401 research outputs found
Accurate estimate of the relic density and the kinetic decoupling in non-thermal dark matter models
Non-thermal dark matter generation is an appealing alternative to the
standard paradigm of thermal WIMP dark matter. We reconsider non-thermal
production mechanisms in a systematic way, and develop a numerical code for
accurate computations of the dark matter relic density. We discuss in
particular scenarios with long-lived massive states decaying into dark matter
particles, appearing naturally in several beyond the standard model theories,
such as supergravity and superstring frameworks. Since non-thermal production
favors dark matter candidates with large pair annihilation rates, we analyze
the possible connection with the anomalies detected in the lepton cosmic-ray
flux by Pamela and Fermi. Concentrating on supersymmetric models, we consider
the effect of these non-standard cosmologies in selecting a preferred mass
scale for the lightest supersymmetric particle as dark matter candidate, and
the consequent impact on the interpretation of new physics discovered or
excluded at the LHC. Finally, we examine a rather predictive model, the
G2-MSSM, investigating some of the standard assumptions usually implemented in
the solution of the Boltzmann equation for the dark matter component, including
coannihilations. We question the hypothesis that kinetic equilibrium holds
along the whole phase of dark matter generation, and the validity of the
factorization usually implemented to rewrite the system of coupled Boltzmann
equation for each coannihilating species as a single equation for the sum of
all the number densities. As a byproduct we develop here a formalism to compute
the kinetic decoupling temperature in case of coannihilating particles, which
can be applied also to other particle physics frameworks, and also to standard
thermal relics within a standard cosmology
An alternative view on the electroweak interactions
We discuss an alternative to the Higgs mechanism which leads to gauge
invariant masses for the electroweak bosons. The key idea is to reformulate the
gauge invariance principle which, instead of being applied as usual at the
level of the action, is applied at the level of the quantum fields. In other
words, we define gauge invariant quantum fields which are used to build the
action. In that framework, the Higgs field is not necessarily a physical degree
of freedom but can merely be a dressing field that does not propagate. If the
Higgs boson is not propagating, the weak interactions must become strongly
coupled below 1 TeV and have a non-trivial fixed point and would thus be
renormalizable at the non-perturbative level. On the other hand, if a gauge
invariant Higgs boson is introduced in the model, its couplings to the fermions
and the electroweak bosons can be quite different from those expected in the
standard model.Comment: 10 page
Virtual effects of light gauginos and higgsinos: a precision electroweak analysis of split supersymmetry
We compute corrections to precision electroweak observables in supersymmetry
in the limit that scalar superpartners are very massive and decoupled. This
leaves charginos and neutralinos and a Standard Model-like Higgs boson as the
only states with unknown mass substantially affecting the analysis. We give
complete formulas for the chargino and neutralino contributions, derive simple
analytic results for the pure gaugino and higgsino cases, and study the general
case. We find that in all circumstances, the precision electroweak fit improves
when the charginos and neutralinos are near the current direct limits. Larger
higgsino and gaugino masses worsen the fit as the theory predictions
asymptotically approach those of the Standard Model. Since the Standard Model
is considered by most to be an adequate fit to the precision electroweak data,
an important corollary to our analysis is that all regions of parameter space
allowed by direct collider constraints are also allowed by precision
electroweak constraints in split supersymmetry.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, v2: typos fixed and note adde
Gluino Air Showers as a Signal of Split Supersymmetry
It has been proposed recently that, within the framework of split
Supersymmetry, long lived gluinos generated in astrophysical sources could be
detected using the signatures of the air showers they produce, thus providing a
lower bound for their lifetime and for the scale of SUSY breaking. We present
the longitudinal profile and lateral spread of -hadron induced extensive air
showers and consider the possibility of measuring them with a detector with the
characteristics of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure
High Scale Physics Connection to LHC Data
The existing data appears to provide hints of an underlying high scale
theory. These arise from the gauge coupling unification, from the smallness of
the neutrino masses, and via a non-vanishing muon anomaly. An overview of high
scale models is given with a view to possible tests at the Large Hadron
Collider. Specifically we discuss here some generic approaches to deciphering
their signatures. We also consider an out of the box possibility of a four
generation model where the fourth generation is a mirror generation rather than
a sequential generation. Such a scenario can lead to some remarkably distinct
signatures at the LHC.Comment: 23 pages, no figures. Based on invited lectures at the 46th Course at
the International School of Subnuclear Physics- Erice -Sicily: 29 August -7
September, 200
Suppression of Higgsino mediated proton decay by cancellations in GUTs and strings
A mechanism for the enhancement for proton lifetime in
supersymmetric/supergravity (SUSY/SUGRA) grand unified theories (GUTs) and in
string theory models is discussed where Higgsino mediated proton decay arising
from color triplets (anti-triplets) with charges and
is suppressed by an internal cancellation due to contributions
from different sources. We exhibit the mechanism for an SU(5) model with
Higgs multiplets in addition to the usual Higgs structure of
the minimal model. This model contains both and
Higgs color triplets (anti-triplets) and simple constraints allow for a
complete suppression of Higgsino mediated proton decay. Suppression of proton
decay in an SU(5) model with Planck scale contributions is also considered. The
suppression mechanism is then exhibited for an SO(10) model with a unified
Higgs structure involving representations.The SU(5)
decomposition of contains and
and the cancellation mechanism arises among these
contributions which mirrror the SU(5) case. The cancellation mechanism appears
to be more generally valid for a larger class of unification models.
Specifically the cancellation mechanism may play a role in string model
constructions to suppress proton decay from dimension five operators. The
mechanism allows for the suppression of proton decay consistent with current
data allowing for the possibility that proton decay may be visible in the next
round of nucleon stability experiment.Comment: 26 pages, no figures. Revtex 4. To appear in Physical Review
D-term inflation in non-minimal supergravity
D-term inflation is one of the most interesting and versatile models of
inflation. It is possible to implement naturally D-term inflation within high
energy physics, as for example SUSY GUTs, SUGRA, or string theories. D-term
inflation avoids the -problem, while in its standard form it always ends
with the formation of cosmic strings. Given the recent three-year WMAP data on
the cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies, we examine whether
D-term inflation can be successfully implemented in non-minimal supergravity
theories. We show that for all our choices of K\"ahler potential, there exists
a parameter space for which the predictions of D-term inflation are in
agreement with the measurements. The cosmic string contribution on the measured
temperature anisotropies is always dominant, unless the superpotential coupling
constant is fine tuned; a result already obtained for D-term inflation within
minimal supergravity. In conclusion, cosmic strings and their r\^ole in the
angular power spectrum cannot be easily hidden by just considering a non-flat
K\"ahler geometry.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures; minor changes to match publihed versio
Stuckelberg Axions and the Effective Action of Anomalous Abelian Models 1. A unitarity analysis of the Higgs-axion mixing
We analyze the quantum consistency of anomalous abelian models and of their
effective field theories, rendered anomaly-free by a Wess-Zumino term, in the
case of multiple abelian symmetries. These models involve the combined
Higgs-Stuckelberg mechanism and predict a pseudoscalar axion-like field that
mixes with the goldstones of the ordinary Higgs sector. We focus our study on
the issue of unitarity of these models both before and after spontaneous
symmetry breaking and detail the set of Ward identities and the organization of
the loop expansion in the effective theory. The analysis is performed on simple
models where we show, in general, the emergence of new effective vertices
determined by certain anomalous interactions.Comment: 67 pages, 26 figures, replaced with revised final version, to appear
on JHE
Observing Brane Inflation
Linking the slow-roll scenario and the Dirac-Born-Infeld scenario of
ultra-relativistic roll (where, thanks to the warp factor, the inflaton moves
slowly even with an ultra-relativistic Lorentz factor), we find that the KKLMMT
D3/anti-D3 brane inflation is robust, that is, enough e-folds of inflation is
quite generic in the parameter space of the model. We show that the
intermediate regime of relativistic roll can be quite interesting
observationally. Introducing appropriate inflationary parameters, we explore
the parameter space and give the constraints and predictions for the
cosmological observables in this scenario. Among other properties, this
scenario allows the saturation of the present observational bound of either the
tensor/scalar ratio r (in the intermediate regime) or the non-Gaussianity f_NL
(in the ultra-relativistic regime), but not both.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures; typo correcte
Knowledge-based extraction of adverse drug events from biomedical text
Background: Many biomedical relation extraction systems are machine-learning based and have to be trained on large annotated corpora that are expensive and cumbersome to construct. We developed a knowledge-based relation extraction system that requires minimal training data, and applied the system for the extraction of adverse drug events from biomedical text. The system consists of a concept recognition module that identifies drugs and adverse effects in sentences, and a knowledg
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