Rare Z-decay into light CP-odd Higgs bosons: a comparative study in different new physics models

Various new physics models predict a light CP-odd Higgs boson (labeled as $a$) and open up new decay modes for Z-boson, such as $Z \to \bar{f} f a$, $Z\to a\gamma$ and $Z\to aaa$, which could be explored at the GigaZ option of the ILC. In this work we investigate these rare decays in several new physics models, namely the type-II two Higgs doublet model (type-II 2HDM), the lepton-specific two Higgs doublet model (L2HDM), the nearly minimal supersymetric standard model (nMSSM) and the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM). We find that in the parameter space allowed by current experiments, the branching ratios can reach $10^{-4}$ for $Z \to \bar{f} f a$ ($f=b,\tau$), $10^{-9}$ for $Z\to a\gamma$ and $10^{-3}$ for $Z\to aaa$, which implies that the decays $Z \to \bar{f} f a$ and $Z \to a a a$ may be accessible at the GigaZ option. Moreover, since different models predict different patterns of the branching ratios, the measurement of these rare decays at the GigaZ may be utilized to distinguish the models.Comment: Version in JHEP (discussions added, errors corrected

Light dark matter in the NMSSM: upper bounds on direct detection cross sections

In the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, a bino-like LSP can be as light as a few GeV and satisfy WMAP constraints on the dark matter relic density in the presence of a light CP-odd Higgs scalar. We study upper bounds on the direct detection cross sections for such a light LSP in the mass range 2-20 GeV in the NMSSM, respecting all constraints from B-physics and LEP. The OPAL constraints on e^+ e^- -> \chi^0_1 \chi^0_i (i > 1) play an important role and are discussed in some detail. The resulting upper bounds on the spin-independent and spin-dependent nucleon cross sections are ~ 10^{-42} cm^{-2} and ~ 4\times 10^{-40} cm^{-2}, respectively. Hence the upper bound on the spin-independent cross section is below the DAMA and CoGeNT regions, but could be compatible with the two events observed by CDMS-II.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure

Constraining parameter space in type-II two-Higgs doublet model in light of a 126 GeV Higgs boson

We explore the implications of a 126 GeV Higgs boson indicated by the recent LHC results for two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM). Identifying the 126 GeV Higgs boson as either the lighter or heavier of CP even neutral Higgs bosons in 2HDM, we examine how the masses of Higgs fields and mixing parameters can be constrained by the theoretical conditions and experimental constraints. The theoretical conditions taken into account are the vacuum stability, perturbativity and unitarity required to be satisfied up to a cut-off scale. We also show how bounds on the masses of Higgs bosons and mixing parameters depend on the cut-off scale. In addition, we investigate whether the allowed regions of parameter space can accommodate particularly the enhanced di-photon signals, ZZ* and WW* decay modes of the Higgs boson, and examine the prediction of the signal strength of Z{\gamma} decay mode for the allowed regions of the parameter space.Comment: To be published in JHEP, 20 pages, 11 figures, Figures and results are updated for the recent LHC result

MFV Reductions of MSSM Parameter Space

The 100+ free parameters of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) make it computationally difficult to compare systematically with data, motivating the study of specific parameter reductions such as the cMSSM and pMSSM. Here we instead study the reductions of parameter space implied by using minimal flavour violation (MFV) to organise the R-parity conserving MSSM, with a view towards systematically building in constraints on flavour-violating physics. Within this framework the space of parameters is reduced by expanding soft supersymmetry-breaking terms in powers of the Cabibbo angle, leading to a 24-, 30- or 42-parameter framework (which we call MSSM-24, MSSM-30, and MSSM-42 respectively), depending on the order kept in the expansion. We provide a Bayesian global fit to data of the MSSM-30 parameter set to show that this is manageable with current tools. We compare the MFV reductions to the 19-parameter pMSSM choice and show that the pMSSM is not contained as a subset. The MSSM-30 analysis favours a relatively lighter TeV-scale pseudoscalar Higgs boson and $\tan \beta \sim 10$ with multi-TeV sparticles.Comment: 2nd version, minor comments and references added, accepted for publication in JHE

Testing new physics with the electron g-2

We argue that the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron (a_e) can be used to probe new physics. We show that the present bound on new-physics contributions to a_e is 8*10^-13, but the sensitivity can be improved by about an order of magnitude with new measurements of a_e and more refined determinations of alpha in atomic-physics experiments. Tests on new-physics effects in a_e can play a crucial role in the interpretation of the observed discrepancy in the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon (a_mu). In a large class of models, new contributions to magnetic moments scale with the square of lepton masses and thus the anomaly in a_mu suggests a new-physics effect in a_e of (0.7 +- 0.2)*10^-13. We also present examples of new-physics theories in which this scaling is violated and larger effects in a_e are expected. In such models the value of a_e is correlated with specific predictions for processes with violation of lepton number or lepton universality, and with the electric dipole moment of the electron.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures. Minor changes and references adde

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles at high transverse momenta in PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles in PbPb collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC over an extended transverse momentum (pt) range up to approximately 60 GeV. The data cover both the low-pt region associated with hydrodynamic flow phenomena and the high-pt region where the anisotropies may reflect the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the created medium. The anisotropy parameter (v2) of the particles is extracted by correlating charged tracks with respect to the event-plane reconstructed by using the energy deposited in forward-angle calorimeters. For the six bins of collision centrality studied, spanning the range of 0-60% most-central events, the observed v2 values are found to first increase with pt, reaching a maximum around pt = 3 GeV, and then to gradually decrease to almost zero, with the decline persisting up to at least pt = 40 GeV over the full centrality range measured.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO