377 research outputs found
Do solar neutrinos decay?
Despite the fact that the solar neutrino flux is now well-understood in the
context of matter-affected neutrino mixing, we find that it is not yet possible
to set a strong and model-independent bound on solar neutrino decays. If
neutrinos decay into truly invisible particles, the Earth-Sun baseline defines
a lifetime limit of \tau/m \agt 10^{-4} s/eV. However, there are many
possibilities which must be excluded before such a bound can be established.
There is an obvious degeneracy between the neutrino lifetime and the mixing
parameters. More generally, one must also allow the possibility of active
daughter neutrinos and/or antineutrinos, which may partially conceal the
characteristic features of decay. Many of the most exotic possibilities that
presently complicate the extraction of a decay bound will be removed if the
KamLAND reactor antineutrino experiment confirms the large-mixing angle
solution to the solar neutrino problem and measures the mixing parameters
precisely. Better experimental and theoretical constraints on the B
neutrino flux will also play a key role, as will tighter bounds on absolute
neutrino masses. Though the lifetime limit set by the solar flux is weak, it is
still the strongest direct limit on non-radiative neutrino decay. Even so,
there is no guarantee (by about eight orders of magnitude) that neutrinos from
astrophysical sources such as a Galactic supernova or distant Active Galactic
Nuclei will not decay.Comment: Very minor corrections, corresponds to published versio
Revisiting the Higgs Mass and Dark Matter in the CMSSM
Taking into account the available accelerator and astrophysical constraints,
the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson h in the minimal supersymmetric
extension of the Standard Model with universal soft supersymmetry-breaking
masses (CMSSM) has been estimated to lie between 114 and ~ 130 GeV. Recent data
from ATLAS and CMS hint that m_h ~ 125 GeV, though m_h ~ 119 GeV may still be a
possibility. Here we study the consequences for the parameters of the CMSSM and
direct dark matter detection if the Higgs hint is confirmed, focusing on the
strips in the (m_1/2, m_0) planes for different tan beta and A_0 where the
relic density of the lightest neutralino chi falls within the range of the
cosmological cold dark matter density allowed by WMAP and other experiments. We
find that if m_h ~ 125 GeV focus-point strips would be disfavoured, as would
the low-tan beta stau-chi and stop -chi coannihilation strips, whereas the
stau-chi coannihilation strip at large tan beta and A_0 > 0 would be favoured,
together with its extension to a funnel where rapid annihilation via
direct-channel H/A poles dominates. On the other hand, if m_h ~ 119 GeV more
options would be open. We give parametrizations of WMAP strips with large tan
beta and fixed A_0/m_0 > 0 that include portions compatible with m_h = 125 GeV,
and present predictions for spin-independent elastic dark matter scattering
along these strips. These are generally low for models compatible with m_h =
125 GeV, whereas the XENON100 experiment already excludes some portions of
strips where m_h is smaller.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure
Constrained Supersymmetric Flipped SU(5) GUT Phenomenology
We explore the phenomenology of the minimal supersymmetric flipped SU(5) GUT
model (CFSU(5)), whose soft supersymmetry-breaking (SSB) mass parameters are
constrained to be universal at some input scale, , above the GUT scale,
. We analyze the parameter space of CFSU(5) assuming that the lightest
supersymmetric particle (LSP) provides the cosmological cold dark matter,
paying careful attention to the matching of parameters at the GUT scale. We
first display some specific examples of the evolutions of the SSB parameters
that exhibit some generic features. Specifically, we note that the relationship
between the masses of the lightest neutralino and the lighter stau is sensitive
to , as is the relationship between the neutralino mass and the masses
of the heavier Higgs bosons. For these reasons, prominent features in generic
planes such as coannihilation strips and rapid-annihilation
funnels are also sensitive to , as we illustrate for several cases with
tan(beta)=10 and 55. However, these features do not necessarily disappear at
large , unlike the case in the minimal conventional SU(5) GUT. Our
results are relatively insensitive to neutrino masses.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures; (v2) added explanations and corrected typos,
version to appear in EPJ
What if Supersymmetry Breaking Unifies beyond the GUT Scale?
We study models in which soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters of the MSSM
become universal at some unification scale, , above the GUT scale,
\mgut. We assume that the scalar masses and gaugino masses have common
values, and respectively, at . We use the
renormalization-group equations of the minimal supersymmetric SU(5) GUT to
evaluate their evolutions down to \mgut, studying their dependences on the
unknown parameters of the SU(5) superpotential. After displaying some generic
examples of the evolutions of the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters, we
discuss the effects on physical sparticle masses in some specific examples. We
note, for example, that near-degeneracy between the lightest neutralino and the
lighter stau is progressively disfavoured as increases. This has the
consequence, as we show in planes for several different values
of , that the stau coannihilation region shrinks as
increases, and we delineate the regions of the plane
where it is absent altogether. Moreover, as increases, the focus-point
region recedes to larger values of for any fixed and
. We conclude that the regions of the plane that are
commonly favoured in phenomenological analyses tend to disappear at large
.Comment: 24 pages with 11 eps figures; references added, some figures
corrected, discussion extended and figure added; version to appear in EPJ
Time Evolution via S-branes
Using S(pacelike)-branes defined through rolling tachyon solutions, we show
how the dynamical formation of D(irichlet)-branes and strings in tachyon
condensation can be understood. Specifically we present solutions of S-brane
actions illustrating the classical confinement of electric and magnetic flux
into fundamental strings and D-branes. The role of S-branes in string theory is
further clarified and their RR charges are discussed. In addition, by examining
``boosted'' S-branes, we find what appears to be a surprising dual S-brane
description of strings and D-branes, which also indicates that the critical
electric field can be considered as a self-dual point in string theory. We also
introduce new tachyonic S-branes as Euclidean counterparts to non-BPS branes.Comment: 62 pages, 10 figures. v2 references adde
NP-hardness of Deciding Convexity of Quartic Polynomials and Related Problems
We show that unless P=NP, there exists no polynomial time (or even
pseudo-polynomial time) algorithm that can decide whether a multivariate
polynomial of degree four (or higher even degree) is globally convex. This
solves a problem that has been open since 1992 when N. Z. Shor asked for the
complexity of deciding convexity for quartic polynomials. We also prove that
deciding strict convexity, strong convexity, quasiconvexity, and
pseudoconvexity of polynomials of even degree four or higher is strongly
NP-hard. By contrast, we show that quasiconvexity and pseudoconvexity of odd
degree polynomials can be decided in polynomial time.Comment: 20 page
Next-to-leading order QCD predictions for W+2j and Z+2j production at the CERN LHC
We present cross sections and differential distributions for QCD radiative
corrections to the QCD processes pp -> W+2j and pp -> Z+2j at the CERN LHC.
Calculations are performed with the Monte Carlo program MCFM. Cross section
dependence on the renormalization and factorization scales is greatly reduced,
except for the heavy-flavor case of Wbb~, which has new features at
next-to-leading order at the LHC. We also present cross sections for Wbb~ and
Z+2j in kinematic configurations relevant for Higgs boson searches.Comment: 24p, PRD version, ref's corrected, add. paragraph to explain pTmiss
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Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section
ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum
pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7
TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are
based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi
Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and
Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times
the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls
faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the
branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06
+/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for
anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are
statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
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