Width Difference in the B-B[over ¯] System at Next-to-Next-to-Leading Order of QCD.

We extend the theoretical prediction for the width difference ΔΓ_{q} in the mixing of neutral B mesons in the Standard Model to next-to-next-to-leading order in α_{s}. To this aim, we calculate three-loop diagrams with two |ΔB|=1 current-current operators analytically. In the matching between |ΔB|=1 and |ΔB|=2 effective theories, we regularize the infrared divergences dimensionally and take into account all relevant evanescent operators.

Cornering Spontaneous CP Violation with Charged-Higgs-Boson Searches.

Decades of precision measurements have firmly established the Kobayashi-Maskawa phase as the dominant source of the charge-parity (CP) violation observed in weak quark decays. However, it is still unclear whether CP violation is explicitly encoded in complex Yukawa matrices or instead stems from spontaneous symmetry breaking with underlying CP-conserving Yukawa and Higgs sectors. Here we study the latter possibility for the case of a generic two-Higgs-doublet model.

Neutral D→KK^{*} Decays as Discovery Channels for Charm CP Violation.

We point out that the CP asymmetries in the decays D^{0}→K_{S}K^{*0} and D^{0}→K_{S}K[over ¯]^{*0} are potential discovery channels for charm CP violation in the standard model. We stress that no flavor tagging is necessary, the untagged CP asymmetry a_{CP}^{dir}(D[over (-)]→K_{S}K^{*0}) is essentially equal to the tagged one, so that the untagged measurement comes with a significant statistical gain. Depending on the relevant strong phase, |a_{CP}^{dir,untag}| can be as large as 0.

Supersymmetric Explanation of CP Violation in K→ππ Decays.

Recent progress in the determination of hadronic matrix elements has revealed a tension between the measured value of ε_{K}^{'}/ε_{K}, which quantifies direct CP violation in K→ππ decays, and the standard-model prediction. The well-understood indirect CP violation encoded in the quantity ε_{K} typically precludes large new-physics contributions to ε_{K}^{'}/ε_{K} and challenges such an explanation of the discrepancy. We show that it is possible to cure the ε_{K}^{'}/ε_{K} anomaly in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with squark masses above 3 TeV without overshooting ε_{K}.

Sum Rules of Charm CP Asymmetries beyond the SU(3)_{F} Limit.

We find new sum rules between direct CP asymmetries in D meson decays with coefficients that can be determined from a global fit to branching ratio data. Our sum rules eliminate the penguin topologies P and PA, which cannot be determined from branching ratios. In this way, we can make predictions about direct CP asymmetries in the standard model without ad hoc assumptions on the sizes of penguin diagrams.

Penguin Contributions to CP Phases in B(d,s) Decays to Charmonium.

The precision of the CP phases 2β and 2β(s) determined from the mixing-induced CP asymmetries in B(d)→J/ψK(S) and B(s)→J/ψϕ, respectively, is limited by the unknown long-distance contribution of a penguin diagram involving up quarks. The penguin contribution is expected to be comparable in size to the precision of the LHCb and Belle II experiments and, therefore, limits the sensitivity of the measured quantities to new physics. We analyze the infrared QCD structure of this contribution and find that all soft and collinear divergences either cancel between different diagrams or factorize into matrix elements of local four-quark operators up to terms suppressed by Λ(QCD)/m(ψ), where m(ψ) denotes the J/ψ mass.

Impact of a Higgs boson at a mass of 126 GeV on the standard model with three and four fermion generations.

We perform a comprehensive statistical analysis of the standard model (SM) with three and four generations using the latest Higgs search results from LHC and Tevatron, the electroweak precision observables measured at LEP and SLD, and the latest determinations of M(W), m(t), and α(s). For the three-generation case we analyze the tensions in the electroweak fit by removing individual observables from the fit and comparing their predicted values with the measured ones. In particular, we discuss the impact of the Higgs search results on the deviations of the electroweak precision observables from their best-fit values.

Rare decay K+ --> pi+ nunu at the next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD.

We calculate the charm quark contribution to the rare decay Kappa(+)--> pi(+) nunu in the next-to-next-to-leading order of QCD. This new contribution reduces the theoretical uncertainty in the relevant parameter Pc from +/-10.1% down to +/-2.

Correlation of B(s) --> mu(+)mu(-) and (g - 2)(mu) in minimal supergravity.

We analyze the decay mode B(s)-->mu(+)mu(-) in minimal supergravity (mSUGRA). We find that the recently measured excess in (g-2)(mu), if interpreted within mSUGRA, is correlated with a substantial enhancement of the branching ratio Beta(B(s)-->mu(+)mu(-)): if (g-2)(mu) exceeds the standard model prediction by 4 x 10(-9), Beta(B(s)-->mu(+)mu(-)) is larger by a factor of 10-100 and within reach of Run-II of the Tevatron. Thus the search for B(s)-->mu(+)mu(-) is a stringent test of the GUT scale relations of mSUGRA.