Scalar Dark Matter From Theory Space

The scalar dark matter candidate in a prototypical theory space little Higgs model is investigated. We review all details of the model pertinent to dark matter. We perform a thermal relic density calculation including couplings to the gauge and Higgs sectors of the model. We find two regions of parameter space that give acceptable dark matter abundances. The first region has a dark matter candidate with a mass of order 100 GeV, the second region has a heavy candidate with a mass greater than about 500 GeV$. The dark matter candidate in either region is an admixture of an SU(2) triplet and an SU(2) singlet, thereby constituting a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle).Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, version to appear in PR

Phenomenological Aspects of Heterotic Orbifold Models at One Loop

We provide a detailed study of the phenomenology of orbifold compactifications of the heterotic string within the context of supergravity effective theories. Our investigation focuses on those models where the soft Lagrangian is dominated by loop contributions to the various soft supersymmetry breaking parameters. Such models typically predict non-universal soft masses and are thus significantly different from minimal supergravity and other universal models. We consider the pattern of masses that are governed by these soft terms and investigate the implications of certain indirect constraints on supersymmetric models, such as flavor-changing neutral currents, the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and the density of thermal relic neutralinos. These string-motivated models show novel behavior that interpolates between the phenomenology of unified supergravity models and models dominated by the superconformal anomaly.Comment: 47 pages, 14 figure

Higgsino Dark Matter in a SUGRA Model with Nonuniversal Gaugino Masses

We study a specific SUGRA model with nonuniversal gaugino masses as an alternative to the minimal SUGRA model in the context of supersymmetric dark matter. The lightest supersymmetric particle in this model comes out to be a Higgsino dominated instead of a bino dominated lightest neutralino. The thermal relic density of this Higgsino dark matter is somewhat lower than the cosmologically favoured range, which means it may be only a subdominant component of the cold dark matter. Nonetheless, it predicts favourable rates of indirect detection, which can be seen in square-km size neutrino telescopes.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D. A few references added in the bibliography and a comment added in Section 2. LaTex, 16 pages, 4 figure

The Well-Tempered Neutralino

The dark-matter prediction is usually considered as one of the successes of low-energy supersymmetry. We argue that, after LEP constraints are taken into account, the correct prediction for the dark-matter density, at a quantitative level, is no longer a natural consequence of supersymmetry, but it requires special relations among parameters, highly sensitive to small variations. This is analogous to the problem of electroweak-symmetry breaking, where the correct value of the Z mass is obtained only with a certain degree of fine tuning. In the general parameter space of low-energy supersymmetry, one of the most plausible solution to reproduce the correct value of the dark-matter density is the well-tempered neutralino, which corresponds to the boundary between a pure Bino and a pure Higgsino or Wino. We study the properties of well-tempered neutralinos and we propose a simple limit of split supersymmetry that realizes this situation.Comment: Latex2e, 29 pages, 5 figures, reference added, typo corrected, version to be published in NP

Relic Neutralino Densities and Detection Rates with Nonuniversal Gaugino Masses

We extend previous analyses on the interplay between nonuniversalities in the gaugino mass sector and the thermal relic densities of LSP neutralinos, in particular to the case of moderate to large tan beta. We introduce a set of parameters that generalizes the standard unified scenario to cover the complete allowed parameter space in the gaugino mass sector. We discuss the physical significance of the cosmologically preferred degree of degeneracy between charginos and the LSP and study the effect this degree of degeneracy has on the prospects for direct detection of relic neutralinos in the next round of dark matter detection experiments. Lastly, we compare the fine tuning required to achieve a satisfactory relic density with the case of universal gaugino masses, as in minimal supergravity, and find it to be of a similar magnitude. The sensitivity of quantifiable measures of fine-tuning on such factors as the gluino mass and top and bottom masses is also examined.Comment: Uses RevTeX; 14 pages, 16 figure

Nickel oxide reduction studied by environmental TEM and in situ XRD

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 - August 2, 201

Dynamic study of carbon nanotube growth and catalyst morphology evolution during acetylene decomposition on Co/SBA-15 in an environmental TEM

International @ SURFACES+FCA:MAO:ATUInternational audienceNon