Flavor Physics with light quarks and leptons

TL;DR

This paper reviews how rare K decays and lepton-flavor violating processes can reveal physics beyond the Standard Model, emphasizing the role of Minimal Flavor Violation in analyzing their sensitivities.

Contribution

It introduces the application of the Minimal Flavor Violation hypothesis to compare the new-physics sensitivity of various rare processes involving light quarks and leptons.

Findings

K -> pi nu nu-bar as a sensitive probe for new physics

Lepton-flavor violating decays like mu -> e gamma constrain beyond Standard Model theories

Lepton-flavor universality tests provide complementary insights

Abstract

The impact of rare K decays and lepton-flavor violating processes in shedding light on physics beyond the Standard Model is reviewd. To this purpose, I first recall the formulation of the Minimal Flavor Violation hypothesis --both in the quark and in the lepton sector-- and then use it as guiding principle in comparing the new-physics sensitivity of different rare processes. On the phenomenological side, the discussion is focused mainly on the impact of K -> pi nu nu-bar, mu -> e gamma, and lepton-flavor universality tests with Kl2 and Pl2 decays.