Yukawa Unification and the Superpartner Mass Scale

Naturalness in supersymmetry (SUSY) is under siege by increasingly stringent LHC constraints, but natural electroweak symmetry breaking still remains the most powerful motivation for superpartner masses within experimental reach. If naturalness is the wrong criterion then what determines the mass scale of the superpartners? We motivate supersymmetry by (1) gauge coupling unification, (2) dark matter, and (3) precision b-tau Yukawa unification. We show that for an LSP that is a bino-Higgsino admixture, these three requirements lead to an upper-bound on the stop and sbottom masses in the several TeV regime because the threshold correction to the bottom mass at the superpartner scale is required to have a particular size. For tan beta about 50, which is needed for t-b-tau unification, the stops must be lighter than 2.8 TeV when A_t has the opposite sign of the gluino mass, as is favored by renormalization group scaling. For lower values of tan beta, the top and bottom squarks must be even lighter. Yukawa unification plus dark matter implies that superpartners are likely in reach of the LHC, after the upgrade to 14 (or 13) TeV, independent of any considerations of naturalness. We present a model-independent, bottom-up analysis of the SUSY parameter space that is simultaneously consistent with Yukawa unification and the hint for m_h = 125 GeV. We study the flavor and dark matter phenomenology that accompanies this Yukawa unification. A large portion of the parameter space predicts that the branching fraction for B_s to mu^+ mu^- will be observed to be significantly lower than the SM value.Comment: 34 pages plus appendices, 20 figure

Experimental demonstration of a hyper-entangled ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat state

Coherent manipulation of an increasing number of qubits for the generation of entangled states has been an important goal and benchmark in the emerging field of quantum information science. The multiparticle entangled states serve as physical resources for measurement-based quantum computing and high-precision quantum metrology. However, their experimental preparation has proved extremely challenging. To date, entangled states up to six, eight atoms, or six photonic qubits have been demonstrated. Here, by exploiting both the photons' polarization and momentum degrees of freedom, we report the creation of hyper-entangled six-, eight-, and ten-qubit Schr\"odinger cat states. We characterize the cat states by evaluating their fidelities and detecting the presence of genuine multi-partite entanglement. Small modifications of the experimental setup will allow the generation of various graph states up to ten qubits. Our method provides a shortcut to expand the effective Hilbert space, opening up interesting applications such as quantum-enhanced super-resolving phase measurement, graph-state generation for anyonic simulation and topological error correction, and novel tests of nonlocality with hyper-entanglement.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, comments welcom

Phase-locking of a 2.7-THz quantum cascade laser to a mode-locked erbium-doped fibre laser

We demonstrate phase-locking of a 2.7-THz metalmetal waveguide quantum cascade laser (QCL) to an external microwave signal. The reference is the 15th harmonic, generated by a semiconductor superlattice nonlinear device, of a signal at 182 GHz, which itself is generated by a multiplier-chain (x2x3x2) from a microwave synthesizer at 15 GHz. Both laser and reference radiations are coupled into a hot electron bolometer mixer, resulting in a beat signal, which is fed into a phase-lock loop. Spectral analysis of the beat signal (see fig. 1) confirms that the QCL is phase locked. This result opens the possibility to extend heterodyne interferometers into the far-infrared range

Flavor Physics in an SO(10) Grand Unified Model

In supersymmetric grand-unified models, the lepton mixing matrix can possibly affect flavor-changing transitions in the quark sector. We present a detailed analysis of a model proposed by Chang, Masiero and Murayama, in which the near-maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing angle governs large new b -> s transitions. Relating the supersymmetric low-energy parameters to seven new parameters of this SO(10) GUT model, we perform a correlated study of several flavor-changing neutral current (FCNC) processes. We find the current bound on B(tau -> mu gamma) more constraining than B(B -> X_s gamma). The LEP limit on the lightest Higgs boson mass implies an important lower bound on tan beta, which in turn limits the size of the new FCNC transitions. Remarkably, the combined analysis does not rule out large effects in B_s-B_s-bar mixing and we can easily accomodate the large CP phase in the B_s-B_s-bar system which has recently been inferred from a global analysis of CDF and DO data. The model predicts a particle spectrum which is different from the popular Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM). B(tau -> mu gamma) enforces heavy masses, typically above 1 TeV, for the sfermions of the degenerate first two generations. However, the ratio of the third-generation and first-generation sfermion masses is smaller than in the CMSSM and a (dominantly right-handed) stop with mass below 500 GeV is possible.Comment: 44 pages, 5 figures. Footnote and references added, minor changes, Fig. 2 corrected; journal versio

Grand Rounds: Could Occupational Exposure to n-Hexane and Other Solvents Precipitate Visual Failure in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy?

CONTEXT: Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a maternally inherited loss of central vision related to pathogenic mutations in the mitochondrial genome, which are a necessary but not sufficient condition to develop the disease. Investigation of precipitating environmental/occupational (and additional genetic) factors could be relevant for prevention. CASE PRESENTATION: After a 6-month period of occupational exposure to n-hexane and other organic solvents, a 27-year-old man (a moderate smoker) developed an optic neuropathy. The patient had a full ophthalmologic and neurologic investigation, including standardized cycloergometer test for serum lactic acid levels and a skeletal muscle biopsy. His exposure history was also detailed, and he underwent genetic testing for LHON mitochondrial DNA mutations. The patient suffered a sequential optic neuropathy with the hallmarks of LHON and tested positive for the homoplasmic 11778G → A/ND4 mutation. Routine laboratory monitoring revealed increased concentrations of urinary 2.5 hexandione (n-hexane metabolite) and hippuric acid (toluene metabolite) in the period immediately preceding the visual loss. DISCUSSION: In a subject carrying an LHON mutation, the strict temporal sequence of prolonged appreciable occupational exposure followed by sudden onset of visual loss must raise a suspicion of causality (with a possible further interaction with tobacco smoke). RELEVANCE: In this article, we add to the candidate occupational/environmental triggers of LHON and highlight the need for appropriate case–control (and laboratory) studies to validate the causal effect of mixed toxic exposures

Observation of eight-photon entanglement

Using ultra-bright sources of pure-state entangled photons from parametric down conversion, an eight-photon interferometer and post-selection detection, we demonstrate the ability to experimentally manipulate eight individual photons and report the creation of an eight-photon Schr\"odinger cat state with an observed fidelity of $0.708 \pm 0.016$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The generalised NMSSM at one loop: fine tuning and phenomenology

We determine the degree of fine tuning needed in a generalised version of the NMSSM that follows from an underlying Z4 or Z8 R symmetry. We find that it is significantly less than is found in the MSSM or NMSSM and extends the range of Higgs mass that have acceptable fine tuning up to Higgs masses of mh ~ 130 GeV. For universal boundary conditions analogous to the CMSSM the phenomenology is rather MSSM like with the singlet states typically rather heavy. For more general boundary conditions the singlet states can be light, leading to interesting signatures at the LHC and direct detection experiments.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, matches published versio

A realistic pattern of fermion masses from a five-dimensional SO(10) model

We provide a unified description of fermion masses and mixing angles in the framework of a supersymmetric grand unified SO(10) model with anarchic Yukawa couplings of order unity. The space-time is five dimensional and the extra flat spatial dimension is compactified on the orbifold $S^1/(Z_2 \times Z_2')$, leading to Pati-Salam gauge symmetry on the boundary where Yukawa interactions are localised. The gauge symmetry breaking is completed by means of a rather economic scalar sector, avoiding the doublet-triplet splitting problem. The matter fields live in the bulk and their massless modes get exponential profiles, which naturally explain the mass hierarchy of the different fermion generations. Quarks and leptons properties are naturally reproduced by a mechanism, first proposed by Kitano and Li, that lifts the SO(10) degeneracy of bulk masses in terms of a single parameter. The model provides a realistic pattern of fermion masses and mixing angles for large values of $\tan\beta$. It favours normally ordered neutrino mass spectrum with the lightest neutrino mass below 0.01 eV and no preference for leptonic CP violating phases. The right handed neutrino mass spectrum is very hierarchical and does not allow for thermal leptogenesis. We analyse several variants of the basic framework and find that the results concerning the fermion spectrum are remarkably stable.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figures, 4 table

A precision study of the fine tuning in the DiracNMSSM

Recently the DiracNMSSM has been proposed as a possible solution to reduce the fine tuning in supersymmetry. We determine the degree of fine tuning needed in the DiracNMSSM with and without non-universal gaugino masses and compare it with the fine tuning in the GNMSSM. To apply reasonable cuts on the allowed parameter regions we perform a precise calculation of the Higgs mass. In addition, we include the limits from direct SUSY searches and dark matter abundance. We find that both models are comparable in terms of fine tuning, with the minimal fine tuning in the GNMSSM slightly smaller.Comment: 20 pages + appendices, 10 figure

60,000 years of interactions between Central and Eastern Africa documented by major African mitochondrial haplogroup L2

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup L2 originated in Western Africa but is nowadays spread across the entire continent. L2 movements were previously postulated to be related to the Bantu expansion, but L2 expansions eastwards probably occurred much earlier. By reconstructing the phylogeny of L2 (44 new complete sequences) we provide insights on the complex net of within-African migrations in the last 60 thousand years (ka). Results show that lineages in Southern Africa cluster with Western/Central African lineages at a recent time scale, whereas, eastern lineages seem to be substantially more ancient. Three moments of expansion from a Central African source are associated to L2: (1) one migration at 70-50 ka into Eastern or Southern Africa, (2) postglacial movements (15-10 ka) into Eastern Africa; and (3) the southward Bantu Expansion in the last 5 ka. The complementary population and L0a phylogeography analyses indicate no strong evidence of mtDNA gene flow between eastern and southern populations during the later movement, suggesting low admixture between Eastern African populations and the Bantu migrants. This implies that, at least in the early stages, the Bantu expansion was mainly a demic diffusion with little incorporation of local populations.This research received support from the European project “A European Initial Training Network on the History, Archaeology, and New Genetics of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (EUROTAST)” (EU project: 290344). PSo is supported by FCT (the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), European Social Fund, Programa Operacional Potencial Humano and the FCT Investigator Programme (IF/01641/2013). IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by FCT. This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness FactorsCOMPETE and National Funds through FCT, under the project “PEst-C/SAU/LA0003/2013”. FCT/MEC supports CBMA through Portuguese funds (PIDDAC) - PEst-OE/BIA/UI4050/2014. NORTE-07-0162FEDER-00018 (Contributos para o reforço da capacidade do IPATIMUP enquanto actor do sistema regional de inovação) and NORTE-07-0162-FEDER-000067 (Reforço e consolidação da capacidade infraestrutural do IPATIMUP para o sistema regional de inovação), both supported by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), through FEDER funds under the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN)