Footprints of Supersymmetry on Higgs Decay

Motivated by future collider proposals that aim to measure the Higgs properties precisely, we study the partial decay widths of the lightest Higgs boson in the minimal supersymmetric standard model with an emphasis on the parameter region where all superparticles and heavy Higgs bosons are not accessible at the LHC. Taking account of phenomenological constraints such as the Higgs mass, flavor constraints, vacuum stability, and perturbativity of coupling constants up to the grand unification scale, we discuss how large the deviations of the partial decay widths from the standard model predictions can be. These constraints exclude large fraction of the parameter region where the Higgs widths show significant deviation from the standard model predictions. Nevertheless, even if superparticles and the heavy Higgses are out of the reach of 14TeV LHC, the deviation may be large enough to be observed at future $e^+e^-$ collider experiments.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, version accepted in JHE

On the Gauge Invariance of the Decay Rate of False Vacuum

We study the gauge invariance of the decay rate of the false vacuum for the model in which the scalar field responsible for the false vacuum decay has gauge quantum number. In order to calculate the decay rate, one should integrate out the field fluctuations around the classical path connecting the false and true vacua (i.e., so-called bounce). Concentrating on the case where the gauge symmetry is broken in the false vacuum, we show a systematic way to perform such an integration and present a manifestly gauge-invariant formula of the decay rate of the false vacuum.Comment: 17 pages, published versio

Renormalization-Scale Uncertainty in the Decay Rate of False Vacuum

We study radiative corrections to the decay rate of false vacua, paying particular attention to the renormalization-scale dependence of the decay rate. The decay rate exponentially depends on the bounce action. The bounce action itself is renormalization scale dependent. To make the decay rate scale-independent, radiative corrections, which are due to the field fluctuations around the bounce, have to be included. We show quantitatively that the inclusion of the fluctuations suppresses the scale dependence, and hence is important for the precise calculation of the decay rate. We also apply our analysis to a supersymmetric model and show that the radiative corrections are important for the Higgs-stau system with charge breaking minima.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures; added reference

The 19-Vertex Model at critical regime ∣q∣=1|q|=1

We study the 19-vertex model associated with the quantum group $U_q(\hat{sl_2})$ at critical regime $|q|=1$. We give the realizations of the type-I vertex operators in terms of free bosons and free fermions. Using these free field realizations, we give the integral representations for the correlation functions.Comment: LaTEX2e, 19page

Higher-dimensional WZW Model on K\"ahler Manifold and Toroidal Lie Algebra

We construct a generalization of the two-dimensional Wess-Zumino-Witten model on a $2n$-dimensional K\"ahler manifold as a group-valued non-linear sigma model with an anomaly term containing the K\"ahler form. The model is shown to have an infinite-dimensional symmetry which generates an $n$-toroidal Lie algebra. The classical equation of motion turns out to be the Donaldson-Uhlenbeck-Yau equation, which is a $2n$-dimensional generalization of the self-dual Yang-Mills equation.Comment: 12 pages, Late

Supersymmetric Heavy Higgses at e^+e^- Linear Collider and Dark-Matter Physics

We consider the capability of the e^+e^- linear collider (which is recently called as the International Linear Collider, or ILC) for studying the properties of the heavy Higgs bosons in the supersymmetric standard model. We pay special attention to the large \tan\beta region which is motivated, in particular, by explaining the dark-matter density of the universe (i.e., so-called ``rapid-annihilation funnels''). We perform a systematic analysis to estimate expected uncertainties in the masses and widths of the heavy Higgs bosons assuming an energy and integrated luminosity of \sqrt{s}=1 TeV and L=1 ab^{-1}. We also discuss its implication to the reconstruction of the dark-matter density of the universe.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, version to appear in PR

Gravitino Dark Matter with Weak-Scale Right-Handed Sneutrino

We consider cosmological implications of supersymmetric models with right-handed (s)neutrinos where the neutrino masses are purely Dirac-type. We pay particular attention to the case where gravitino is the lightest superparticle while one of the right-handed sneutrinos is next-to-the-lightest superparticle. We study constraints from big-bang nuleosynthesis and show that the constraints could be relaxed compared to the case without right-handed sneutrinos. As a result, the gravitino-dark-matter scenario becomes viable with relatively large value of the gravitino mass. We also discuss constraints from the structure formation; in our model, the free-streaming length of the gravitino dark matter may be as long as O(1 Mpc), which is comparable to the present observational upper bound on the scale of free-streaming.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

First results in terrain mapping for a roving planetary explorer

To perform planetary exploration without human supervision, a complete autonomous rover must be able to model its environment while exploring its surroundings. Researchers present a new algorithm to construct a geometric terrain representation from a single range image. The form of the representation is an elevation map that includes uncertainty, unknown areas, and local features. By virtue of working in spherical-polar space, the algorithm is independent of the desired map resolution and the orientation of the sensor, unlike other algorithms that work in Cartesian space. They also describe new methods to evaluate regions of the constructed elevation maps to support legged locomotion over rough terrain

Electric-field induced capillary interaction of charged particles at a polar interface

We study the electric-field induced capillary interaction of charged particles at a polar interface. The algebraic tails of the electrostatic pressure of each charge results in a deformation of the interface $u\sim \rho ^{-4}$. The resulting capillary interaction is repulsive and varies as $\rho ^{-6}$ with the particle distance. As a consequence, electric-field induced capillary forces cannot be at the origin of the secondary minimum observed recently for charged PMMA particles at on oil-water interface.Comment: June 200

QCD Correction to Neutralino Annihilation Process and Dark Matter Density in Supersymmetric Models

We calculate QCD correction to the neutralino annihilation cross section into quark anti-quark final state and discuss its implications to the calculation of neutralino relic density. We see that the QCD correction enhances the pair-annihilation cross section by O(10 %) when final-state quarks are non-relativistic. Consequently, when the lightest neutralinos dominantly annihilate into a t\bar{t} pair, the relic density of the lightest neutralino is significantly affected by the QCD correction, in particular when the lightest-neutralino mass is close to the top-quark mass.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure