Twin Turtles

We present an ultraviolet extension of the Twin Higgs in which the radial mode of twin symmetry breaking is itself a pseudo-goldstone boson. This "turtle" structure raises the scale of new colored particles in exchange for additional states in the Higgs sector, making multiple Higgs-like scalars the definitive signature of naturalness in this context. We explore the parametrics and phenomenology of a concrete Twin Turtle model and demonstrate its robustness in two different supersymmetric completions. Along the way, we also introduce a new mechanism for inducing hard twin symmetry-breaking quartics via soft supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 36 pages, 13 figure

1+1D Hadrons Minimize their Biparton Renyi Free Energy

We use a variational method to calculate the spectrum and the parton distribution function of ground state hadrons of various gauge theories in 1+1 dimensions. The template functions in our method minimize a free energy functional defined as a combination of free valence partons' kinetic energy on the lightcone and the Renyi entanglement entropy of biparton subsystems. Our results show that hadrons in these theories minimize the proposed free energy. The success of this technique motivates applying it to confining gauge theories in higher dimensions.Comment: 5 two-column pages, 5 figure

Digging Deeper for New Physics in the LHC Data

In this paper we describe a novel, model-independent technique of "rectangular aggregations" for mining the LHC data for hints of new physics. A typical (CMS) search now has hundreds of signal regions, which can obscure potentially interesting anomalies. Applying our technique to the two CMS jets+MET SUSY searches, we identify a set of previously overlooked $\sim 3\sigma$ excesses. Among these, four excesses survive tests of inter- and intra-search compatibility, and two are especially interesting: they are largely overlapping between the jets+MET searches and are characterized by low jet multiplicity, zero $b$-jets, and low MET and $H_T$. We find that resonant color-triplet production decaying to a quark plus an invisible particle provides an excellent fit to these two excesses and all other data -- including the ATLAS jets+MET search, which actually sees a correlated excess. We discuss the additional constraints coming from dijet resonance searches, monojet searches and pair production. Based on these results, we believe the wide-spread view that the LHC data contains no interesting excesses is greatly exaggerated.Comment: 31 pages + appendices, 14 figures, source code for recasted searches attached as auxiliary materia

An Update on the LHC Monojet Excess

In previous work, we identified an anomalous number of events in the LHC jets+MET searches characterized by low jet multiplicity and low-to-moderate transverse energy variables. Here, we update this analysis with results from a new ATLAS search in the monojet channel which also shows a consistent excess. As before, we find that this "monojet excess" is well-described by the resonant production of a heavy colored state decaying to a quark and a massive invisible particle. In the combined ATLAS and CMS data, we now find a local (global) preference of 3.3$\sigma$ (2.5$\sigma$) for the new physics model over the Standard Model-only hypothesis. As the signal regions containing the excess are systematics-limited, we consider additional cuts to enhance the signal-to-background ratio. We show that binning finer in $H_T$ and requiring the jets to be more central can increase $S/B$ by a factor of ${\sim} 1.5$.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, source for analysis code used in this paper in attached Ancillary file

Capture and Decay of Electroweak WIMPonium

The spectrum of Weakly-Interacting-Massive-Particle (WIMP) dark matter generically possesses bound states when the WIMP mass becomes sufficiently large relative to the mass of the electroweak gauge bosons. The presence of these bound states enhances the annihilation rate via resonances in the Sommerfeld enhancement, but they can also be produced directly with the emission of a low-energy photon. In this work we compute the rate for SU(2) triplet dark matter (the wino) to bind into WIMPonium -- which is possible via single-photon emission for wino masses above 5 TeV for relative velocity v < O(10^{-2}) -- and study the subsequent decays of these bound states. We present results with applications beyond the wino case, e.g. for dark matter inhabiting a nonabelian dark sector; these include analytic capture and transition rates for general dark sectors in the limit of vanishing force carrier mass, efficient numerical routines for calculating positive and negative-energy eigenstates of a Hamiltonian containing interactions with both massive and massless force carriers, and a study of the scaling of bound state formation in the short-range Hulthen potential. In the specific case of the wino, we find that the rate for bound state formation is suppressed relative to direct annihilation, and so provides only a small correction to the overall annihilation rate. The soft photons radiated by the capture process and by bound state transitions could permit measurement of the dark matter's quantum numbers; for wino-like dark matter, such photons are rare, but might be observable by a future ground-based gamma-ray telescope combining large effective area and a low energy threshold.Comment: 3rd version. An interference sign fixed and changes propagated through the paper. Topline qualitative conclusions unchange

It's all right(-handed neutrinos): a new W′W' model for the RD(∗)R_{D^{(*)}} anomaly

The measured $B$-meson semi-leptonic branching ratios $R_{D}$ and $R_{D^*}$ have long-standing deviations between theory and experiment. We introduce a model which explains both anomalies through a single interaction by introducing a right-handed neutrino as the missing energy particle. This interaction is mediated by a heavy charged vector boson ($W'$) which couples only to right-handed quarks and leptons of the Standard Model through the mixing of these particles with new vector-like fermions. Previous $W'$ models for the $R_{D^{(*)}}$ anomaly were strongly constrained from flavor changing neutral currents and direct collider searches for $Z'\to\tau\tau$ resonances. We show that relying on right-handed fermion mixing enables us to avoid these constraints, as well as other severe bounds from electroweak precision tests and neutrino mixing.Comment: 24 pages + appendix, 5 figures. v2: typos fixed, references added, minor updates, conclusions unchange

Bioactive components and preventive effect of green tea (Camellia sinensis) extract on post-laparotomy intra-abdominal adhesion in rats

Background: Adhesion formation is an important complication of abdomino-pelvic surgery. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects which prevent production and accumulation of collagen and, thus, may reduce adhesion formation. The present study examined the effect of green tea alcoholic extract on intra-abdominal adhesion formation. Total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol contents as well as anti-oxidant activity were also evaluated. Methods: Thirty healthy male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two equal groups of green tea (A) and distilled water (B). After anesthesia, the abdominal wall was opened and three shallow longitudinal and transverse incisions of 2 cm in length were made on the right side of the peritoneum by scalpel blade. A 2 x 2 cm square of the left abdominal wall peritoneum was removed by surgical scissors. Green tea extract or distilled water was introduced into the abdominal cavity of each rat. The rats were sacrificed two weeks post-laparotomy and adhesion bands were scored according to severity, extent and appearance. Fibrosis and inflammation were also scored via histopathological examination. Results: There was a significant difference in mean adhesion scores between the green tea and distilled water groups (3.2 +/- 3.503 and 7.33 +/- 0.51, respectively) (p = 0.001). In terms of fibrosis (p = 0.002) and inflammation (p = 0.003) a statistically significant difference was also seen between the two groups following histopathological examination. Conclusion: Green tea extract reduces intra-peritoneal adhesions in an animal model. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Surgical Associates Ltd. All rights reserved

Effect of ethanolic extract of green tea (Camellia sinensis) on intra-abdominal adhesions in rats

Background and Objective: Adhesion bands comprise the most important unpleasant consequences of pelvic surgeries. Green tea (Camellia sinensis), due to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects and prevention of production and accumulation of collagen seems to be beneficial in this event. Therefore, the present study was designed to elicit he effect of alcoholic extract of green tea on intra-abdominal adhesions. Materials and ethods: In this experimental study 30 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two equal groups; one group taking green tea (A) and the other group taking normal aline (B). After anesthesia, their abdominal wall was opened, three longitudinal and ransverse incisions of 2 cm in length were made on the right side of peritoneal surface and a 2×2 cm piece of the left abdominal wall peritoneum was removed. Then, 4 ml green tea extract or normal saline was introduced into the abdominal cavity of the rats. Two weeks later in the second laparotomy, the adhesions were graded according to the strength, extent and appearance. Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney test, using SPSS v.16. Results: There were significant differences between the scores of groups A and B (P=0.001). The median adhesion scores were 3 and 8 in groups A and B, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study provide the evidence that green tea extract has a potential capacity to effectively prevent postoperative intra abdominal adhesions in rats and might be beneficial during clinical surgeries