Radiatively Generating the Higgs Potential and Electroweak Scale via the Seesaw Mechanism.

The minimal seesaw scenario can radiatively generate the Higgs potential to induce electroweak symmetry breaking while supplying an origin of the Higgs vacuum expectation value from an underlying Majorana scale. If the Higgs potential and (derived) electroweak scale have this origin, the heavy SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1)_{Y} singlet states are expected to reside at m_{N}∼10-500 PeV for couplings |ω|∼10^{-4.5}-10^{-6} between the Majorana sector and the standard model. In this framework, the usual challenge of the electroweak scale hierarchy problem with a classically assumed potential is absent as the electroweak scale is not a fundamental scale. The new challenge is the need to generate or accommodate PeV Majorana mass scales while simultaneously suppressing tree-level contributions to the potential in ultraviolet models.

Probing the Charm Quark Yukawa Coupling in Higgs+Charm Production.

We propose a new method for determining the coupling of the Higgs boson to charm quarks, via Higgs production in association with a charm-tagged jet: pp→hc. As a first estimate, we find that at the LHC with 3000 fb^{-1}, it should be possible to derive a constraint of order one, relative to the standard model (SM) value of the charm Yukawa coupling. As a by-product of this analysis, we present an estimate of the exclusive pp→hD^{(*)} electroweak cross section. Within the SM, the latter turns out to be not accessible at the LHC even in the high-luminosity phase.

Prevalence of a characteristic gene profile in high-level rhythmic gymnasts.

High-level physical performance in rhythmic gymnastics is influenced by numerous skills and anthropometric factors. In order to understand if genetic predisposition could play a role to define the elite rhythmic gymnast phenotype, we analysed the frequency of common polymorphisms linked to genes correlated with body mass (ADRB2 and FTO), explosive strength (ACTN3 and ACE), and joint mobility (COL5A1), in 42 gymnasts involved in National and International events, and in 42 control girls. Our results demonstrated that high-level rhythmic gymnasts constituted a genetically selected population showing higher frequency of: (a) ADRB2 and FTO alleles linked to low body mass index and low fat mass; (b) COL5A1 CT genotype linked to high joint mobility and to the occurrence of genu recurvatum, but also to a higher incidence of injuries. ACTN3 and ACE polymorphisms did not appear to be connected with the phenotype of high-level rhythmic gymnast. Based on these data, it can be assumed that these polymorphisms could positively affect the phenotype and performance of gymnasts.