Covariant description of flavor violation at the LHC

A simple formalism to describe flavor and CP violation in a model independent way is provided. Our method is particularly useful to derive robust bounds on models with arbitrary mechanisms of alignment. Known constraints on flavor violation in the K and D systems are reproduced in a straightforward and covariant manner. Assumptions-free limits, based on top flavor violation at the LHC, are then obtained. In the absence of signal, with 100 fb(-1) of data, the LHC will exclude weakly coupled (strongly coupled) new physics up to a scale of 0.6 TeV (7.6 TeV), while at present no general constraint can be set related to Delta t = 1 processes. Delta F = 2 contributions will be constrained via same-sign tops signal, with a model independent exclusion region of 0.08 TeV (1.0 TeV). However, in this case, stronger bounds are found from the study of CP violation in D-(D) over bar mixing with a scale of 0.57 TeV (7.2 TeV). We also apply our analysis to supersymmetric and warped extra dimension models. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.