Baryogenesis from the Kobayashi-Maskawa Phase

The Standard Model fulfills the three Sakharov conditions for baryogenesis. The smallness of quark masses suppresses, however, the CP violation from the Kobayashi-Maskawa phase to a level that is many orders of magnitude below what is required to explain the observed baryon asymmetry. We point out that if, as a result of time variation in the Yukawa couplings, quark masses were large at the time of the electroweak phase transition, then the Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism could be the source of the asymmetry. The Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism provides a plausible framework where the Yukawa couplings could all be of order one at that time, and settle to their present values before nucleosynthesis. The problems related to a strong first order electroweak phase transition may also be alleviated in this framework. Our scenario reveals a loophole in the commonly held view that the Kobayashi-Maskawa mechanism cannot be the dominant source of CP violation to play a role in baryogenesis.Comment: 4 page

General Minimal Flavor Violation

A model independent study of the minimal flavor violation (MFV) framework is presented, where the only sources of flavor breaking at low energy are the up and down Yukawa matrices. Two limits are identified for the Yukawa coupling expansion: linear MFV, where it is truncated at the leading terms, and nonlinear MFV, where such a truncation is not possible due to large third generation Yukawa couplings. These are then resummed to all orders using non-linear sigma-model techniques familiar from models of collective breaking. Generically, flavor diagonal CP violating (CPV) sources in the UV can induce O(1) CPV in processes involving third generation quarks. Due to a residual U(2) symmetry, the extra CPV in B_d-\bar B_d mixing is bounded by CPV in B_s-\bar B_s mixing. If operators with right-handed light quarks are subdominant, the extra CPV is equal in the two systems, and is negligible in processes involving only the first two generations. We find large enhancements in the up type sector, both in CPV in D-\bar D mixing and in top flavor violation.Comment: 5 pages and no figure

Time Variations in the Scale of Grand Unification

We study the consequences of time variations in the scale of grand unification, $M_U$, when the Planck scale and the value of the unified coupling at the Planck scale are held fixed. We show that the relation between the variations of the low energy gauge couplings is highly model dependent. It is even possible, in principle, that the electromagnetic coupling $\alpha$ varies, but the strong coupling $\alpha_3$ does not (to leading approximation). We investigate whether the interpretation of recent observations of quasar absorption lines in terms of time variation in $\alpha$ can be accounted for by time variation in $M_U$. Our formalism can be applied to any scenario where a time variation in an intermediate scale induces, through threshold corrections, time variations in the effective low scale couplings.Comment: 14 pages, revtex4; Updated observational results and improved statistical analysis (section IV); added reference

Constraints on the electron-hole pair creation energy and Fano factor below 150 eV from Compton scattering in a Skipper-CCD

Fully-depleted thick silicon Skipper-charge-coupled devices (Skipper-CCDs) are an important technology to probe neutrino and light-dark-matter interactions due to their sub-electron read-out noise. However, the successful search for rare neutrino or dark-matter events requires the signal and all backgrounds to be fully characterized. In particular, a measurement of the electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV and the Fano factor are necessary for characterizing the dark matter and neutrino signals. Moreover, photons from background radiation may Compton scatter in the silicon bulk, producing events that can mimic a dark matter or neutrino signal. We present a measurement of the Compton spectrum using a Skipper-CCD and a $^{241}$Am source. With these data, we estimate the electron-hole pair-creation energy to be $\left(3.71 \pm 0.08\right)$ eV at 130 K in the energy range between 99.3 eV and 150 eV. By measuring the widths of the steps at 99.3 eV and 150 eV in the Compton spectrum, we introduce a novel technique to measure the Fano factor, setting an upper limit of 0.31 at 90% C.L. These results prove the potential of Skipper-CCDs to characterize the Compton spectrum and to measure precisely the Fano factor and electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV

The Lyth Bound and the End of Inflation

We derive an extended version of the well-known Lyth Bound on the total variation of the inflaton field, incorporating higher order corrections in slow roll. We connect the field variation $\Delta\phi$ to both the spectral index of scalar perturbations and the amplitude of tensor modes. We then investigate the implications of this bound for ``small field'' potentials, where the field rolls off a local maximum of the potential. The total field variation during inflation is {\em generically} of order $m_{\rm Pl}$, even for potentials with a suppressed tensor/scalar ratio. Much of the total field excursion arises in the last e-fold of inflation and in single field models this problem can only be avoided via fine-tuning or the imposition of a symmetry. Finally, we discuss the implications of this result for inflationary model building in string theory and supergravity.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX, 2 figures (V3: version accepted for publication by JCAP

Snowmass CF1 Summary: WIMP Dark Matter Direct Detection

As part of the Snowmass process, the Cosmic Frontier WIMP Direct Detection subgroup (CF1) has drawn on input from the Cosmic Frontier and the broader Particle Physics community to produce this document. The charge to CF1 was (a) to summarize the current status and projected sensitivity of WIMP direct detection experiments worldwide, (b) motivate WIMP dark matter searches over a broad parameter space by examining a spectrum of WIMP models, (c) establish a community consensus on the type of experimental program required to explore that parameter space, and (d) identify the common infrastructure required to practically meet those goals.Comment: Snowmass CF1 Final Summary Report: 47 pages and 28 figures with a 5 page appendix on instrumentation R&

Vacuum Instabilities with a Wrong-Sign Higgs-Gluon-Gluon Amplitude

The recently discovered 125 GeV boson appears very similar to a Standard Model Higgs, but with data favoring an enhanced h to gamma gamma rate. A number of groups have found that fits would allow (or, less so after the latest updates, prefer) that the h-t-tbar coupling have the opposite sign. This can be given meaning in the context of an electroweak chiral Lagrangian, but it might also be interpreted to mean that a new colored and charged particle runs in loops and produces the opposite-sign hGG amplitude to that generated by integrating out the top, as well as a contribution reinforcing the W-loop contribution to hFF. In order to not suppress the rate of h to WW and h to ZZ, which appear to be approximately Standard Model-like, one would need the loop to "overshoot," not only canceling the top contribution but producing an opposite-sign hGG vertex of about the same magnitude as that in the SM. We argue that most such explanations have severe problems with fine-tuning and, more importantly, vacuum stability. In particular, the case of stop loops producing an opposite-sign hGG vertex of the same size as the Standard Model one is ruled out by a combination of vacuum decay bounds and LEP constraints. We also show that scenarios with a sign flip from loops of color octet charged scalars or new fermionic states are highly constrained.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures; v2: references adde

Asymmetric Dark Matter from Leptogenesis

We present a new realization of asymmetric dark matter in which the dark matter and lepton asymmetries are generated simultaneously through two-sector leptogenesis. The right-handed neutrinos couple both to the Standard Model and to a hidden sector where the dark matter resides. This framework explains the lepton asymmetry, dark matter abundance and neutrino masses all at once. In contrast to previous realizations of asymmetric dark matter, the model allows for a wide range of dark matter masses, from keV to 10 TeV. In particular, very light dark matter can be accommodated without violating experimental constraints. We discuss several variants of our model that highlight interesting phenomenological possibilities. In one, late decays repopulate the symmetric dark matter component, providing a new mechanism for generating a large annihilation rate at the present epoch and allowing for mixed warm/cold dark matter. In a second scenario, dark matter mixes with the active neutrinos, thus presenting a distinct method to populate sterile neutrino dark matter through leptogenesis. At late times, oscillations and dark matter decays lead to interesting indirect detection signals.Comment: 32 pages + appendix, references added, minor change

Searches for Long Lived Neutral Particles

An intriguing possibility for TeV scale physics is the existence of neutral long lived particles (LOLIPs) that subsequently decay into SM states. Such particles are many cases indistinguishable from missing transverse energy (MET) at colliders. We propose new methods to search for these particles using neutrino telescopes. We study their detection prospects, assuming production either at the LHC or through dark matter (DM) annihilations in the Sun and the Earth. We find that the sensitivity for LOLIPs produced at the LHC is limited by luminosity and detection energy thresholds. On the other hand, in the case of DM annihilation into LOLIPs, the sensitivity of neutrino telescopes is promising and may extend beyond the reach of upcoming direct detection experiments. In the context of low scale hidden sectors weakly coupled to the SM, such indirect searches allow to probe couplings as small as 10^-15.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Higgs After the Discovery: A Status Report

Recently, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations have announced the discovery of a 125 GeV particle, commensurable with the Higgs boson. We analyze the 2011 and 2012 LHC and Tevatron Higgs data in the context of simplified new physics models, paying close attention to models which can enhance the diphoton rate and allow for a natural weak-scale theory. Combining the available LHC and Tevatron data in the ZZ* 4-lepton, WW* 2-lepton, diphoton, and b-bbar channels, we derive constraints on the effective low-energy theory of the Higgs boson. We map several simplified scenarios to the effective theory, capturing numerous new physics models such as supersymmetry, composite Higgs, dilaton. We further study models with extended Higgs sectors which can naturally enhance the diphoton rate. We find that the current Higgs data are consistent with the Standard Model Higgs boson and, consequently, the parameter space in all models which go beyond the Standard Model is highly constrained.Comment: 37 pages; v2: ATLAS dijet-tag diphoton channel added, dilaton and doublet-singlet bugs corrected, references added; v3: ATLAS WW channel included, comments and references adde