Searching for New Physics with Charm
I provide a comprehensive review of indirect searches for New Physics with charmed mesons. I discuss current theoretical and experimental challenges and successes in understanding decays and mixings of those mesons. I argue that in many New Physics scenarios strong constraints, that surpass those from other search techniques, could be placed on the allowed model parameter space using the existent data from studies of charm transitions. This has direct implications for direct searches of physics beyond the Standard Model at the LHC.

title: Is B-->Xs gamma equal to b-->s gamma ? Spectator contributions to rare inclusive B decays.
abstract: In $B \to X_s \gamma $ there are perturbative $QCD$ corrections at order $\alpha_s$ not only to the single quark line process $ b \to s \gamma$ but also coming from a set of diagrams where the weak interaction vertex involves a gluon which interacts with the spectator quark in the B hadron. We discuss the impact of the full set of these diagrams. These can influence the decay rate and also the line shape of the photon spectrum as they favor a softer photon energy than does the pure spectator decay $b \to s \gamma$. A subset of these diagrams generate differences in the decay rates for charged and neutral B's , $B^+ \to X_s \gamma$ vs. $B^0 \to X_s \gamma$ which can be searched for experimentally, although our calculation indicates that the effect will be hard to observe. Bound state effects turn out to be required to give rise to spectator corrections to the decay rate at order $\alpha_s$. The resulting contribution to the total rate is rather small (of about $5 \% $ ), although the effect is somewhat larger on portions of the photon spectrum.

title: Hadronic D and D(s) Meson Decays
abstract: We provide a comprehensive review of hadronic decays of D and D_s mesons. We discuss current theoretical and experimental challenges and successes in understanding of hadronic transitions of those mesons. A brief overview of the theoretical and experimental tools are given before discussing the absolute branching fractions for D and D_s mesons. Cabibbo suppressed and rare hadronic decays are discussed and compared with theory before discussing our understanding of hadronic multibody decays.

title: Heavy meson molecules in effective field theory
abstract: We consider the implications from the possibility that the recently observed state X(3872) is a meson-antimeson molecule. We write an effective Lagrangian consistent with the heavy-quark and chiral symmetries needed to describe X(3872). We explore the consequences of the assumption that X(3872) is a molecular bound state of D�0 and D0 mesons for the existence of bound states in the D0D0 and D�0D �0

title: CP-violation in charm
abstract: I review recent results in theoretical and experimental analyses of CP-violation in charmed transitions, paying particular attention to constraints on parameters of beyond the Standard Model interactions.

title: X(3872) in effective field theory
abstract: We consider the implications from the possibility that the recently observed state X(3872) is a meson‐antimeson molecule. We write an effective Lagrangian consistent with the heavy‐quark and chiral symmetries needed to describe X(3872) and study its properties.

title: Two-dimensional Lorentz-violating Chern-Simons-like action
abstract: We demonstrate generation of the two-dimensional Chern–Simons-like Lorentz-breaking action via an appropriate Lorentz-breaking coupling of scalar and spinor fields at zero as well as at the finite temperature and via the noncommutative fields method and study the dispersion relations corresponding to this action.

title: Kaluza-Klein description of geometric phases in graphene
abstract: In this paper, we use the Kaluza-Klein approach to describe topological defects in a graphene layer. Using this approach, we propose a geometric model allowing to discuss the quantum flux in K-spin subspace. Within this model, the graphene layer with a topological defect is described by a four-dimensional metric, where the deformation produced by the topological defect is introduced via the three-dimensional part of metric tensor, while an Abelian gauge field is introduced via an extra dimension. We use this new geometric model to discuss the arising of topological quantum phases in a graphene layer with a topological defect.

title: Liouville-like solutions in dilaton gravity with Gauss–Bonnet modifications
abstract: We investigate non-perturbative dilatonic solutions of the wide class of the modified gravity models that include Gauss–Bonnet terms with a general F(G) Lagrangian. We show that the presence of Liouville-like solutions is a characteristic feature of these models.

title: Generation of axionlike couplings via quantum corrections in a Lorentz-violating background
abstract: Light pseudoscalars, or axion like particles (ALPs), are much studied due to their potential relevance to the fields of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The most relevant coupling of ALPs from the viewpoint of current experimental searches is to the photon: in this work, we study the generation of this coupling as an effect of quantum corrections, originated from an underlying Lorentz violating background. Most interestingly, we show that the interaction so generated turns out to be Lorentz invariant, thus mimicking the standard ALPs coupling to the photon that is considered in the experiments. This consideration implies that violations of spacetime symmetries, much studied as possible consequences of physics in very high energy scales, might infiltrate in other realms of physics in unsuspected ways. Additionally, we conjecture that a similar mechanism can also generate Lorentz invariant couplings involving scalar particles and photons, playing a possible role in the phenomenology of Higgs bosons.

title: THE GÖDEL METRIC IN THE CHERN-SIMONS MODIFIED GRAVITY
abstract: We discuss the consistency of the Godel metric within the Chern-Simons modified gravity, both for external and dynamical Chern-Simons coefficients.