The Effect of Composite Resonances on Higgs decay into two photons

In scenarios of strongly coupled electroweak symmetry breaking, heavy composite particles of different spin and parity may arise and cause observable effects on signals that appear at loop levels. The recently observed process of Higgs to $\gamma \gamma$ at the LHC is one of such signals. We study the new constraints that are imposed on composite models from $H\to \gamma\gamma$, together with the existing constraints from the high precision electroweak tests. We use an effective chiral Lagrangian to describe the effective theory that contains the Standard Model spectrum and the extra composites below the electroweak scale. Considering the effective theory cutoff at $\Lambda = 4\pi v \sim 3$ TeV, consistency with the $T$ and $S$ parameters and the newly observed $H\to \gamma\gamma$ can be found for a rather restricted range of masses of vector and axial-vector composites from $1.5$ TeV to $1.7$ TeV and $1.8$ TeV to $1.9$ TeV, respectively, and only provided a non-standard kinetic mixing between the $W^{3}$ and $B^{0}$ fields is included.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. Version for publication in European Physical Journal

Long-term X-ray changes in the emission from the anomalous X-ray pulsar 4U 0142+61

We present results obtained from X-ray observations of the anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP) 4U 0142+61 taken between 2000-2007 using XMM-Newton, Chandra and Swift. In observations taken before 2006, the pulse profile is observed to become more sinusoidal and the pulsed fraction increased with time. These results confirm those derived using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and expand the observed evolution to energies below 2 keV. The XMM-Newton total flux in the 0.5-10 keV band is observed to be nearly constant in observations taken before 2006, while an increase of ~10% is seen afterwards and coincides with the burst activity detected from the source in 2006-2007. After these bursts, the evolution towards more sinusoidal pulse profiles ceased while the pulsed fraction showed a further increase. No evidence for large-scale, long-term changes in the emission as a result of the bursts is seen. The data also suggest a correlation between the flux and hardness of the spectrum, with brighter observations on average having a harder spectrum. As pointed out by other authors, we find that the standard blackbody plus power-law model does not provide the best spectral fit to the emission from 4U 0142+61. We also report on observations taken with the Gemini telescope after two bursts. These observations show source magnitudes consistent with previous measurements. Our results demonstrate the wide range of X-ray variability characteristics seen in AXPs and we discuss them in light of current emission models for these sources.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, in emulateapj style. Submitted to Ap

Coplanar waveguide discontinuities for P-I-N diode switches and filter applications

A full wave space domain integral equation (SDIE) analysis of coplanar waveguide (CPW) two port discontinuities is presented. An experimental setup to measure the S-parameters of such discontinuities is described. Experimental and theoretical results for CPW realizations of pass-band and stop-band filters are presented. The S-parameters of such structures are plotted in the frequency range 5 to 25 GHz

Reactivity of OH and CH3OH between 22 and 64 K: Modelling the gas phase production of CH3O in Barnard 1b

In the last years, ultra-low temperature chemical kinetic experiments have demonstrated that some gas-phase reactions are much faster than previously thought. One example is the reaction between OH and CH3OH, which has been recently found to be accelerated at low temperatures yielding CH3O as main product. This finding opened the question of whether the CH3O observed in the dense core Barnard 1b could be formed by the gas-phase reaction of CH3OH and OH. Several chemical models including this reaction and grain-surface processes have been developed to explain the observed abundance of CH$_3$O with little success. Here we report for the first time rate coefficients for the gas-phase reaction of OH and CH3OH down to a temperature of 22 K, very close to those in cold interstellar clouds. Two independent experimental set-ups based on the supersonic gas expansion technique coupled to the pulsed laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence technique were used to determine rate coefficients in the temperature range 22-64 K. The temperature dependence obtained in this work can be expressed as k(22-64 K) = (3.6+/-0.1)e-12 (T/ 300)^(-1.0+/-0.2) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Implementing this expression in a chemical model of a cold dense cloud results in CH3O/CH3OH abundance ratios similar or slightly lower than the value of 3e-3 observed in Barnard 1b. This finding confirms that the gas-phase reaction between OH and CH3OH is an important contributor to the formation of interstellar CH3O. The role of grain-surface processes in the formation of CH3O, although it cannot be fully neglected, remains controversial.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

New insights on Saturn's formation from its nitrogen isotopic composition

The recent derivation of a lower limit for the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio in Saturn's ammonia, which is found to be consistent with the Jovian value, prompted us to revise models of Saturn's formation using as constraints the supersolar abundances of heavy elements measured in its atmosphere. Here we find that it is possible to account for both Saturn's chemical and isotopic compositions if one assumes the formation of its building blocks at $\sim$45 K in the protosolar nebula, provided that the O abundance was $\sim$2.6 times protosolar in its feeding zone. To do so, we used a statistical thermodynamic model to investigate the composition of the clathrate phase that formed during the cooling of the protosolar nebula and from which the building blocks of Saturn were agglomerated. We find that Saturn's O/H is at least $\sim$34.9 times protosolar and that the corresponding mass of heavy elements ($\sim$43.1 \Mearth) is within the range predicted by semi-convective interior models.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

The effect of composite resonances on EWPT and Higgs decay into two photons

In the context of strongly coupled electroweak symmetry breaking, heavy composite particles of different spin and parity may arise and cause observable effects at loop levels. We use an effective chiral Lagrangian to describe the interactions amongst these composite resonances and the SM fields. We study the effects of the composite particles on the Higgs decay into two photons and on the oblique T and S parameters. Consistency with the T and S parameters and the newly observed Higgs decay into γγ can be found, for axial vector masses in the range 1.7 TeV MA 2 TeV and vector masses ∼ 0.8MA, provided a non-standard kinetic mixing between the W3 and B0 fields is included