Expectations for LHC from Naturalness: Modified vs. SM Higgs Sector

Common lore has it that naturalness of electroweak breaking in the SM requires new physics (NP) at Lambda < 2-3 TeV, hopefully within the reach of LHC. Moreover the Higgs should be light (m_h < 219 GeV) to pass electroweak precision tests (EWPT). However one should be prepared for "unexpected" (although admittedly unpleasant) results at LHC, i.e. no NP and/or a heavy Higgs. We revisit recent attempts to accommodate this by modifying the SM Higgs sector (using 2-Higgs-doublet models). We find that these models do not improve the naturalness of the SM, and so they do not change the expectations of observing NP at LHC. We also stress that a heavy SM Higgs would not be evidence in favour of a modified Higgs sector, provided certain higher order operators influence EWPT. On the other hand, we show that NP can escape LHC detection without a naturalness price, and with the pure SM as the effective theory valid at LHC energies, simply if the cut-off for top loops is slightly lower than for Higgs loops.Comment: 37 pages, LaTeX, 13 figure

Breaking the electroweak symmetry and supersymmetry by a compact extra dimension

We revisit in some more detail a recent specific proposal for the breaking of the electroweak symmetry and of supersymmetry by a compact extra dimension. Possible mass terms for the Higgs and the matter hypermultiplets are considered and their effects on the spectrum analyzed. Previous conclusions are reinforced and put on firmer ground.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figure

Softly Broken Supersymmetric Desert from Orbifold Compactification

A new viewpoint for the gauge hierarchy problem is proposed: compactification at a large scale, 1/R, leads to a low energy effective theory with supersymmetry softly broken at a much lower scale, \alpha/R. The hierarchy is induced by an extremely small angle \alpha which appears in the orbifold compactification boundary conditions. The same orbifold boundary conditions break Peccei-Quinn symmetry, leading to a new solution to the \mu problem. Explicit 5d theories are constructed with gauge groups SU(3) \times SU(2) \times U(1) and SU(5), with matter in the bulk or on the brane, which lead to the (next-to) minimal supersymmetric standard model below the compactification scale. In all cases the soft supersymmetry-breaking and \mu parameters originate from bulk kinetic energy terms, and are highly constrained. The supersymmetric flavor and CP problems are solved.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, corrected values for A parameter

Experimental method for measuring classical concurrence of generic beam shapes

Classical entanglement is a powerful tool which provides a neat numerical estimate for the study of classical correlations. Its experimental investigation, however, has been limited to special cases. Here, we demonstrate that the experimental quantification of the level of classical entanglement can be carried out in more general instances. Our approach enables the extension to arbitrarily shaped transverse modes and hence delivering a suitable quantification tool to describe concisely the modal structure

The Median Probability Model and Correlated Variables

The median probability model (MPM) Barbieri and Berger (2004) is defined as the model consisting of those variables whose marginal posterior probability of inclusion is at least 0.5. The MPM rule yields the best single model for prediction in orthogonal and nested correlated designs. This result was originally conceived under a specific class of priors, such as the point mass mixtures of non-informative and g-type priors. The MPM rule, however, has become so very popular that it is now being deployed for a wider variety of priors and under correlated designs, where the properties of MPM are not yet completely understood. The main thrust of this work is to shed light on properties of MPM in these contexts by (a) characterizing situations when MPM is still safe under correlated designs, (b) providing significant generalizations of MPM to a broader class of priors (such as continuous spike-and-slab priors). We also provide new supporting evidence for the suitability of g-priors, as opposed to independent product priors, using new predictive matching arguments. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of prior model probabilities and highlight the merits of non-uniform prior probability assignments using the notion of model aggregates

The LHC (CMS) Discovery Potential for Models with Effective Supersymmetry and Nonuniversal Gaugino Masses

We investigate squark and gluino pair production at LHC (CMS) with subsequent decays into quarks, leptons and LSP in models with effective supersymmetry where third generation of squarks is relatively light while the first two generations of squarks are heavy. We consider the general case of nonuniversal gaugino masses. Visibility of signal by an excess over SM background in (n \geq 2)jets + (m \geq 0)leptons + E^{miss}_T events depends rather strongly on the relation between LSP, second neutralino, gluino and squark masses and it decreases with the increase of LSP mass. We find that for relatively heavy gluino it is very difficult to detect SUSY signal even for light 3^{rd} generation squarks (m_{\tilde q_3}\le 1 TeV) if the LSP mass is closed to the 3^{rd} generation squark mass.Comment: 1 latex (35 pages), 4 eps (figures) file

New Physics and CP Violation in Singly Cabibbo Suppressed D Decays

We analyze various theoretical aspects of CP violation in singly Cabibbo suppressed (SCS) D-meson decays, such as $D \to K K,\pi \pi$. In particular, we explore the possibility that CP asymmetries will be measured close to the present level of experimental sensitivity of $O(10^{-2})$. Such measurements would signal new physics. We make the following points: (i) The mechanism at work in neutral D decays could be indirect or direct CP violation (or both). (ii) One can experimentally distinguish between these possibilities. (iii) If the dominant CP violation is indirect, then there are clear predictions for other modes. (iv) Tree-level direct CP violation in various known models is constrained to be much smaller than $10^{-2}$. (v) SCS decays, unlike Cabibbo favored or doubly Cabibbo suppressed decays, are sensitive to new contributions from QCD penguin operators and especially from chromomagnetic dipole operators. This point is illustrated with supersymmetric gluino-squark loops, which can yield direct CP violating effects of $O(10^{-2})$.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figure

Comets

The paper reviews properties of comets, from historical sightings and interpretations, to contemporary ground- and space-based knowledge. The importance of comets in understanding the present Solar System and its dynamical, physical and chemical evolution, their relationship with other minor bodies, their possible role for the very early phases of our Earth, will be examined. Emphasis will be on the results of the recently completed European Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in particular those by OSIRIS, its imaging system. It is fair to say that Rosetta's results represent a most important step in the development of cometary science, whose full implications start just to surface and will be fully appreciated over several more years

SN1987A - a Testing Ground for the KARMEN Anomaly

We show, that SN1987A can serve as an astrophysical laboratory for testing the viability of the assertion that a new massive neutral fermion is implied by the KARMEN data. We show that a wide range of the parameters characterizing the proposed particle is ruled out by the above constraints making this interpretation very unlikely.Comment: 12 pages, 1 eps figure embedded, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Up Quark Masses from Down Quark Masses

The quark and charged lepton masses and the angles and phase of the CKM mixing matrix are nicely reproduced in a model which assumes SU(3)xSU(3) flavour symmetry broken by the v.e.v.'s of fields in its bi-fundamental representation. The relations among the quark mass eigenvalues, m_u/m_c \approx m_c/m_t \approx m^2_d/m^2_s \approx m^2_s/m^2_b \approx \Lambda^2_{GUT}/M^2_{Pl}, follow from the broken flavour symmetry. Large tan(beta) is required which also provides the best fits to data for the obtained textures. Lepton-quark grandunification with a field that breaks both SU(5) and the flavour group correctly extends the predictions to the charged lepton masses. The seesaw extension of the model to the neutrino sector predicts a Majorana mass matrix quadratically hierarchical as compared to the neutrino Dirac mass matrix, naturally yielding large mixings and low mass hierarchy for neutrinos.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. Published version: model improved, references adde