NMSSM with Lopsided Gauge Mediation

We study a gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking version of the NMSSM in which the soft m_{H_u}^2 and m_{H_d}^2 masses receive extra contributions due to the presence of direct couplings between the Higgs and the messenger sector. We are motivated by the well-known result that minimal gauge mediation is phenomenologically incompatible with the NMSSM due to the small value of the induced effective mu term. The model considered in the present paper solves the aforementioned problem through a modified RG running of the singlet soft mass m_N^2. This effect, which is induced by the dominant m_{H_d}^2 term in the one-loop beta-function of m_N^2, shifts the singlet soft mass towards large negative values at the electroweak scale. That is sufficient to ensure a large VEV for the scalar component of the singlet which in turn translates into a sizeable effective mu term. We also describe a mechanism for generating large soft trilinear terms at the messenger scale. This allows us to make the mass of the lightest Higgs boson compatible with the current LHC bound without relying on exceedingly heavy stops

A Shift Symmetry in the Higgs Sector: Experimental Hints and Stringy Realizations

We interpret reported hints of a Standard Model Higgs boson at ~ 125 GeV in terms of high-scale supersymmetry breaking with a shift symmetry in the Higgs sector. More specifically, the Higgs mass range suggested by recent LHC data extrapolates, within the (non-supersymmetric) Standard Model, to a vanishing quartic Higgs coupling at a UV scale between 10^6 and 10^18 GeV. Such a small value of lambda can be understood in terms of models with high-scale SUSY breaking if the Kahler potential possesses a shift symmetry, i.e., if it depends on H_u and H_d only in the combination (H_u+\bar{H}_d). This symmetry is known to arise rather naturally in certain heterotic compactifications. We suggest that such a structure of the Higgs Kahler potential is common in a wider class of string constructions, including intersecting D7- and D6-brane models and their extensions to F-theory or M-theory. The latest LHC data may thus be interpreted as hinting to a particular class of compactifications which possess this shift symmetry.Comment: v2: References added. v3: References added, published versio

Search for W\u27 decaying to tau lepton and neutrino in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV

The first search for a heavy charged vector boson in the final state with a tau lepton and a neutrino is reported, using 19.7 fb−1 of LHC data at View the MathML sources=8 TeV. A signal would appear as an excess of events with high transverse mass, where the standard model background is low. No excess is observed. Limits are set on a model in which the W′W′ decays preferentially to fermions of the third generation. These results substantially extend previous constraints on this model. Masses below 2.0 to 2.7 TeV are excluded, depending on the model parameters. In addition, the existence of a W′W′ boson with universal fermion couplings is excluded at 95% confidence level, for W′W′ masses below 2.7 TeV. For further reinterpretation a model-independent limit on potential signals for various transverse mass thresholds is also presented

Calculation-Driven Regioselective Functionalization of the Imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine Scaffold via Zinc and Magnesium Organometallic Intermediates

Straightforward calculations such as determinations of pKa values and N-basicities have allowed the development of a set of organometallic reactions for the regioselective functionalization of the underexplored imidazo[1,2 a]pyrazine. Thus, regioselective metalations of 6 chloroimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine using TMP-bases (TMP = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) such as TMPMgCl∙LiCl and TMP2Zn∙2MgCl2∙2LiCl provided Zn- and Mg-intermediates, that after quenching with various electrophiles gave access to polyfunctionalized imidazopyrazine heterocycles. Additionally, the use of TMP2Zn∙2MgCl2∙2LiCl as base for the first metalation allowed an alternative regioselective metalation. Nucleophilic additions at position 8 as well as selective Negishi cross-couplings complete the set of methods for selectively decorating this heterocycle of the future

Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling of Unprotected, Nitrogen-Rich Heterocycles: Substrate Scope and Mechanistic Investigation

The Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of unprotected, nitrogen-rich heterocycles using precatalysts P1 or P2 is reported. The procedure allows for the reaction of variously substituted indazole, benzimidazole, pyrazole, indole, oxindole, and azaindole halides under mild conditions in good to excellent yields. Additionally, the mechanism behind the inhibitory effect of unprotected azoles on Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions is described based on evidence gained through experimental, crystallographic, and theoretical investigations.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Award GM46059)German Science Foundation (Postdoctoral Fellowship