the cross sections for the direct hadroproduction of J/psi and
Upsilon associated with a heavy-quark pair of the same flavour at leading order
in alpha_S and v in NRQCD. These processes provide an interesting signature
that could be studied at the Tevatron and the LHC and also constitute a
gauge-invariant subset of the NLO corrections to the inclusive hadroproduction
of J/psi and Upsilon. We find that the fragmentation approximation commonly
used to evaluate the contribution of these processes to the inclusive
quarkonium production sizeably underestimates the exact calculation in the
kinematical region accessible at the Tevatron. Both J/psi and Upsilon are
predicted to be unpolarised, independently of their transverse momentum.


title: Collider signatures of gravitino dark matter with a sneutrino NLSP

abstract:
  For gravitino dark matter with conserved R-parity and mass in the GeV range,
very strong constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis exclude the popular NLSP
candidates like neutralino and charged sleptons. In this letter we therefore
draw attention to the case of a sneutrino NLSP, that is naturally realised in
the context of gaugino mediation. We find interesting collider signatures,
characterised by soft jets or leptons due to the small sneutrino--stau mass
splitting. Moreover, the lightest neutralino can have visible decays into
staus, and in some part of the parameter space also into selectrons and smuons.
We also show the importance of coannihilation effects for the evaluation of the
BBN constraints.


title: CKM $\gamma$ phase from $B \to K \pi \pi$

abstract:
  We discuss a method to extract the CKM $\gamma$ angle combining Dalitz plot
analysis of $B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \pi^+ \pi^-$ and untagged $B^0$, $\bar B^0 \to
K_s \pi^+ \pi^-$. The method also allows obtaining the ratio and phase
difference between the {\it tree} and {\it penguin} contributions from $B^0$
and $\bar B^0 \to K^{*\pm} \pi^{\mp} $ decays and direct CP asymmetry between
$B^0$ and $\bar{B^0}$. From Monte Carlo studies of 100K events for the neutral
mesons, we show the possibility of measuring $\gamma$ with a precision of $\sim
5^o$.


title:
CP Violation in the SM, Quantum Subtleties and the Insights of Yogi
  Berra

abstract:
  Our knowledge of flavour dynamics has undergone a `quantum jump' since just
before the turn of the millenium: direct CP violation has been firmly
established in $K_L \to \pi \pi$ decays in 1999; the first CP asymmetry outside
$K_L$ decays has been discovered in 2001 in $B_d \to \psi K_S$, followed by
$B_d \to \pi^+\pi^-$, $\eta^{\prime}K_S$ and $B \to K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}$
establishing direct CP violation also in the beauty sector. Counterintuitive,
yet central features of quantum mechanics like meson-antimeson oscillations and
EPR correlations have been crucial in making such effects observable.
  The CKM dynamics of the Standard Model (SM) of HEP allow a description of CP
insensitive and sensitive $B$, $K$ and $D$ transitions that is impressively
consistent even on the quantitative level. We know now that at least the lion's
share of the observed CP violation is provided by the SM. Yet these novel
successes do not invalidate the theoretical arguments for it being incomplete.
We have also more direct evidence for New Physics, namely neutrino
oscillations, the observed baryon number of the Universe, dark matter and dark
energy. While the New Physics anticipated at the TeV scale is not likely to
shed any light on the SM's mysteries of flavour, detailed and comprehensive
studies of heavy flavour transitions will be essential in diagnosing salient
features of that New Physics. Strategic principles for such studies are
outlined.


title:
The leading particle effect from light quark fragmentation in charm
  hadroproduction

abstract:
  The asymmetry of $D^-$ and $D^+$ meson production in $\pi^-N$ scattering
observed by the E791 experiment is a typical phenomenon known as the leading
particle effect in charm hadroproducton. We show that the phenomenon can be
explained by the effect of light quark fragmentation into charmed hadrons
(LQF). Meanwhile, the size of the LQF effect is estimated from data of the E791
experiment.
  A comparison is made with the estimate of the LQF effect from prompt
like-sign dimuon rate in neutrino experiments. The influence of the LQF effect
on the measurement of nucleon strange distribution asymmetry from charged
current charm production processes is briefly discussed.


title:
Phase Structure of Thermal QED Based on the Hard Thermal Loop Improved
  Ladder Dyson-Schwinger Equation --a "Gauge Invariant" Solution--

abstract:
  Based on the hard-thermal-loop resummed improved ladder Dyson-Schwinger
quation for the fermion mass function, we study how we can get the gauge
invariant solution in the sense it satisfies the Ward identity. Properties of
the ``gauge-invariant'' solutions are discussed.


title: Getting Information on |U_{e3}|^2 from Neutrino-less Double Beta Decay

abstract:
  We consider the possibility to gain information on the lepton mixing matrix
element |U_{e3}| from an improved experimental limit on the effective neutrino
mass governing neutrino-less double beta decay. We show that typically a lower
limit on |U_{e3}| can be set. Furthermore, we give the values of the sum of
neutrino masses and |U_{e3}| which are allowed and forbidden by an experimental
upper limit on the effective mass. Alternative explanations for neutrino-less
double beta decay or Dirac neutrinos would be required if future measurements
showed that the values lie in the respective regions. Moreover, we argue that a
measurement of |U_{e3}| from neutrino-less double beta decay is very difficult
due to the expected errors on the effective mass and the oscillation
parameters.


title: Possible exotic neutrino signature in electron muon collisions

abstract:
  With the strong experimental evidence for standard neutrino mass and mixings,
there exists now a possibility of the lepton flavor violating process e\sup +
mu \sup - \arrow W \sup + W \sup -, which would occur via t-channel neutrino
exchange induced by neutrino mixings. We consider Langackers generalized
neutrino mixings including ordinary (canonical SU(2) \sub L x U(1) \sub Y
assignments), exotic (non-canonical SU(2) \sub L x U(1) \sub Y assignments) and
singlet neutrinos leading to light and heavy mass eigen states. Constraints on
lepton flavor violating (LFV) ordinary and heavy neutrino overlap parameters
are obtained by using the current experimental bounds on LFV process Mu \arrow
e gamma . These constraints are used to analyze the dependence of differential
cross section and angular distribution, for the process e\sup + mu \sup -
\arrow W \sup + W \sup -, on the mass of heavy (exotic) neutrino and c. m.
energy (sqrt(s)). The possibility of obtaining signatures of exotic neutrino
mixings at e - Mu collider is discussed.


title:
B_s to K^(*)0 \bar K^(*)0 decays: the golden channels for new physics
  searches

abstract:
  We point out that time-dependent CP asymmetries in B_s to K^{*0} \bar K^{*0}
decays probe the presence of new physics in b to s transitions with an
unprecedented theoretical accuracy. We show that, contrary to the case of B_d
to phi K_S, it is possible to obtain a model-independent prediction for the
coefficient S(B_s to K^{*0} \bar K^{*0}) in the Standard Model. We give an
estimate of the experimental precision achievable with the next generation of B
physics experiments. We also discuss how this approach can be extended to the
case of B_s to \bar K^{*0} K^0, B_s to K^{*0} \bar K^0 and B_s to K^0 \bar K^0
decays and the different experimental challenges for these channels.


title: Little Higgs Models and T Parity

abstract:
  Little Higgs models are an interesting extension of the Standard Model at the
TeV scale. They provide a simple and attractive mechanism of electroweak
symmetry breaking. We review one of the simplest models of this class, the
Littlest Higgs model, and its extension with T parity. The model with T parity
satisfies precision electroweak constraints without fine-tuning, contains an
attractive dark matter candidate, and leads to interesting phenomenology at the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC).


title:
Baryon spectra and non-strange baryon strong decays in the chiral SU(3)
  quark model

abstract:
  In the framework chiral SU(3) quark model, the baryon spectra within the band
of $N\leq 2$ are studied, and the effect of the confining potential in
different configurations, namely the $\Delta$-mode and Y-mode are compared. In
the same way, the baryon spectra in the extended chiral SU(3) quark model, in
which additional vector meson exchanges are introduced, are also calculated. It
is shown that a reasonable baryon spectrum in the chiral SU(3) quark model can
be achieved no matter whether the $\Delta$-mode or the Y-mode confining
potential is employed. In the extended chiral SU(3) quark model, several energy
levels are further improved. The resultant binding energies of excited baryon
states in different confining modes deviate just by a few to several tens MeV,
and it is hard to justify which confining mode is the dominant one. The
non-strange baryon strong decay widths are further discussed in the point-like
meson emission model by using the wave-function obtained in the spectrum
calculation. The resultant widths can generally explain the experimental data
but still cannot distinguish which confining mode is more important in this
simple decay mode.


title: The Lamb shift contribution of very light millicharged particles

abstract:
  The leading order vacuum polarization contribution of very light millicharged
fermions and scalar (spin-0) particles with charge \epsilon e and mass \mu to
the Lamb shift of the hydrogen atom is shown to imply universal, i.e.
\mu-independent, upper bounds on \epsilon: \epsilon \lsim 10^{-4} for \mu \lsim
1 keV in the case of fermions, and for scalars this bound is increased by a
factor of 2. This is in contrast to expectations based on the commonly used
approximation to the Uehling potential relevant only for conventionally large
fermion (and scalar) masses.


title: What atomic liquids can teach us about quark liquids

abstract:
  We discuss some aspects of cold atomic Fermi gases in the unitarity limit
that are of interest in connection with the physics of quark matter and the
quark gluon plasma. We consider, in particular, the equation of state,
transport properties, the critical temperature for pair condensation, and the
response to a pair breaking stress.


title: Cosmology in a supersymmetric model with gauged $B-L$

abstract:
  We consider salient cosmological features of a supersymmetric model which is
Left-Right symmetric and therefore possessing gauged $B-L$ symmetry. The
requirement of breaking parity and also obtaining charge preserving vacua
introduces some unique features to this model (MSLRM), resulting in a
preference for non-thermal Leptogenesis. Assuming that the model preserves TeV
scale supersymmetry, we show that the vacuum structure generically possesses
domain walls, which can serve two important purposes. They can signal a
secondary inflation required to remove unwanted relics such as gravitino and
moduli and also generate lepton asymmetry by a mechanism similar to electroweak
baryogenesis. The requirement of disappearance of domain walls imposes
constraints on the soft parameters of the theory, testable at the TeV scale. We
also propose an alternative model with spontaneous parity violation
(MSLR\rlap/P). Incorporating the same cosmological considerations in this case
entails constraints on a different set of soft parameters.


title:
Comments on the internal motion of massive charm quark in the process of
  double charmonium production in e+e- annihilations

abstract:
  The cross section value of doubly charmonium production in e+e- annihilations
have been estimated at interaction energy 10.6 GeV. The quarkonium wave
function shape, as well as the nonzero value of charm quark have been taken
into account.


title: New bounds on millicharged particles from cosmology

abstract:
  Particles with millicharge q and sub-eV mass can be produced in photon-photon
collisions, distorting the energy spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave Background.
We derive the conservative bound q < 10^-7 e (as well as model-dependent bounds
two orders of magnitude stronger), incompatible with proposed interpretations
of the PVLAS anomaly based on millicharged production or on
millicharged-mediated axion-like couplings.


title: New Analyses of Double-Bang Events in the Atmosphere

abstract:
  We use CORSIKA+Herwig simulation code to produce ultra-high energy neutrino
interactions in the atmosphere. Our aim is to reproduce extensive air showers
originated by extragalactic tau-neutrinos. For charged current tau-neutrino
interactions in the atmosphere, beside the air shower originated from the
neutrino interaction, it is expected that a tau is created and may decay before
reaching the ground. That phenomenon makes possible the generation of two
related extensive air showers, the so called Double-Bang event. We make an
analysis of the main characteristics of Double-Bang events in the atmosphere
for mean values of the parameters involved in such phenomenon, like the
inelasticity and tau decay length. We discuss what may happen for the ``out of
the average'' cases and conclude that it may be possible to observe this kind
of event in ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatories such as Pierre Auger or
Telescope Array.


title: Opportunities for Heavy Ion Physics at the Large Hadron Collider LHC

abstract:
  This talk discusses extrapolations to the LHC of several, apparently
universal trends, seen in the data on relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions
up to RHIC energies. In the soft physics sector, such extrapolations to the LHC
are typically at odds with LHC predictions of the dynamical models, advocated
to underlie multi-particle production up to RHIC energies. I argue that due to
this, LHC is likely to be a discovery machine not only in the hard, but also in
the soft physics sector.


title:
Nucleon propagation through nuclear matter in chiral effective field
  theory

abstract:
  We treat the propagation of nucleon in nuclear matter by evaluating the
ensemble average of the two-point function of nucleon currents in the framework
of the chiral effective field theory. We first derive the effective parameters
of nucleon to one loop. The resulting formula for the effective mass was known
previously and gives an absurd value at normal nuclear density. We then modify
it following Weinberg's method for the two-nucleon system in the effective
theory. Our results for the effective mass and the width of nucleon are
compared with those in the literature.


title: Exclusive electroproduction of pion pairs

abstract:
  We investigate electroproduction of pion pairs on the nucleon in the
framework of QCD factorization for hard exclusive processes. We extend previous
analyses by taking the hard-scattering coefficients at next-to-leading order in
$\alpha_s$. The dynamics of the produced pion pair is described by two-pion
distribution amplitudes, for which we perform a detailed theoretical and
phenomenological analysis. In particular, we obtain constraints on these
quantities by comparing our results with measurements of angular observables
that are sensitive to the interference between two-pion production in the
isoscalar and isovector channels.


title:
Role of h --> eta eta in Intermediate-Mass Higgs Boson Searches at the
  Large Hadron Collider

abstract:
  The dominance of $h\to \eta \eta$ decay mode for the intermediate mass Higgs
boson is highly motivated to solve the little hierarchy problem and to ease the
tension with the precision data. However, the discovery modes for $m_h \alt
150$ GeV, $h \to \gamma\gamma$ and $W/Z h \to (\ell\nu/\ell \bar \ell) (b\bar
b)$, will be substantially affected. In this Letter, we show that $h \to \eta
\eta \to 4b$ is complementary and we can use this decay mode to detect the
intermediate Higgs boson at the LHC, via $Wh$ and $Zh$ production. Requiring at
least one charged lepton and 4 $B$-tags in the final state, we can identify a
clean Higgs boson signal for $m_h \alt 150$ GeV with a high significance and
with a full Higgs mass reconstruction. We use the next-to-minimal
supersymmetric standard model and the simplest little Higgs model for
illustration.


title: Theoretical overview: towards understanding the quark-gluon plasma

abstract:
  I give a brief overview of recent theoretical developments concerning the
high temperature phase of QCD, and the structure of hadronic wave functions at
high energy.


title: Aproximative solutions to the neutrino oscillation problem in matter

abstract:
  We present approximative solutions to the neutrino evolution equation
calculated by different methods. In a two neutrino framework, using the
physical parameters which gives the main effects to neutrino oscillations from
nu{e} to another flavors for L=3000Km and E=1GeV, the results for the
transition probability calculated by using series solutions, by to take the
neutrino evolution operator as a product of ordered partial operators and by
numerical methods, for a linearly and sinusoidally varying matter density are
compared. The extension to an arbitrary density profile is discussed and the
evolution operator as a product of partial operators in the three neutrino case
is obtained.


title: Quantum Mechanics with Neutral Kaons

abstract:
  We briefly illustrate a few tests of quantum mechanics which can be performed
with entangled neutral kaon pairs at a Phi-factory. This includes a
quantitative formulation of Bohr's complementarity principle, the quantum
eraser phenomenon and various forms of Bell inequalities.


title: The Sivers single-spin asymmetry in photon-jet production

abstract:
  We study a weighted asymmetry in the azimuthal distribution of photon-jet
pairs produced in the process p^\uparrow p --> \gamma jet X with a transversely
polarized proton. We focus on the contribution of the Sivers effect only,
considering experimental configurations accessible at RHIC-BNL. We show that
predictions for the asymmetry, obtained in terms of gluonic-pole cross sections
calculable in perturbative QCD, can be tested and clearly discriminated from
those based on a generalized parton model, involving standard partonic cross
sections. Experimental measurements of the asymmetry will therefore test our
present understanding of single-spin asymmetries.


title:
Low-energy pi-pi and pi-K scatterings revisited in three-flavour
  resummed chiral perturbation theory

abstract:
  Chiral symmetry breaking may exhibit significantly different patterns in two
chiral limits: N_f=2 massless flavours (m_u=m_d=0, m_s physical) and N_f=3
massless flavours (m_u=m_d=0=m_s=0). Such a difference may arise due to vacuum
fluctuations of s-bar{s} pairs related to the violation of the Zweig rule in
the scalar sector, and could yield a numerical competition between
contributions counted as leading order and next-to-leading in the chiral
expansions of observables. We recall and extend Resummed Chiral Perturbation
Theory (ReChPT), a framework that we introduced previously to deal with such
instabilities: it requires a more careful definition of the relevant
observables and their one-loop chiral expansions. We analyse the amplitudes for
low-energy pi-pi and pi-K scatterings within ReChPT, which we match in
subthreshold regions with dispersive representations obtained from the
solutions Roy and Roy-Steiner equations. Using a frequentist approach, we
constrain the quark mass ratio as well as the quark condensate and the
pseudoscalar decay constant in the N_f=3 chiral limit. The results mildly
favour significant contributions of vacuum fluctuations suppressing the N_f=3
quark condensate compared to its N_f=2 counterpart.


title:
Precision radiative corrections to the semileptonic Dalitz plot with
  angular correlation between polarized decaying baryon and emitted charged
  lepton: Effects of the four-body region

abstract:
  Analytical radiative corrections of order (alpha/pi)(q/M) are calculated for
the four-body region of the Dalitz plot of baryon semileptonic decays when the
s1.l correlation is present. Once the final result is available, it is possible
to exhibit it in terms of the corresponding final result of the three-body
region following a set of simple changes in the latter, except for a few
exceptions. We cover two cases, a charged and a neutral polarized decaying
baryon.


title: Choosing the Factorization Scale in Perturbative QCD

abstract:
  We define the collinear factorization scheme, which absorbs only the
collinear physics into the parton distribution functions. In order to isolate
the collinear physics, we introduce a procedure to combine real and virtual
corrections, canceling infrared singularities prior to integration. In the
collinear scheme, the factorization scale $\mu$ has a simple physical
interpretation as a collinear cutoff. We present a method for choosing the
factorization scale and apply it to the Drell-Yan process; we find $\mu \approx
Q/2$, where $Q$ is the vector-boson invariant mass. We show that, for a wide
variety of collision energies and $Q$, the radiative corrections are small in
the collinear scheme for this choice of factorization scale.


title:
Radiative corrections to the lightest KK states in the T^2/(Z_2\times
  Z_2') orbifold

abstract:
  We study radiative corrections localized in the fixed points of the orbifold
for the field theory in six dimensions with two dimensions compactified on the
$T_2/(Z_2\times Z_2')$ orbifold in a specific realistic model for low energy
physics that solves the proton decay and neutrino mass problem. We calculate
corrections to the masses of the lightest stable KK modes, which could be the
candidates for the dark matter.


title:
Construction of Lorentz Invariant Amplitudes from Rest Frame Wave
  Functions in HQET

abstract:
  Succeeding in predicting 0^+ and 1^+ states of D and D_s heavy mesons by our
semi-relativistic quark potential model, we examine a method how to construct
Lorentz-invariant scattering amplitudes and/or decay widths and develop a
formulation to calculate Lorentz-boosted ones given the rest frame wave
functions in our model.
  To show how effective this is, we apply the formulation to calculate the
semileptonic weak form factors out of the rest frame wave functions of heavy
mesons and numerically calculate the dynamical 1/m_Q corrections to those for
the process B-bar -> D^{(*)}\ell\nu based on our model for heavy mesons. It is
shown that nonvanishing expressions for \rho_1(\omega)=\rho_2(\omega) and
\rho_3(\omega)=\rho_4(\omega)=0 are obtained in a special Lorentz frame, where
\rho_i(\omega) are the parameters used in the Neubert-Rieckert decomposition of
form factors. Various values of form factors are estimated, which are
compatible with recent experimental data as well as other theoretical
calculations.


title: BEC-BCS Crossover in the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model of QCD

abstract:
  The BEC-BCS crossover in QCD at finite baryon and isospin chemical potentials
is investigated in the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model. The diquark condensation in
two color QCD and the pion condensation in real QCD would undergo a BEC-BCS
crossover when the corresponding chemical potential increases. We determined
the crossover chemical potential as well as the BEC and BCS regions. The
crossover is not triggered by increasing the strength of attractive interaction
among quarks but driven by changing the charge density. The chiral symmetry
restoration at finite temperature and density plays an important role in the
BEC-BCS crossover. For real QCD, strong couplings in diquark and vector meson
channels can induce a diquark BEC-BCS crossover in color superconductor, and in
the BEC region the chromomagnetic instability is fully cured and the ground
state is a uniform phase.

categories: hep-ph cond-mat.supr-con hep-lat hep-th nucl-th


title:
Examining the Identity of Yukawa with Gauge Couplings in Supersymmetric
  QCD at LHC

abstract:
  The identity of the quark-squark-gluino Yukawa coupling with the
corresponding quark-quark-gluon QCD coupling in supersymmetric theories can be
examined experimentally at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Extending earlier
investigations of like-sign di-lepton final states, we include jets in the
analysis of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, adding squark-gluino and
gluino-pair production to squark-pair production. Moreover we expand the method
towards model-independent analyses which cover more general scenarios. In all
cases, squark decays to light charginos and neutralinos persist to play a
dominant role.


title:
Electroweak standard model at finite temperature in presence of a
  bosonic chemical potential

abstract:
  We study the electroweak standard model at finite temperature in presence of
a bosonic chemical potential associated with the conserved electromagnetic
current. To preserve the thermodynamic equilibrium of the system, the thermal
medium is neutralized by the introduction of four background charges related to
the four gauge bosons of this model. Using the mean-field approximation, in the
high temperature limit, we find that there exists a difference between the
effective mass of the spatial and temporal components of the W boson. A W boson
condensation induced via the background charges allows to vanish this
difference.


title:
Charmless non-leptonic B_s decays to PP, PV and VV final states in the
  pQCD approach

abstract:
  We calculate the CP-averaged branching ratios and CP-violating asymmetries of
a number of two-body charmless hadronic decays $\bar{B_s^0} \to PP, PV, VV$ in
the perturbative QCD (pQCD) approach to leading order in $\alpha_s$ (here $P$
and $V$ denote light pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively). The
mixing-induced CP violation parameters are also calculated for these decays. We
also predict the polarization fractions of $B_s \to VV$ decays and find that
the transverse polarizations are enhanced in some penguin dominated decays such
as $\bar{B_s^0} \to K ^{*}\bar{K^{*}}$, $K ^{*}\rho$. Some of the predictions
worked out here can already be confronted with the recently available data from
the CDF collaboration on the branching ratios for the decays $ \bar{B_s^0} \to
K^+\pi^-$, $ \bar{B_s^0} \to K^+K^-$ and the CP-asymmetry in the decay $
\bar{B_s^0} \to K^+\pi^-$, and are found to be in agreement within the current
errors. A large number of predictions for the branching ratios, CP-asymmetries
and vector-meson polarizations in $\bar{B_s^0}$ decays, presented in this paper
and compared with the already existing results in other theoretical frameworks,
will be put to stringent experimental tests in forthcoming experiments at
Fermilab, LHC and Super B-factories.


title: LHC Signature of Mirage Mediation

abstract:
  We study LHC phenomenology of mirage mediation scenario in which anomaly and
modulus contributions to soft SUSY breaking terms are comparable to each other.
A Monte Carlo study of mirage mediation, with model parameters $\alpha=1$,$
M_0=500$ GeV, $n_M=1/2$, $n_H=1$ and $\rm{tan}\beta=10$, is presented. It is
shown that masses of supersymmetric particles can be measured in a model
independent way, providing information on SUSY breaking sector. In particular,
the mass ratio of gluino to the lightest neutralino for the benchmark scenario
is determined to be $1.9 \lesssim m_{\tildeg}/m_{\tilde\chi_1^0} \lesssim 3.1$,
well reproducing theoretical input value of $m_{\tilde g}/m_{\tilde\chi_1^0}
\simeq 2.5$ which is quite distinctive from the predictions $m_{\tilde
g}/m_{\tilde\chi_1^0} \gtrsim 6$ of other SUSY scenarios in which gaugino
masses are unified at the GUT scale. The model parameters of mirage mediation
can be also determined from various kinematic distributions.


title: The Strongly-Interacting Light Higgs

abstract:
  We develop a simple description of models where electroweak symmetry breaking
is triggered by a light composite Higgs, which emerges from a
strongly-interacting sector as a pseudo-Goldstone boson. Two parameters broadly
characterize these models: m_rho, the mass scale of the new resonances and
g_rho, their coupling. An effective low-energy Lagrangian approach proves to be
useful for LHC and ILC phenomenology below the scale m_rho. We identify two
classes of operators: those that are genuinely sensitive to the new strong
force and those that are sensitive to the spectrum of the resonances only.
Phenomenological prospects for the LHC and the ILC include the study of
high-energy longitudinal vector boson scattering, strong double-Higgs
production and anomalous Higgs couplings. We finally discuss the possibility
that the top quark could also be a composite object of the strong sector.


title: The Status of Vud

abstract:
  The best value for Vud comes from superallowed 0+ to 0+ nuclear beta
transitions, of which thirteen have now been measured with high precision. The
current status of these measurements is described, and the result compared with
that of measurements from neutron decay and pion beta decay. Future prospects
for improvement are discussed.


title: Diffractive production of two rho^0_L mesons in e^+e^- collisions

abstract:
  We present an estimate of the cross-section for the exclusive production of a
rho_L^0-meson pair in e^+e^- scattering, which will be studied in the future
high energy International Linear Collider. For this aim, we complete
calculations of the Born order approximation of the amplitudes
gamma^*_{L,T}(Q_1^2) gamma^*_{L,T}(Q_2^2) -> rho_L^0 rho_L^0, for arbitrary
polarization of virtual photons and longitudinally polarized mesons, in the
kinematical region s >> -t, Q_1^2, Q_2^2. These processes are completely
calculable in the hard region Q_1^2, Q_2^2 >> Lambda^2_{QCD} and we perform
most of the calculations in an analytical way. The resulting cross-section
turns out to be large enough for this process to be measurable with foreseen
luminosity and energy, for Q_1^2 and Q_2^2 in the range of a few GeV^2.


title: Combining infrared and low-temperature asymptotes in Yang-Mills theories

abstract:
  We demonstrate that power-like non-perturbative behavior of gluon and ghost
propagators in infrared limit of Yang-Mills theories can provide at finite
temperatures T a negative T^4-contribution to the pressure and energy density.
Existence of mass gap implies then new relations between infrared critical
exponents of gluon and ghost propagators.


title: Pion Interactions in the X(3872)

abstract:
  We consider pion interactions in an effective field theory of the narrow
resonance X(3872), assuming it is a weakly bound molecule of the charm mesons
D^{0} \bar D^{*0} and D^{*0} \bar D^{0}. Since the hyperfine splitting of the
D^{0} and D^{*0} is only 7 MeV greater than the neutral pion mass, pions can be
produced near threshold and are non-relativistic. We show that pion exchange
can be treated in perturbation theory and calculate the next-to-leading-order
correction to the partial decay width \Gamma[X \to D^0 \bar D^{0} \pi^0].


title:
Universal Structure of Twist-3 Soft-Gluon-Pole Cross Sections for Single
  Transverse-Spin Asymmetry

abstract:
  We prove that twist-3 soft-gluon-pole (SGP) cross section for single spin
asymmetries (SSA) is determined by a certain ``primordial'' twist-2 cross
section up to kinematic and color factors in the leading order perturbative
QCD. In particular, for the processes in which the partonic hard scattering
occurs among massless partons, the invariance of the ``primordial'' partonic
cross section under scale transformation leads to remarkable simplification of
the SGP cross section, reproducing compact form that was recently observed for
pion production $p^\uparrow p\to \pi X$ and direct-photon production
$p^\uparrow p\to \gamma X$.


title: Omega mesons in medium - revisited

abstract:
  Recent experimental observation by the CBELSA/TAPS collaboration indicates a
downward mass shift of the $\omega$ meson when put into a nuclear medium.
Therefore it is worthwhile to take a look at theoretical approaches that can
describe this mass shift. One such hadronic model was introduced by Klingl et
al. (Nucl.Phys. A650:299-312). We will demonstrate that the heavy baryon limit
approximation used there has no justification and returns wrong results. The
results obtained with a correct treatment of the relevant $2\pi$-channel lead
to unreasonable results for the $\omega$ selfenergy in medium.


title:
Large and Almost Maximal Neutrino Mixing within the Type II See-Saw
  Mechanism

abstract:
  Within the type II see-saw mechanism the light neutrino mass matrix is given
by a sum of a direct (or triplet) mass term and the conventional (type I)
see-saw term. Both versions of the see-saw mechanism explain naturally small
neutrino masses, but the type II scenario offers interesting additional
possibilities to explain large or almost maximal or vanishing mixings which are
discussed in this paper. We first introduce ``type II enhancement'' of neutrino
mixing, where moderate cancellations between the two terms can lead to large
neutrino mixing even if all individual mass matrices and terms generate small
mixing. However, nearly maximal or vanishing mixings are not naturally
explained in this way, unless there is a certain initial structure (symmetry)
which enforces certain elements of the matrices to be identical or related in a
special way. We therefore assume that the leading structure of the neutrino
mass matrix is the triplet term and corresponds to zero U_{e3} and maximal
theta_{23}. Small but necessary corrections are generated by the conventional
see-saw term. Then we assume that one of the two terms corresponds to an
extreme mixing scenario, such as bimaximal or tri-bimaximal mixing. Deviations
from this scheme are introduced by the second term. One can mimic Quark-Lepton
Complementarity in this way. Finally, we note that the neutrino mass matrix for
tri-bimaximal mixing can be -- depending on the mass hierarchy -- written as a
sum of two terms with simple structure. Their origin could be the two terms of
type II see-saw.


title: Heavy quarkonium in a holographic QCD model

abstract:
  Encouraged by recent developments in AdS/QCD models for light quark system,
we study heavy quarkonium in the framework of the AdS/QCD models. We calculate
the masses of $c\bar c$ vector meson states using the AdS/QCD models at zero
and at finite temperature. Among the models adopted in this work, we find that
the soft wall model describes the low-lying heavy quark meson states at zero
temperature relatively well. At finite temperature, we observe that once the
bound state is above $T_c$, its mass will increase with temperature until it
dissociates at a temperature of around $494 {\rm MeV}$. It is shown that the
dissociation temperature is fixed by the infrared cutoff of the models. The
present model serves as a unified non perturbative model to investigate the
properties of bound quarkonium states above $T_c$.


title: Strategy to measure the Higgs mass, width and invisible decays at ILC

abstract:
  This document is meant to provide semi-quantitative arguments to evaluate the
luminosity needed at ILC to achieve a precise measurement of the Higgs mass,
width and invisible decays. It is shown that for mH=120 GeV, one can save an
order of magnitude on the luminosity needed to achieve a given precision on the
Higgs mass, as compared to what can be obtained at \sqrt s=350 GeV, by running
near threshold. Since the recoil mass resolution near threshold is independent
of the Higgs mass, one can also access the Higgs width for masses above 170
GeV. This strategy of running just above threshold is also optimal to measure
or set upper limits on the Higgs invisible branching ratio. Two MSSM scenarios
are presented to illustrate the potential interest of an optimized recoil mass
resolution. A simplified description of the various experimental mechanisms
affecting this type of measurement is presented: detector resolution for
leptons and jets, luminosity and beamstrahlung energy dependence, initial and
final radiation of the involved leptons.


title:
Total cross-section at LHC from minijets and soft gluon resummation in
  the infrared region

abstract:
  A model for total cross-sections incorporating QCD jet cross-sections and
soft gluon resummation is described and compared with present data on $pp$ and
${\bar p}p$ cross-sections. Predictions for LHC are presented for different
parameter sets. It is shown that they differ according to the small x-behaviour
of available parton density functions.


title: Quantum Boltzmann Equations and Leptogenesis

abstract:
  The closed time-path formalism is a powerful Green's function formulation to
describe non-equilibrium phenomena in field theory and it leads to a complete
non-equilibrium quantum kinetic theory. We make use of this formalism to write
down the set of quantum Boltzmann equations relevant for leptogenesis. They
manifest memory effects and off-shell corrections. In particular, memory
effects lead to a time-dependent CP asymmetry whose value at a given instant of
time depends upon the previous history of the system. This result is
particularly relevant when the asymmetry is generated by the decays of nearly
mass-degenerate heavy states, as in resonant or soft leptogenesis.


title:
Relations between generalized and transverse momentum dependent parton
  distributions

abstract:
  Recent work suggests non-trivial relations between generalized parton
distributions on the one hand and (naive time-reversal odd) transverse momentum
dependent distributions on the other. Here we review the present knowledge on
such type of relations. Moreover, as far as spectator model calculations are
concerned, the existing results are considerably extended. While various
relations between the two types of parton distributions can be found in the
framework of spectator models, so far no non-trivial model-independent
relations have been established.


title: Masses and Mixings in a Grand Unified Toy Model

abstract:
  The generation of the fermion mass hierarchy in the standard model of
particle physics is a long-standing puzzle. The recent discoveries from
neutrino physics suggests that the mixing in the lepton sector is large
compared to the quark mixings. To understand this asymmetry between the quark
and lepton mixings is an important aim for particle physics. In this regard,
two promising approaches from the theoretical side are grand unified theories
and family symmetries. In this note we try to understand certain general
features of grand unified theories with Abelian family symmetries by taking the
simplest SU(5) grand unified theory as a prototype. We construct an SU(5) toy
model with $U(1)_F \otimes Z'_2\otimes Z''_2 \otimes Z'''_2$ family symmetry
that, in a natural way, duplicates the observed mass hierarchy and mixing
matrices to lowest approximation. The system for generating the mass hierarchy
is through a Froggatt-Nielsen type mechanism. One idea that we use in the model
is that the quark and charged lepton sectors are hierarchical with small mixing
angles while the light neutrino sector is democratic with larger mixing angles.
We also discuss some of the difficulties in incorporating finer details into
the model without making further assumptions or adding a large scalar sector.


title: Mesotron Decays and the Role of Anomalies

abstract:
  Puzzles associated with Yukawa's mesotron theory of nuclear interactions led
to the discovery of "anomalies" in quantum field theory. I will discuss some of
the remarkable consequences of these anomalies in the physics of elementary
particles.


title:
Towards a fitting procedure for deeply virtual Compton scattering at
  next-to-leading order and beyond

abstract:
  Combining dispersion and operator product expansion techniques, we derive the
conformal partial wave decomposition of the virtual Compton scattering
amplitude in terms of complex conformal spin to twist-two accuracy. The
perturbation theory predictions for the deeply virtual Compton scattering
(DVCS) amplitude are presented in next-to-leading order for both conformal and
modified minimal subtraction scheme. Within a conformal subtraction scheme,
where we exploit predictive power of conformal symmetry, the radiative
corrections are presented up to next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy. Here,
because of the trace anomaly, the mixing of conformal moments of generalized
parton distributions (GPD) at the three-loop level remains unknown. Within a
new proposed parameterization for GPDs, we then study the convergence of
perturbation theory and demonstrate that our formalism is suitable for a
fitting procedure of DVCS observables.


title: Matching of lambda_B onto HQET

abstract:
  The quantity 1/lambda_B, the inverse moment of the B-meson light-cone wave
function, plays an important role in exclusive B-decays. I calculate the
matching coefficient of lambda_B defined in QCD onto lambda_B defined in HQET.
This is useful for comparing results that have been obtained in QCD to results
obtained in HQET.


title: Neutralino Dark Matter in the NMSSM

abstract:
  We analyze the direct detection of neutralino dark matter in the framework of
the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Taking into account all the
available constraints from LEPII and Tevatron, including bounds from the muon
anomalous magnetic moment and flavor constraint as $b \to s \gamma $, we
compute the neutralino-nucleon cross section and compare the results with the
sensitivity of dark matter detectors. We also study the relic abundance of
neutralinos, comparing it with WMAP observations. We show that a light
singlet-like Higgs can escape accelerator constraints allowing for scenarios
with large cross sections, and a very interesting phenomenology.


title: Weak Mixing and Rare Decays in the Littlest Higgs Model

abstract:
  Little Higgs Models have been introduced to resolve the fine-tuning problems
associated with the stability of the electroweak scale and the constraints
imposed by the precision electroweak analysis of experiments testing the
Standard Model of particle physics. Flavor physics provides a sensitive probe
of the new physics contained in these models at next-to-leading order.


title: A novel washout effect in the flavored leptogenesis

abstract:
  We investigate a flavored washout effect due to the decay of the lightest
right-handed neutrino, assuming that there is non-vanishing initial lepton
asymmetry and the decay of the lightest right-handed neutrinos gives negligible
contribution to the asymmetry. We figure out general features of the washout
effect. It is shown that there is a novel parameter region where an effect that
is negligible in most cases plays a critical role and a sizable lepton
asymmetry can survive against the washout process even in a strong washout
region.


title: CP Asymmetry in Charged Higgs Decays in MSSM

abstract:
  We discuss and compare the charge-parity (CP) asymmetry in the charged Higgs
boson decays H -> \bar{u}_i d_j for the second and third generation quarks in
the minimal supersymmetric standard model. As part of the analysis, we derive
some general analytical formulas for the imaginary parts of two-point and
three-point scalar one-loop integrals and use them for calculating vectorial
and tensorial type integrals needed for the problem under consideration. We
find that, even though each decay mode has a potential to yield a CP asymmetry
larger than 10%, further analysis based on the number of required charged Higgs
events at colliders favors the \bar{t}b, \bar{c}b, and \bar{c}s channels, whose
asymmetry could reach 10-15% in certain parts of the parameter space.


title: Gupta-Rajpoot Texture 2(4) Zero Mass Matrices

abstract:
  The so called ``Texture 2(4) zero mass matrices'' were first introduced in a
Wayne State University preprint to accommodate the "yet to be discovered" heavy
top quark. The preprint in its entirety is reproduced here after a brief
commentary.


title:
Indications of the possible observation of the lowest-lying 1^{-+} QCD
  state

abstract:
  We discuss properties of 1^{-+} exotic mesons within the framework of the QCD
field-theoretic approach. We estimate the mass of the lowest-lying 1^{-+}
exotic meson using renormalization-improved QCD sum rules, and find that the
mass lies around $1.26\pm 0.15$ GeV, in good agreement with the $\pi_1(1400)$
data. This state should be expected in QCD. We find that the mass for the
lowest-lying strange 1^{-+} meson is $1.31\pm 0.19$ GeV. Our result hints that
the K^*(1410) may be the lowest-lying 1^{-+} nonet state.


title: On the gluon content of the eta and eta' mesons

abstract:
  A phenomenological analysis of radiative $V\to P\gamma$ and $P\to V\gamma$
decays is performed with the purpose of determining the gluonic content of the
$\eta$ and $\eta^\prime$ wave functions. Our results show that within our model
there is no evidence for a gluonium contribution in the $\eta$,
$Z_\eta^2=0.00\pm 0.12$, or the $\eta^\prime$, $Z_{\eta^\prime}^2=0.04\pm
0.09$. In terms of a mixing angle description this corresponds to
$\phi_P=(41.4\pm 1.3)^\circ$ and $|\phi_{\eta^\prime G}|=(12\pm 13)^\circ$. In
addition, the $\eta$-$\eta^\prime$ mixing angle is found to be $\phi_P=(41.5\pm
1.2)^\circ$ if we don't allow for a gluonium component.


title: Separable Dyson-Schwinger model at zero and finite T

abstract:
  Theoretical understanding of experimental results from relativistic heavy-ion
collisions requires a microscopic approach to the behavior of QCD n-point
functions at finite temperatures, as given by the hierarchy of Dyson-Schwinger
equations, properly generalized within the Matsubara formalism. The technical
complexity of related finite-temperature calculations however mandates
modeling. We present a model where the QCD interaction in the infrared,
nonperturbative domain, is modeled by a separable form. Results for the mass
spectrum of light quark flavors at finite temperature are presented.


title: Constrained Electroweak Chiral Lagrangian

abstract:
  We update the uncertainty analysis on $S$ parameter of the electroweak chiral
Lagrangian (EWCL) by including the LEP-II W pair production data. We find that
experimental data still allow a positive $S^{EXP}(1\textrm{TeV})$.


title: Exotic Hadrons in the Constituent Quark Model

abstract:
  Exotic hadrons are important because their existence or absence can provide
important clues to understanding how QCD makes hadrons from quarks and gluons.
The first experimentally confirmed exotic will be the first hadron containing
both $qq$ and $\bar q q$ pairs and the first hadron containing color sextet and
color octet pairs. Theoretical models are not very useful because there is no
accepted model for multiquark systems with color-space correlations. The
constituent quark model is the only phenomenological model with predictive
power that has given experimentally tested universal predictions for both
mesons and baryons. This paper reviews its explanation for why there are no
bound exotics and its guidance to the search for heavy-flavored exotic
tetraquarks and pentaquarks. A possible supersymmetry between mesons and
baryons leading to meson-baryon mass relations not easily obtained otherwise is
discussed.


title:
Effective chiral model with Polyakov loops and its application to
  hot/dense medium

abstract:
  We study the thermodynamics of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with Polyakov
loops, where spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking and confinement are taken
into account. We focus on the phase structure of the model and explore the
susceptibilities associated with corresponding order parameters under the
mean-field approximation.


title: Neutrino oscillations in medium with periodic square potential

abstract:
  We have investigated two flavor neutrino oscillations in medium with periodic
step electron number density profile. An approximate analytical solution have
been found when the length of the density fluctuation is smaller then the
neutrino oscillation length.


title: Study of Penguin Pollution in the B^0 -> J/psi K_S Decay

abstract:
  We study the penguin pollution in the B^0 -> J/psi K_S decay up to leading
power in 1/m_b and to next-to-leading order in \alpha_s, m_b being the b quark
mass and \alpha_s the strong coupling constant. The deviation \Delta S_{J/psi
K_S} of the mixing-induced CP asymmetry from sin(2\phi_1) and the direct CP
asymmetry A_{J/psi K_S} are both found to be of O(10^{-3}) in a formalism that
combines the QCD-improved factorization and perturbative QCD approaches.


title: New Solutions to the Hierarchy Problem

abstract:
  After summarizing the status of the Standard Model, we focus on the Hierarchy
Problem and why we believe this strongly suggests the need for new physics at
the TeV scale. We then concentrate on theories with extra dimensions and their
possible manifestations at this scale.


title: Orbifold Family Unification

abstract:
  We study the possibility of complete family unification in higher-dimensional
space-time. Three families of matters in SU(5) grand unified theory are derived
from a single bulk multiplet of SU(N) gauge group (N >= 9) in the framework of
S^1/Z_2 orbifold models. In the case of the direct orbifold breaking down to
the standard model gauge group, there are models in which bulk fields from a
single multiplet and a few brane fields compose three families of quarks and
leptons.