Within the framework of a general non-linear effective field theory describing the electroweak symmetry breaking, we perform a detailed analysis of the next-to-leading contributions to the electroweak oblique parameters S and T from hypothetical heavy resonance states strongly coupled to Standard Model fields. This work extends our previous results by including parity-odd operators in the effective Lagrangian, contributions from fermionic cuts, and up-to-date experimental constraints. We demonstrate that in strongly-coupled ultraviolet completions satisfying both Weinberg Sum Rules -as is the case in asymptotically free gauge theories- the vector and axial-vector resonance masses are constrained to lie above 10TeV. Conversely, scenarios allowing for lighter resonances with masses between 2and 10TeV necessarily imply a violation of the second Weinberg Sum Rule.

The experimental observation of large CP violation in charm-meson hadronic decays remains theoretically unexplained within the Standard Model. The data-driven approach which accounts for the rescattering between the final-state pion and kaon pairs provides predictions that fall short of the experimental values. However, it relies on a set of inputs that exhibit large uncertainties. In this work, we make optimal use of the available information on branching ratios and of only one strong-scattering input parameter that is well determined. We find that it remains unlikely to explain the experimental signal within this approach and obtain predictions for sum rules that constrain CP asymmetries of the pion and kaon channels.

The Standard Model does not provide any dynamical explanation of the existence of different families of fermions. To account for this experimental fact, it just replicates three times its single-family gauge structure. The equal-charge fermions of the different families couple to the gauge bosons with exactly the same coupling strength. We overview the empirical evidence supporting this important property. The currently most precise experimental tests on the universality of the lepton and quark couplings are discussed. Both charged-current (W^±) and neutral-current (Z) interactions are reviewed.

Using a general (non-linear) effective field theory description of the Standard Model electroweak symmetry breaking, we analyse the impact on the electroweak oblique parameters of hypothetical heavy resonance states strongly coupled to the SM particles. We present a next-to-leading order calculation of S and T that updates and generalizes our previous results, including P-odd operators in the Lagrangian, fermionic cuts and the current experimental bounds. We demonstrate that in any strongly-coupled underlying theory where the two Weinberg Sum Rules are satisfied, as happens in asymptotically free gauge theories, the masses of the heavy vector and axial-vector states must be heavier than 10 TeV. Lighter resonances with masses around 2-3 TeV are only possible in theoretical scenarios where the 2nd Weinberg Sum Rule is not fulfilled.

A bstract In this article we study the possibility that neutral and charged scalars lighter than the 125 GeV Higgs boson might exist within the framework of the $$ \mathcal{CP} $$ CP -conserving Aligned-two-Higgs-doublet model. Depending on which new scalar (scalars) is (are) light, seven different scenarios may be considered. Using the open-source code HEPfit, which relies on Bayesian statistics, we perform global fits for all seven light-mass scenarios. The constraints arising from vacuum stability, perturbativity, electroweak precision observables, flavour observables, Higgs signal strengths, and direct-detection results at the LEP and the LHC are taken into account. Reinterpreted data from slepton searches are considered too. It turns out that the seven scenarios contain sizeable regions of their parameter space compatible with all current data. Although not included in the global fits, the possible implications of ( g − 2) μ are also addressed.

We discuss model-independent contributions to the electron EDM, focusing on those contributions emerging from a heavy scalar sector linearly realized. To provide a concrete new physics realization, we investigate the aligned 2HDM in the decoupling limit. We point out that logarithmically enhanced contributions generated from Barr-Zee diagrams with a fermion loop are present in the aligned 2HDM, an effect encoded in the decoupling limit by effective dimension-6 operators, through the mixing of four-fermion into dipole operators. The same large logarithms are absent in specific 2HDMs where a 𝒵_2 symmetry is enforced, which thus controls the basis of effective operators relevant for calculating new physics contributions to EDMs. In other words, the 𝒵_2 symmetry acts as a suppression mechanism. In the aligned 2HDM these contributions are proportional to sources of CP violation that are potentially large, and absent in presence of the 𝒵_2 symmetry. We then investigate the impact on the electron EDM of this extended set of free parameters.

We present a discussion of model-independent contributions to the EDM of the electron. We focus on those contributions that emerge from a heavy scalar sector that is linearly realized. In particular, we explore the decoupling limit of the aligned 2HDM. In this model, Barr-Zee diagrams with a fermion loop produce logarithmically-enhanced contributions that are proportional to potentially large new sources of CP violation. In the decoupling limit these contributions are generated by effective dimension-6 operators via the mixing of four-fermion operators into electroweak dipole operators. These logarithmic contributions are not present in more constrained versions of the 2HDM where a 𝒵_2 symmetry is imposed, which then controls the basis of effective operators needed to describe the new physics contributions to the electron EDM. Thus, the 𝒵_2 symmetry provides a suppression mechanism. In the course of the comparison of the results from the aligned 2HDM with the leading logarithms from SMEFT, we needed to specify or correct signs of expressions found in the literature. We then study how the experimental bounds on the electron EDM constrain the set of parameters of the aligned 2HDM.

Two-Higgs-doublet models come with an augmented parameter space which allows them to possibly solve some of the shortcomings of the Standard Model, and opens the window to a plethora of new phenomena to be discovered. The introduction of scalar-mediated tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents may be tackled with the imposition of extra symmetries on the model or, alternatively, by demanding a strict proportionality between the flavour-changing couplings and fermion mass matrices. The latter is the very idea behind the Aligned-Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (A2HDM). The coefficients that govern such proportionality are, in general, complex and, therefore, possible new sources of CP violation, a calling card of this class of models. We present here the results of new state-of-the-art analyses of the A2HDM where, in particular, we ascertain whether current data allows the A2HDM to accommodate extra scalars lighter than the 125 GeV Higgs boson. To this effect, we make use of theoretical constraints, bounds from Higgs searches at the LHC and LEP, electroweak precision observables, and a set of flavour observables, all globally combined within HEPfit, a software with a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to statistical inference. Focusing on the light-pseudoscalar scenario, we find a region of parameter space compatible with all the constraints we impose.

Experiments have confirmed the presence of a mass gap between the Standard Model and potential New Physics. Consequently, the exploration of effective field theories to detect signals indicative of Physics Beyond the Standard Model is of great interest. In this study, we examine a non-linear realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking, wherein the Higgs is a singlet with independent couplings, and Standard Model fields are additionally coupled to heavy bosonic resonances. We present a next-to-leading-order determination of the oblique S and T parameters. Comparing our predictions with experimental values allows us to impose constraints on resonance masses, requiring them to exceed the TeV scale (M_R > 2TeV). This finding aligns with our earlier analysis, employing a less generalized approach and the experimental bounds of that time, where we computed these observables.

While the third run of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is ongoing, the underlying theory that extends the Standard Model remains so far unknown. Left-Right Models (LRMs) introduce a new gauge sector, and can restore parity symmetry at high enough energies. If LRMs are indeed realized in nature, the mediators of the new weak force can be searched for in colliders via their direct production. We recast existing experimental bounds from LHC Run 2 on the heavy LRM gauge boson masses. As a novelty, we discuss the effect of the LRM scalar content on the total width of the new gauge bosons, obtaining model-independent bounds within the specific realizations of the LRM scalar sectors analysed here. These bounds avoid the need to detail the spectrum of the scalar sector, and apply in the general case where no discrete symmetry is enforced. Moreover, we emphasize the effect of the structure of the quark right-handed mixing matrix on the charged LRM gauge boson production at LHC. We find that $W_R$ and $Z_R$ masses are constrained to lie above $2$ TeV and $4$ TeV, respectively.

The Review summarizes much of particle physics and cosmology. Using data from previous editions, plus 2,717 new measurements from 869 papers, we list, evaluate, and average measured properties of gauge bosons and the recently discovered Higgs boson, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as supersymmetric particles, heavy bosons, axions, dark photons, etc. Particle properties and search limits are listed in Summary Tables. We give numerous tables, figures, formulae, and reviews of topics such as Higgs Boson Physics, Supersymmetry, Grand Unified Theories, Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy, Dark Matter, Cosmology, Particle Detectors, Colliders, Probability and Statistics. Most of the 120 reviews are updated, including many that are heavily revised. The Review is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 includes the Summary Tables and 97 review articles. Volume 2 consists of the Particle Listings and contains also 23 reviews that address specific aspects of the data presented in the Listings. The complete Review (both volumes) is published online on the website of the Particle Data Group (pdg.lbl.gov) and in a journal. Volume 1 is available in print as the PDG Book. A Particle Physics Booklet with the Summary Tables and essential tables, figures, and equations from selected review articles is available in print, as a web version optimized for use on phones, and as an Android app.

An updated global fit on the parameter-space of the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model is performed with the help of the open-source package HEPfit, assuming the Standard-Model Higgs to be the lightest scalar. No new sources of CP violation, other than the phase in the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix of the Standard Model, are considered. A similar global fit was previously performed by O. Eberhardt et al. [Global fits in the aligned two-Higgs-doublet model, J. High Energy Phys. 05 (2021) 005] with a slightly different set of parameters. Our updated fit incorporates improved analyses of the theoretical constraints required for the perturbative unitarity and boundedness of the scalar potential from below, additional flavor observables and updated data on direct searches for heavy scalars at the LHC, Higgs signal strengths, and electroweak precision observables. Although not included in the main fit, the implications of the CDF measurement of the W +/- mass are also discussed.

Left-Right Models (LRMs) are one of the most relevant extensions of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. They introduce an extended gauge sector and can restore parity (P) or charge conjugation (C) symmetries at high enough energies. These theories can be embedded in other more fundamental ones with larger gauge groups. Consequently, the restoration of the C or P symmetries can be pushed towards higher energy scales compared to the scale of the Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking (SSB) of the LRM gauge group. We study three LRMs with different specific realizations of the scalar sector without imposing any additional discrete symmetry on the theory. We present bounds on the masses of the new gauge bosons using data from the LHC Run 2 and study rare meson decays, discussing the structure of the right-handed quark mixing matrix and the impact of the neutrino and scalar sectors. Collider bounds valid for specific LRM realizations are alleviated bringing New Physics (NP) effects in flavour observables closer to an observable level.

The super tau-charm facility will provide excellent conditions to perform a high-precision investigation of the tau-lepton properties: very high statistics, controllable systematics and low backgrounds. An overview of the broad physics program that could be addressed at this facility is presented.

Urgent theoretical progress is needed in order to provide an estimate in the Standard Model of the recent measurement by LHCb of direct CP violation in charm-meson two-body decays. Rescattering effects must be taken into account for a meaningful theoretical description of the amplitudes involved in such category of observables, as signaled by the presence of large strong phases. We discuss the computation of the latter effects based on a two-channel coupled dispersion relation, which exploits isospin-zero phase-shifts and inelasticity parameterizations of data coming from the rescattering processes $ \pi \pi \to \pi \pi $, $ \pi K \to \pi K $, and $ \pi \pi \to K \overline{K} $. The determination of the subtraction constants of the dispersive integrals relies on the leading contributions to the transition amplitudes from the $ 1/N_C $ counting, where $N_C$ is the number of QCD colours. Furthermore, we use the measured values of the branching ratios to help in selecting the non-perturbative inputs in the isospin limit, from which we predict values for the CP asymmetries. We find that the predicted level of CP violation is much below the experimental value.

Kaon physics is at a turning point – while the rare-kaon experiments NA62 and KOTO are in full swing, the end of their lifetime is approaching and the future experimental landscape needs to be defined. With HIKE, KOTO-II and LHCb-Phase-II on the table and under scrutiny, it is a very good moment in time to take stock and contemplate about the opportunities these experiments and theoretical developments provide for particle physics in the coming decade and beyond. This paper provides a compact summary of talks and discussions from the Kaons@CERN 2023 workshop, held in September 2023 at CERN.

Two-Higgs-doublet models come with an augmented parameter space which allows them to possibly solve some of the shortcomings of the Standard Model, and opens the window to a plethora of new phenomena to be discovered. The introduction of scalar-mediated tree-level flavour-changing neutral currents may be tackled with the imposition of extra symmetries on the model or, alternatively, by demanding a strict proportionality between the flavour-changing couplings and fermion mass matrices. The latter is the very idea behind the Aligned-Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (A2HDM). The coefficients that govern such proportionality are, in general, complex and, therefore, possible new sources of CP violation, a calling card of this class of models. We present here the results of new state-of-the-art analyses of the A2HDM where, in particular, we ascertain whether current data allows the A2HDM to accommodate extra scalars lighter than the 125 GeV Higgs boson. To this effect, we make use of theoretical constraints, bounds from Higgs searches at the LHC and LEP, electroweak precision observables, and a set of flavour observables, all globally combined within HEPfit, a software with a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to statistical inference. Focusing on the light-pseudoscalar scenario, we find a region of parameter space compatible with all the constraints we impose.

Though the Standard Model (SM) provides a very elegant description of the interactions among fundamental particles, there are ample evidences suggesting that new physics is needed. In particular, extending the scalar sector has enough motivation from vacuum stability, electroweak phase transition and various other sectors. Among different such extensions, the two-Higgs-doublet model (THDM) is the simplest one that preserves the electroweak ρ parameter. Flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNC) are usually avoided by implementing additional discrete symmetries, but this type of models are subject to severe phenomenological constraints. In the more general framework of the aligned THDM (ATHDM) tree-level FCNCs are avoided by choosing the same flavour structure for the Yukawa couplings of the two scalar doublets, which results in weaker phenomenological constraints. Here, we present a global fit of the ATHDM, using the package HEPfit that performs a bayesian analysis on the parameter-space of this model with the help of stability and perturbativity bounds, experimental data for various flavour and electroweak precision observables, and constraints from Higgs searches at the LHC. This global fit has been performed assuming that all additional scalars are heavier than the SM Higgs and that there are no extra sources of CP violation beyond the CKM phase.

The Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) is a simple extension of the Standard Model (SM), which provides a rich and very interesting phenomenology. To remove the undesirable flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNCs), an additional 𝒵_2 symmetry is usually imposed into the 2HDM. However, FCNCs can be avoided in a much more general way by assuming a similar Yukawa structure for the two scalar doublets. But one can circumvent the issue of FCNCs by assuming similar Yukawa structure for the two scalar doublets too. The model with this intriguing feature is termed the Aligned Two Higgs Doublet Model (A2HDM). The phenomenological constraints on the A2HDM are much weaker than the ones on the usual 𝒵_2 models, opening a broader range of possible scenarios. Moreover, the A2HDM also provides a generic framework to study, as particular cases, the different varieties of 𝒵_2-symmetric 2HDMs. Here, we illustrate a global fit of the A2HDM using the package HEPfit. We study the possibility of having new scalar particles lighter than the SM Higgs. For this global fit we perform a Bayesian analysis, including stability and perturbativity bounds, flavour and electroweak precision observables, and scalar (and pseudoscalar) searches at LEP and LHC.

Theoretical predictions for particle production cross sections and decays at colliders rely heavily on perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) calculations, expressed as an expansion in powers of the strong coupling constant alpha S . The current O(1%) uncertainty of the QCD coupling evaluated at the reference Z boson mass, alpha S(mZ2)=0.1179 +/- 0.0009 , is one of the limiting factors to more precisely describe multiple processes at current and future colliders. A reduction of this uncertainty is thus a prerequisite to perform precision tests of the Standard Model as well as searches for new physics. This report provides a comprehensive summary of the state-of-the-art, challenges, and prospects in the experimental and theoretical study of the strong coupling. The current alpha S(mZ2) world average is derived from a combination of seven categories of observables: (i) lattice QCD, (ii) hadronic tau decays, (iii) deep-inelastic scattering and parton distribution functions fits, (iv) electroweak boson decays, hadronic final-states in (v) e+e-, (vi) e-p, and (vii) p-p collisions, and (viii) quarkonia decays and masses. We review the current status of each of these seven alpha S(mZ2) extraction methods, discuss novel alpha S determinations, and examine the averaging method used to obtain the world-average value. Each of the methods discussed provides a 'wish list' of experimental and theoretical developments required in order to achieve the goal of a per-mille precision on alpha S(mZ2) within the next decade.