Probing Compositeness with the CMS eejjeejj & eejeej Data

Quark-lepton compositeness is a well-known beyond the Standard Model (SM) scenario with heavy exotic particles like leptoquarks (LQs) and leptogluons (LGs) etc. These particles can couple to leptons and jets simultaneously. In this letter, we use the recent CMS scalar LQ search data in the $eejj$ and $eej$ channels to probe this scenario. We recast the data in terms of a color octet partner of the SM electron (or a first generation spin-1/2 LG) that couples to an electron and a gluon via a dimension five operator suppressed by the quark-lepton compositeness scale ($\Lambda$). By combining different production processes of the color octet electron ($e_8$) at the LHC, we use the CMS 8TeV data to obtain a simultaneous bound on $\Lambda$ and the mass of the $e_8$ ($M_{e_8}$). We also study the reach of the 13 TeV LHC to discover the $e_8$ and interpret the required luminosity in terms of $M_{e_8}$ and $\Lambda$.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables. Minor changes, typos fixed. Matches with the published versio

On a boundary-localized Higgs boson in 5D theories

In the context of a simple five-dimensional (5D) model with bulk matter coupled to a brane-localized Higgs boson, we point out a new non-commutativity in the 4D calculation of the mass spectrum for excited fermion towers: the obtained expression depends on the choice in ordering the limits, N->infinity (infinite Kaluza-Klein tower) and epsilon->0 (epsilon being the parameter introduced for regularizing the Higgs Dirac peak). This introduces the physical question of which one is the correct order; we then show that the two possible orders of regularization (called I and II) are physically equivalent, as both can typically reproduce the measured observables, but that the one with less degrees of freedom (I) could be uniquely excluded by future experimental constraints. This conclusion is based on the exact matching between the 4D and 5D analytical calculations of the mass spectrum - via the regularizations of type I and II. Beyond a deeper insight into the Higgs peak regularizations, this matching also allows us to confirm the validity of the usual 5D mixed-formalism and to clarify the UV cut-off procedure. All the conclusions, deduced from regularizing the Higgs peak through a brane shift or a smoothed square profile, are expected to remain similar in realistic models with a warped extra-dimension.Comment: 29 pages, 2 table

Effect of Anomalous Couplings on the Associated Production of a Single Top Quark and a Higgs Boson at the LHC

We consider the production of a single top quark in association with a Higgs boson at the LHC. In particular, we compute the cross sections for the processes $p p \to t h j$, $t h b$, $t h W$, $t h j j$, $t h j b$, $t h W j$, $t h W b$ in the presence of the anomalous $Wtb, WWh$ and $tth$ couplings. We find that the anomalous $Wtb$ and $tth$ couplings can enhance the cross sections significantly. We also analyze a few signatures and show that, if these couplings are indeed anomalous, then with enough data, one should be able to observe the production of the Higgs boson in association with single top quark.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables. Typos fixed, reference added. Journal versio

Single Productions of Colored Particles at the LHC: An Example with Scalar Leptoquarks

Current LHC searches for new colored particles generally focus on their pair production channels and assume any single production to be negligible. We argue that such an assumption may be unnecessary in some cases. Inclusion of model dependent single productions in pair production searches (or vice versa) can give us new information about model parameters or better exclusion limits. Considering the example of the recent CMS search for first generation scalar leptoquarks in the pair production channel, we illustrate how single productions can be systematically included in the signal estimations and demonstrate how it can affect the mass exclusion limits and give new bounds on leptoquark-lepton-quark couplings. We also estimate the effect of the pair production in the more recent CMS search for scalar leptoquarks in single production channels.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. References added. Comments added on LQ single production search by CMS. Journal versio

Scale Invariance as a Solution to the Cosmological Constant Problem

We show that scale invariance provides a solution to the fine tuning problem of the cosmological constant. We construct a generalization of the standard model of particle physics which displays exact quantum scale invariance. The matter action is invariant under global scale transformations in arbitrary dimensions. However the gravitational action breaks scale invariance explicitly. The scale symmetry is broken spontaneously in the matter sector of the theory. We show that the contribution to the vacuum energy and hence the cosmological constant is identically zero from the matter sector within the full quantum theory. However the gravitational sector may give non-zero contributions to the cosmological constant at loop orders. No fine tuning may be required at loop orders since the matter sector gives zero contribution to the cosmological constant. We also show that we do not require full scale invariance in order to constrain the vacuum energy from the matter sector. We only require invariance under pseudoscale transformations. Using this idea and motivated by the concept of unimodular gravity we propose an alternative model. In this case also we show that matter sector gives exactly zero contribution to the vacuum energy.Comment: 12 pages, no figure