Deciphering top flavor violation at the LHC with B factories

The LHC will have unprecedented sensitivity to flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) top quark decays, whose observation would be a clear sign of physics beyond the standard model. Although many details of top flavor violation are model dependent, the standard model gauge symmetries relate top FCNCs to other processes, which are strongly constrained by existing data. We study these constraints in a model independent way, using a low energy effective theory from which the new physics is integrated out. We consider the most important operators which contribute to top FCNCs and analyze the current constraints on them. We find that the data rule out top FCNCs at a level observable at the LHC due to most of the operators comprising left-handed first or second generation quark fields, while there remains a substantial window for top decays mediated by operators with right-handed charm or up quarks. If FCNC top decays are observed at the LHC, such an analysis may help decipher the underlying physics.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures; some typos correcte

Astrophysical Implications of a Visible Dark Matter Sector from a Custodially Warped-GUT

We explore, within the warped extra dimensional framework, the possibility of finding anti-matter signals in cosmic rays (CRs) from dark matter (DM) annihilation. Exchange of order 100 GeV radion, an integral part of our setup, generically results in Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation rate for TeV DM mass. No dark sector is required to obtain boosted annihilation cross sections. A mild hierarchy between the radion and DM masses can be natural due to the pseudo-Goldstone boson nature of the radion. Implications of Sommerfeld enhancement in warped grand unified theory (GUT) models, where proton stability implies a DM candidate, are studied. We show, via partially unified Pati-Salam group, how to incorporate a custodial symmetry for Z->b\bar b into the GUT framework such that a few TeV Kaluza-Klein (KK) mass scale is allowed by precision tests. The model with smallest fully unified SO(10) representation allows us to decouple the DM from the electroweak sector. Thus, a correct DM relic density is obtained and direct detection bounds are satisfied. Looking at robust CR observables, a possible future signal in the \bar p / p flux ratio is found. We show how to embed a similar custodial symmetry for the right handed tau, allowing it to be strongly coupled to KK particles. Such a scenario might lead to observed signal in CR positrons; however, the DM candidate in this case can not constitute all of the DM in the universe. Independently of the above, the strong coupling between KK particles and tau's can lead to striking LHC signals.Comment: 53 pages, 9 figure

QCD Corrections to Vector-Boson Fusion Processes in Warped Higgsless Models

We discuss the signatures of a representative Higgsless model with ideal fermion delocalization in vector-boson fusion processes, focusing on the gold- and silver-plated decay modes of the gauge bosons at the CERN-Large Hadron Collider. For this purpose, we have developed a fully-flexible parton-level Monte-Carlo program, which allows for the calculation of cross sections and kinematic distributions within experimentally feasible selection cuts at NLO-QCD accuracy. We find that Kaluza-Klein resonances give rise to very distinctive distributions of the decay leptons. Similar to the Standard Model case, within the Higgsless scenario the perturbative treatment of the vector-boson scattering processes is under excellent control.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figure

Gamma Ray Constraints on Flavor Violating Asymmetric Dark Matter

We show how cosmic gamma rays can be used to constrain models of asymmetric Dark Matter decaying into lepton pairs by violating flavor. First of all we require the models to explain the anomalies in the charged cosmic rays measured by PAMELA, FERMI and HESS; performing combined fits we determine the allowed values of the Dark Matter mass and lifetime. For these models, we then determine the constraints coming from the measurement of the isotropic gamma-ray background by FERMI for a complete set of lepton flavor violating primary modes and over a range of DM masses from 100 GeV to 10 TeV. We find that the FERMI constraints rule out the flavor violating asymmetric Dark Matter interpretation of the charged cosmic ray anomalies.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. v2: constraints derivation slightly modified, conclusions unchanged; some clarifications and some references added; matches version published on JCA

Beneficial effect of prolonged heme oxygenase 1 activation in a rat model of chronic heart failure.

SUMMARY We and others have previously demonstrated that heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) induction by acute hemin administration exerts cardioprotective effects. Here, we developed a rat model of heart failure to investigate whether a long-term induction of HO-1 by chronic hemin administration exerted protective effects. Sprague Dawley rats that underwent permanent ligation of the left coronary artery were closely monitored for survival rate analysis and sacrificed on day 28 post-operation. Administration of hemin (4 mg/kg body weight) every other day for 4 weeks induced a massive increase in HO-1 expression and activity, as shown by the increased levels of the two main metabolic products of heme degradation, bilirubin and carbon monoxide (CO). These effects were associated with significant improvement in survival and reduced the extension of myocardial damage. The ischemic hearts of the hemin-treated animals displayed reduced oxidative stress and apoptosis in comparison with the non-treated rats, as shown by the decreased levels of lipid peroxidation, free-radical-induced DNA damage, caspase-3 activity and Bax expression. Besides, chronic HO-1 activation suppressed the elevated levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) production and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) production that were evoked by the ischemic injury, and increased the plasma level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Interestingly, HO-1 inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP-IX; 1 mg/kg) lowered bilirubin and CO concentrations to control values, thus abolishing all the cardioprotective effects of hemin. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that chronic HO-1 activation by prolonged administration of hemin improves survival and exerts protective effects in a rat model of myocardial ischemia by exerting a potent antioxidant activity and disrupting multiple levels of the apoptotic and inflammatory cascade

Natural Little Hierarchy from a Partially Goldstone Twin Higgs

We construct a simple theory in which the fine-tuning of the standard model is significantly reduced. Radiative corrections to the quadratic part of the scalar potential are constrained to be symmetric under a global U(4) x U(4)' symmetry due to a discrete Z_2 "twin" parity, while the quartic part does not possess this symmetry. As a consequence, when the global symmetry is broken the Higgs fields emerge as light pseudo-Goldstone bosons, but with sizable quartic self-interactions. This structure allows the cutoff scale, \Lambda, to be raised to the multi-TeV region without significant fine-tuning. In the minimal version of the theory, the amount of fine-tuning is about 15% for \Lambda = 5 TeV, while it is about 30% in an extended model. This provides a solution to the little hierarchy problem. In the minimal model, the "visible" particle content is exactly that of the two Higgs doublet standard model, while the extended model also contains extra vector-like fermions with masses ~(1-2)TeV. At the LHC, our minimal model may appear exactly as the two Higgs doublet standard model, and new physics responsible for cutting off the divergences of the Higgs mass-squared parameter may not be discovered. Several possible processes that may be used to discriminate our model from the simple two Higgs doublet model are discussed for the LHC and for a linear collider.Comment: 22 page