17,460 research outputs found
Quantum Decoherence of Photons in the Presence of Hidden U(1)s
Many extensions of the standard model predict the existence of hidden sectors
that may contain unbroken abelian gauge groups. We argue that in the presence
of quantum decoherence photons may convert into hidden photons on sufficiently
long time scales and show that this effect is strongly constrained by CMB and
supernova data. In particular, Planck-scale suppressed decoherence scales D ~
E^2/M_Pl (characteristic for non-critical string theories) are incompatible
with the presence of even a single hidden U(1). The corresponding bounds on the
decoherence scale are four orders of magnitude stronger than analogous bounds
derived from solar and reactor neutrino data and complement other bounds
derived from atmospheric neutrino data.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
CP violation with a dynamical Higgs
We determine the complete set of independent gauge and gauge-Higgs CP-odd
effective operators for the generic case of a dynamical Higgs, up to four
derivatives in the chiral expansion. The relation with the linear basis of
dimension six CP-odd operators is clarified. Phenomenological applications
include bounds inferred from electric dipole moment limits, and from present
and future collider data on triple gauge coupling measurements and Higgs
signals.Comment: 41 pages, 3 figures; V2: citations added, typos corrected, version
published on JHE
A minor-merger origin for inner disks and rings in early-type galaxies
Nuclear disks and rings are frequent galaxy substructures, for a wide range
of morphological types (from S0 to Sc). We have investigated the possible
minor-merger origin of inner disks and rings in spiral galaxies through
collisionless N-body simulations. The models confirm that minor mergers can
drive the formation of thin, kinematically-cold structures in the center of
galaxies out of satellite material, without requiring the previous formation of
a bar. Satellite core particles tend to be deposited in circular orbits in the
central potential, due to the strong circularization experienced by the
satellite orbit through dynamical friction. The material of the satellite core
reaches the remnant center if satellites are dense or massive, building up a
thin inner disk; whereas it is fully disrupted before reaching the center in
the case of low-mass satellites, creating an inner ring instead.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the conference "Hunting for the
Dark: The Hidden Side of Galaxy Formation", held in Malta, 19-23 Oct. 2009,
ed. V. Debattista and C. C. Popescu, AIP Conf. Ser., in pres
Disentangling a dynamical Higgs
The pattern of deviations from Standard Model predictions and couplings is
different for theories of new physics based on a non-linear realization of the
gauge symmetry breaking and those assuming a linear
realization. We clarify this issue in a model-independent way via its effective
Lagrangian formulation in the presence of a light Higgs particle, up to first
order in the expansions: dimension-six operators for the linear expansion and
four derivatives for the non-linear one. Complete sets of pure gauge and
gauge-Higgs operators are considered, implementing the renormalization
procedure and deriving the Feynman rules for the non-linear expansion. We
establish the theoretical relation and the differences in physics impact
between the two expansions. Promising discriminating signals include the
decorrelation in the non-linear case of signals correlated in the linear one:
some pure gauge versus gauge-Higgs couplings and also between couplings with
the same number of Higgs legs. Furthermore, anomalous signals expected at first
order in the non-linear realization may appear only at higher orders of the
linear one, and vice versa. We analyze in detail the impact of both type of
discriminating signals on LHC physics.Comment: Version published in JHE
Higgs ultraviolet softening
We analyze the leading effective operators which induce a quartic momentum
dependence in the Higgs propagator, for a linear and for a non-linear
realization of electroweak symmetry breaking. Their specific study is relevant
for the understanding of the ultraviolet sensitivity to new physics. Two
methods of analysis are applied, trading the Lagrangian coupling by: i) a
"ghost" scalar, after the Lee-Wick procedure; ii) other effective operators via
the equations of motion. The two paths are shown to lead to the same effective
Lagrangian at first order in the operator coefficients. It follows a
modification of the Higgs potential and of the fermionic couplings in the
linear realization, while in the non-linear one anomalous quartic gauge
couplings, Higgs-gauge couplings and gauge-fermion interactions are induced in
addition. Finally, all LHC Higgs and other data presently available are used to
constrain the operator coefficients; the future impact of data via off-shell Higgs exchange and of vector boson fusion data is
considered as well. For completeness, a summary of pure-gauge and gauge-Higgs
signals exclusive to non-linear dynamics at leading-order is included.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures, 7 table
Neutrino masses, cosmological bound and four zero Yukawa textures
Four zero neutrino Yukawa textures in a specified weak basis, combined with
symmetry and type-I seesaw, yield a highly constrained and predictive
scheme. Two alternately viable light neutrino Majorana mass matrices
result with inverted/normal mass ordering. Neutrino
masses, Majorana in character and predicted within definite ranges with
laboratory and cosmological inputs, will have their sum probed cosmologically.
The rate for decay, though generally below the reach of
planned experiments, could approach it in some parameter region. Departure from
symmetry due to RG evolution from a high scale and consequent CP
violation, with a Jarlskog invariant whose magnitude could almost reach
, are explored.Comment: Published versio
Probing Trilinear Gauge Boson Interactions via Single Electroweak Gauge Boson Production at the LHC
We analyze the potential of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to study
anomalous trilinear vector-boson interactions W^+ W^- \gamma and W^+ W^- Z
through the single production of electroweak gauge bosons via the weak boson
fusion processes q q -> q q W (-> \ell^\pm \nu) and q q -> q q Z(-> \ell^+
\ell^-) with \ell = e or \mu. After a careful study of the standard model
backgrounds, we show that the single production of electroweak bosons at the
LHC can provide stringent tests on deviations of these vertices from the
standard model prediction. In particular, we show that single gauge boson
production exhibits a sensitivity to the couplings \Delta \kappa_{Z,\gamma}
similar to that attainable from the analysis of electroweak boson pair
production.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
Probing long-range leptonic forces with solar and reactor neutrinos
In this work we study the phenomenological consequences of the existence of
long-range forces coupled to lepton flavour numbers in solar neutrino
oscillations. We study electronic forces mediated by scalar, vector or tensor
neutral bosons and analyze their effect on the propagation of solar neutrinos
as a function of the force strength and range. Under the assumption of one mass
scale dominance, we perform a global analysis of solar and KamLAND neutrino
data which depends on the two standard oscillation parameters, \Delta m^2_{21}
and \tan^2\theta_{12}, the force coupling constant, its range and, for the case
of scalar-mediated interactions, on the neutrino mass scale as well. We find
that, generically, the inclusion of the new interaction does not lead to a very
statistically significant improvement on the description of the data in the
most favored MSW LMA (or LMA-I) region. It does, however, substantially improve
the fit in the high-\Delta m^2 LMA (or LMA-II) region which can be allowed for
vector and scalar lepto-forces (in this last case if neutrinos are very
hierarchical) at 2.5\sigma. Conversely, the analysis allows us to place
stringent constraints on the strength versus range of the leptonic interaction.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
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