Observability of bbZ Events at CMS as a Benchmark for MSSM bbH Search

The Z boson production in association with two b quarks is studied as a benchmark for MSSM bbH production with H->tautau decay in CMS. An analysis using Z bosons in real data can be used to test the methods and techniques needed for reconstructing the Higgs boson. The bbZ measured from data can be used to verify the theoretical predictions for the cross section, and Z boson and b quark transverse momentum distributions. Understanding the bbZ production at LHC helps us to understand and better trust the predictions for the associated Higgs bosons production

Search for Higgs Bosons in SUSY Cascades in CMS and Dark Matter with Non-universal Gaugino Masses

In grand unified theories (GUT), non-universal boundary conditions for the gaugino masses may arise at the unification scale, and affect the observability of the neutral MSSM Higgs bosons (h/H/A) at the LHC. The implications of such non-universal gaugino masses are investigated for the Higgs boson production in the SUSY cascade decay chain gluino --> squark quark, squark --> neutralino_2 quark, neutralino_2 --> neutralino_1 h/H/A, h/H/A --> b b-bar produced in pp interactions. In the singlet representation with universal gaugino masses only the light Higgs boson can be produced in this cascade with the parameter region of interest for us, while with non-universal gaugino masses heavy neutral MSSM Higgs boson production may dominate. The allowed parameter space in the light of the WMAP constraints on the cold dark matter relic density is investigated in the above scenarios for gaugino mass parameters. We also demonstrate that combination of representations can give the required amount of dark matter in any point of the parameter space. In the non-universal case we show that heavy Higgs bosons can be detected in the studied cascade in parameter regions with the WMAP preferred neutralino relic density.Comment: LaTeX (svjour,rotating,multirow,url,subfig,psfrag), 18 pages, 36 eps figure

"Pay Now, Argue Later" Rule – Before and After the Tax Administration Act

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is entrusted with the duty of collecting tax on behalf of the South African government. In order to ensure effective and prompt collection of taxes, the payment of tax is not suspended pending an objection or an appeal, unless directed otherwise. This is also known as the "pay now, argue later" rule, and, for value-added tax purposes, is provided for in terms of section 36 of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991. The "pay now, argue later" rule in terms of section 36 of the Value-Added Tax Act prima facie infringes on a taxpayer's right of access to the courts as envisaged in section 34 of the Constitution. This is due to the fact that a taxpayer is obliged to pay tax before being afforded the opportunity to challenge the assessment in a court. In Metcash Trading Ltd v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, the Constitutional Court held the "pay now, argue later" rule in terms of section 36 to be constitutional. Olivier, however, does not agree with the court on several matters. Amongst the problems she indicates are that the taxpayer does not have access to the courts at the time the rule is invoked, and that the court did not consider the fact that there might be less invasive means available which would ensure that SARS's duty is balanced with the taxpayer's right of access to the courts. Guidelines were also issued which provide legal certainty regarding the factors SARS may consider in determining whether the payment of tax should be suspended or not. These guidelines also evoked some points of criticism. Since 1 October 2012, the "pay now, argue later" rule has been applied in terms of section 164 of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011. The question arises whether this provision addresses the problems identified in respect of section 36 of the Value-Added Tax Act and the guidelines. In comparing these sections, only slight differences emerged. The most significant difference is that section 164(6) of the Tax Administration Act stipulates that the enforcement of tax be suspended for a period when SARS is considering a request for suspension. Section 164(6) does not provide a solution to the problems identified regarding section 36 of the Value-Added Tax Act. It is even possible that this section could give rise to further problems. Therefore, the legislature has failed to address the imbalance between the duties of SARS and the right of a taxpayer to access the courts.   

Ideal tau tagging with the multivariate data-analysis toolkit TMVA

Peer reviewe

CMS The Computing Project : Technical Design Report

Peer reviewe

Search for neutral color-octet weak-triplet scalar particles in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for new physics in events with same-sign dileptons and jets in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Identification techniques for highly boosted W bosons that decay into hadrons

Peer reviewe

Measurement of differential cross sections for the production of a pair of isolated photons in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Peer reviewe