Naturalness of scale-invariant NMSSMs with and without extra matter

We present a comparative and systematic study of the fine tuning in Higgs sectors in three scale-invariant NMSSM models: the first being the standard $Z_3$-invariant NMSSM; the second is the NMSSM plus additional matter filling $3(5+\bar{5})$ representations of SU(5) and is called the NMSSM+; while the third model comprises $4(5+\bar{5})$ and is called the NMSSM++. Naively, one would expect the fine tuning in the plus-type models to be smaller than that in the NMSSM since the presence of extra matter relaxes the perturbativity bound on $\lambda$ at the low scale. This, in turn, allows larger tree-level Higgs mass and smaller loop contribution from the stops. However we find that LHC limits on the masses of sparticles, especially the gluino mass, can play an indirect, but vital, role in controlling the fine tuning. In particular, working in a semi-constrained framework at the GUT scale, we find that the masses of third generation stops are always larger in the plus-type models than in the NMSSM without extra matter. This is an RGE effect which cannot be avoided, and as a consequence the fine tuning in the NMSSM+ ($\Delta \sim 200$) is significantly larger than in the NMSSM ($\Delta \sim 100$), with fine tuning in the NMSSM++ ($\Delta \sim 600$) being significantly larger than in the NMSSM+.Comment: 31 pages, 22 figures, published versio

On the rooted Tutte polynomial

The Tutte polynomial is a generalization of the chromatic polynomial of graph colorings. Here we present an extension called the rooted Tutte polynomial, which is defined on a graph where one or more vertices are colored with prescribed colors. We establish a number of results pertaining to the rooted Tutte polynomial, including a duality relation in the case that all roots reside around a single face of a planar graph. The connection with the Potts model is also reviewed.Comment: plain latex, 14 pages, 2 figs., to appear in Annales de l'Institut Fourier (1999

Liquid oil painting: Free and forced convection in an enclosure with mechanical and thermal forcing

A fluid dynamics video is linked to this article, which have been submitted to the Gallery of Fluid Motion as part of the 65th American Physical Society meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, held in San Diego, California, USA, over 17-20 November 2012. The video serves to visualize flows generated in a rectangular enclosure that are subjected to both mechanical and thermal forcing through a common horizontal boundary. This system exhibits features consistent with either horizontal convection or lid-driven cavity flows depending on the ratio between thermal and mechanical stirring, and three different cases are visualized in the linked videos.Comment: 2 video files attached, 4 pages, 1 figure. This article is submitted accompanying a video submitted to the Gallery of Fluid Motion as part of the 65th Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting of the American Physical Society (17-20 November, San Diego, CA, USA

Turbulent mixing of a slightly supercritical Van der Waals fluid at Low-Mach number

Supercritical fluids near the critical point are characterized by liquid-like densities and gas-like transport properties. These features are purposely exploited in different contexts ranging from natural products extraction/fractionation to aerospace propulsion. Large part of studies concerns this last context, focusing on the dynamics of supercritical fluids at high Mach number where compressibility and thermodynamics strictly interact. Despite the widespread use also at low Mach number, the turbulent mixing properties of slightly supercritical fluids have still not investigated in detail in this regime. This topic is addressed here by dealing with Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of a coaxial jet of a slightly supercritical Van der Waals fluid. Since acoustic effects are irrelevant in the Low Mach number conditions found in many industrial applications, the numerical model is based on a suitable low-Mach number expansion of the governing equation. According to experimental observations, the weakly supercritical regime is characterized by the formation of finger-like structures-- the so-called ligaments --in the shear layers separating the two streams. The mechanism of ligament formation at vanishing Mach number is extracted from the simulations and a detailed statistical characterization is provided. Ligaments always form whenever a high density contrast occurs, independently of real or perfect gas behaviors. The difference between real and perfect gas conditions is found in the ligament small-scale structure. More intense density gradients and thinner interfaces characterize the near critical fluid in comparison with the smoother behavior of the perfect gas. A phenomenological interpretation is here provided on the basis of the real gas thermodynamics properties.Comment: Published on Physics of Fluid