One-loop Electroweak and QCD corrections to vector boson scattering into top pairs and application to ILC

We calculate the electroweak and QCD corrections to W-W+ -> tt and ZZ -> tt. We also consider the interplay of these corrections with the effect of anomalous interactions that affect the massive weak bosons and the top. The results at the VV level fusion are convoluted with the help of the effective vector boson approximation to give predictions for a high energy e+e- collider.Comment: 19 pages, 27 figure

Threshold Behaviour in Gauge Boson Pair Production at LEP 2

We discuss the form of the amplitude for gauge boson pair production at or near threshold.We show that in the case of W-pair production at LEP2 near threshold only one anomalous electromagnetic coupling can contribute. This anomalous coupling is CP violating and contributes to the electric dipole moment of the $W$. Since this coupling is likely to be small, it is important to look for ZZgamma couplings in Zgamma production. These couplings are not suppressed at the W-threshold

One-loop corrections, uncertainties and approximations in neutralino annihilations: Examples

The extracted value of the relic density has reached the few per-cent level precision. One can therefore no longer content oneself with calculations of this observable where the annihilation processes are computed at tree-level, especially in supersymmetry where radiative corrections are usually large. Implementing full one-loop corrections to all annihilation processes that would be needed in a scan over parameters is a daunting task. On the other hand one may ask whether the bulk of the corrections are taken into account through effective couplings of the neutralino that improve the tree-level calculation and would be easy to implement. We address this issue by concentrating in this first study on the neutralino coupling to i) fermions and sfermions and ii) Z. After constructing the effective couplings we compare their efficiency compared to the full one-loop calculation and comment on the failures and success of the approach. As a bonus we point out that large non decoupling effects of heavy sfermions could in principle be measured in the annihilation process, a point of interest in view of the latest limit on the squark masses from the LHC. We also comment on the scheme dependencies of the one-loop corrected results

Double Higgs Production at the Linear Colliders and the Probing of the Higgs Self-Coupling

We study double Higgs production in the $e^+ e^-$ and $\gamma \gamma$ modes of the linear collider. It is also shown how one can probe the scalar potential in these reactions. We discuss the effective longitudinal $W$ approximation in $\gamma \gamma$ processes and the $W_L W_L$ luminosities in the two modes of a high-energy linear collider. A generalised non-linear gauge-fixing condition, which is particularly useful for tree-level calculations of electroweak processes for the laser induced collider, is presented. Its connection with the background-field approach to gauge fixing is given.Comment: 60 pages, LateX, uses epsf, needs FEYNMAN.tex, 26 figs. (eqs. 4.1 and 4.10 changed), full paper (including figs) is also available via www at http://lapphp0.in2p3.fr/preplapp/psth/doublehiggs.ps.gz or via anonymous ftp at ftp://lapphp0.in2p3.fr/pub/preprints-theorie/doublehiggsf.u

Automatised full one-loop renormalisation of the MSSM I: The Higgs sector, the issue of tan(beta) and gauge invariance

We give an extensive description of the renormalisation of the Higgs sector of the minimal supersymmetric model in SloopS. SloopS is an automatised code for the computation of one-loop processes in the MSSM. In this paper, the first in a series, we study in detail the non gauge invariance of some definitions of tan(beta). We rely on a general non-linear gauge fixing constraint to make the gauge parameter dependence of different schemes for tan(beta) at one-loop explicit. In so doing, we update, within these general gauges, an important Ward-Slavnov-Taylor identity on the mixing between the pseudo-scalar Higgs, A^0, and the Z^0. We then compare the tan(beta) scheme dependence of a few observables. We find that the best tan(beta) scheme is the one based on the decay A^0 -> tau^+ tau^- because of its gauge invariance, being unambiguously defined from a physical observable, and because it is numerically stable. The oft used DRbar scheme performs almost as well on the last count, but is usually defined from non-gauge invariant quantities in the Higgs sector. The use of the heavier scalar Higgs mass in lieu of tan(beta) though related to a physical parameter induces too large radiative corrections in many instances and is therefore not recommended.Comment: 34 pages, 1 figure, typos corrected, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Self-annihilation of the neutralino dark matter into two photons or a Z and a photon in the MSSM

We revisit the one-loop calculation of the annihilation of a pair of the lightest neutralinos into a pair of photons, a pair of gluons and also a Z photon final state. For the latter we have identified a new contribution that may not always be negligible. For all three processes we have conducted a tuned comparison with previous calculations for some characteristic scenarios. The approach to the very heavy higgsino and wino is studied and we argue how the full one-loop calculation should be matched into a more complete treatment that was presented recently for these extreme regimes. We also give a short description of the code that we exploited for the automatic calculation of one-loop cross sections in the MSSM that could apply both for observables at the colliders and for astrophysics or relic density calculations. In particular the automatic treatment of zero Gram determinants which appear in the latter applications is outlined. We also point out how generalised non-linear gauge fixing constraints can be exploited.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Invisible Decays of the Supersymmetric Higgs and Dark Matter

We discuss effects of the light sparticles on decays of the lightest Higgs in a supersymmetric model with nonuniversal gaugino masses at the high scale, focusing on the `invisible' decays into neutralinos. These can impact significanlty the discovery possibilities of the lightest Higgs at the LHC. We show that due to these decays, there exist regions of the $M_2-\mu$ space where the B.R. $(h \to \gamma \gamma)$ becomes dangerously low even after imposing the LEP constraints on the sparticle masses, implying a possible preclusion of its discovery in the $\gamma \gamma$ channel. We find that there exist regions in the parameter space with acceptable relic density and where the ratio ${B.R. (h \to \gamma \gamma)_{SUSY} \over B.R. (h \to \gamma \gamma)_{SM}}$ falls below 0.6, implying loss of signal in the $\gamma \gamma$ channel. These regions correspond to $\tilde \chi_1^+, \tilde \chi_2^0$ masses which should be accessible already at the Tevatron. Further we find that considerations of relic density put lower limit on the U(1) gaugino mass parameter $M_1$ independently of $\mu, \tan \beta$ and $m_0$.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, Talk presented at Appi2002, Accelerator and Particle Physics Institute, Appi, Iwate, Japan, February 13--16 200