5 research outputs found
Determining the WIMP mass from a single direct detection experiment, a more detailed study
The energy spectrum of nuclear recoils in Weakly Interacting Massive Particle
(WIMP) direct detection experiments depends on the underlying WIMP mass. We
study how the accuracy with which the WIMP mass could be determined by a single
direct detection experiment depends on the detector configuration and the WIMP
properties. We investigate the effects of varying the underlying WIMP mass and
cross-section, the detector target nucleus, exposure, energy threshold and
maximum energy, the local circular speed and the background event rate and
spectrum. The number of events observed is directly proportional to both the
exposure and the cross-section, therefore these quantities have the greatest
bearing on the accuracy of the WIMP mass determination. The relative
capabilities of different detectors to determine the WIMP mass depend not only
on the WIMP and target masses, but also on their energy thresholds. We find
that the rapid decrease of the nuclear form factor with increasing momentum
transfer which occurs for heavy nuclei, means that heavy nuclei will not
necessarily be able to measure the mass of heavy WIMPs more accurately.
Uncertainty in the local circular speed and non-negligible background would
both lead to systematic errors in the WIMP mass determination. With a single
detector it will be difficult to disentangle a WIMP signal (and the WIMP mass)
from background if the background spectrum has a similar shape to the WIMP
spectrum (i.e. exponential background, or flat background and a heavy WIMP).Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, version to appear in JCAP, minor changes to
presentatio
Phenomenological Implications of Deflected Mirage Mediation: Comparison with Mirage Mediation
We compare the collider phenomenology of mirage mediation and deflected
mirage mediation, which are two recently proposed "mixed" supersymmetry
breaking scenarios motivated from string compactifications. The scenarios
differ in that deflected mirage mediation includes contributions from gauge
mediation in addition to the contributions from gravity mediation and anomaly
mediation also present in mirage mediation. The threshold effects from gauge
mediation can drastically alter the low energy spectrum from that of pure
mirage mediation models, resulting in some cases in a squeezed gaugino spectrum
and a gluino that is much lighter than other colored superpartners. We provide
several benchmark deflected mirage mediation models and construct model lines
as a function of the gauge mediation contributions, and discuss their discovery
potential at the LHC.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
The Hunt for New Physics at the Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider presents an unprecedented opportunity to probe the
realm of new physics in the TeV region and shed light on some of the core
unresolved issues of particle physics. These include the nature of electroweak
symmetry breaking, the origin of mass, the possible constituent of cold dark
matter, new sources of CP violation needed to explain the baryon excess in the
universe, the possible existence of extra gauge groups and extra matter, and
importantly the path Nature chooses to resolve the hierarchy problem - is it
supersymmetry or extra dimensions. Many models of new physics beyond the
standard model contain a hidden sector which can be probed at the LHC.
Additionally, the LHC will be a top factory and accurate measurements of the
properties of the top and its rare decays will provide a window to new physics.
Further, the LHC could shed light on the origin of neutralino masses if the new
physics associated with their generation lies in the TeV region. Finally, the
LHC is also a laboratory to test the hypothesis of TeV scale strings and
D-brane models. An overview of these possibilities is presented in the spirit
that it will serve as a companion to the Technical Design Reports (TDRs) by the
particle detector groups ATLAS and CMS to facilitate the test of the new
theoretical ideas at the LHC. Which of these ideas stands the test of the LHC
data will govern the course of particle physics in the subsequent decades