4,028 research outputs found
Decaying Dark Matter from Dark Instantons
We construct an explicit, TeV-scale model of decaying dark matter in which
the approximate stability of the dark matter candidate is a consequence of a
global symmetry that is broken only by instanton-induced operators generated by
a non-Abelian dark gauge group. The dominant dark matter decay channels are to
standard model leptons. Annihilation of the dark matter to standard model
states occurs primarily through the Higgs portal. We show that the mass and
lifetime of the dark matter candidate in this model can be chosen to be
consistent with the values favored by fits to data from the PAMELA and Fermi
LAT experiments.Comment: 19 pages LaTeX, 3 eps figures. v2,v3: references adde
Probing Grand Unification Through Neutrino Oscillations, Leptogenesis, and Proton Decay
Evidence in favor of supersymmetric grand unification including that based on
the observed family multiplet-structure, gauge coupling unification, neutrino
oscillations, baryogenesis, and certain intriguing features of quark-lepton
masses and mixings is noted. It is argued that attempts to understand (a) the
tiny neutrino masses (especially Delta m^2 (nu_2 -nu_3)), (b) the baryon
asymmetry of the universe (which seems to need leptogenesis), and (c) the
observed features of fermion masses such as the ratio m_b/m_tau, the smallness
of V_cb and the maximality of theta_{nu_mu-nu_tau}, seem to select out the
route to higher unification based on an effective string-unified G(224) =
SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x SU(4)^c or SO(10)-symmetry, operative in 4D, as opposed to
other alternatives.
A predictive framework based on an effective SO(10) or G(224) symmetry
possessing supersymmetry is presented that successfully describes the masses
and mixings of all fermions including neutrinos. It also accounts for the
observed baryon asymmetry of the universe by utilizing the process of
leptogenesis, which is natural to this framework. It is argued that a
conservative upper limit on the proton lifetime within this
SO(10)/G(224)-framework, which is so far most successful, is given by (1/3-2) x
10^34 years. This in turn strongly suggests that an improvement in the current
sensitivity by a factor of five to ten (compared to SuperK) ought to reveal
proton decay. Implications of this prediction for the next-generation nucleon
decay and neutrino-detector are noted.Comment: 40 page, 3 figures. Conference proceedings from Erice School (Sept
2002), Neutrino Conference (Stony Brook, 2002), PASCOS Conference (Mumbai,
2003) Version 2: New references and some clarifications adde
Dark Matter from Baryon Asymmetry
The measured densities of dark and baryonic matter are surprisingly close to
each other, even though the baryon asymmetry and the dark matter are usually
explained by unrelated mechanisms. We consider a scenario where the dark matter
S is produced non-thermally from the decay of a messenger particle X, which
carries the baryon number and compensates for the baryon asymmetry in the
Universe, thereby establishing a connection between the baryonic and dark
matter densities. We propose a simple model to realize this scenario, adding
only a light singlet fermion S and a colored particle X which has a mass in the
O(TeV) range and a lifetime to appear long-lived in collider detector.
Therefore in hadron colliders the signal is similar to that of a stable or
long-lived gluino in supersymmetric models.Comment: 12 pages; v2: bounds on the mass of the messenger particle are
relaxed; conclusions unchanged. additional minor modification
Unstable superheavy relic particles as a source of neutrinos responsible for the ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays
Decays of superheavy relic particles may produce extremely energetic
neutrinos. Their annihilations on the relic neutrinos can be the origin of the
cosmic rays with energies beyond the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff. The red
shift acts as a cosmological filter selecting the sources at some particular
value z_e, for which the present neutrino energy is close to the Z pole of the
annihilation cross section. We predict no directional correlation of the
ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays with the galactic halo. At the same time, there
can be some directional correlations in the data, reflecting the distribution
of matter at red shift z=z_e. Both of these features are manifest in the
existing data. Our scenario is consistent with the neutrino mass reported by
Super-Kamiokande and requires no lepton asymmetry or clustering of the
background neutrinos.Comment: 3 pages, revtex; references adde
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