Custodial Symmetry, Flavor Physics, and the Triviality Bound on the Higgs Mass

The triviality of the scalar sector of the standard one-doublet Higgs model implies that this model is only an effective low-energy theory valid below some cut-off scale Lambda. We show that the experimental constraint on the amount of custodial symmetry violation implies that the scale Lambda must be greater than of order 7.5 TeV. The underlying high-energy theory must also include flavor dynamics at a scale of order Lambda or greater in order to give rise to the different Yukawa couplings of the Higgs to ordinary fermions. This flavor dynamics will generically produce flavor-changing neutral currents. We show that the experimental constraints on the neutral D-meson mass difference imply that Lambda must be greater than of order 21 TeV. For theories defined about the infrared-stable Gaussian fixed-point, we estimate that this lower bound on Lambda yields an upper bound of approximately 460 GeV on the Higgs boson's mass, independent of the regulator chosen to define the theory. We also show that some regulator schemes, such as higher-derivative regulators, used to define the theory about a different fixed-point are particularly dangerous because an infinite number of custodial-isospin-violating operators become relevant.Comment: 15 pages, 7 ps/eps embedded figures, talk presented at the 1996 International Workshop on Perspectives of Strong Coupling Gauge Theories (SCGT 96), Nagoya, Japa

SUSY Dark Matter In Light Of CDMS/XENON Limits

In this talk we briefly review the current CDMS/XENON constraints on the neutralino dark matter in three popular supersymmetric models: the minimal (MSSM), the next-to-minimal (NMSSM) and the nearly minimal (nMSSM). The constraints from the dark matter relic density and various collider experiments are also taken into account. The conclusion is that for each model the current CDMS/XENON limits can readily exclude a large part of the parameter space allowed by other constraints and the future SuperCDMS or XENON100 can cover most of the allowed parameter space. The implication for the Higgs search at the LHC is also discussed. It is found that in the currently allowed parameter space the MSSM charged Higgs boson is quite unlikely to be discovered at the LHC while the neutral Higgs bosons $H$ and $A$ may be accessible at the LHC in the parameter space with a large $\mu$ parameter.Comment: talk given at 2nd International Workshop on Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry, Nov 5-6, 2010, Hsinchu, Taiwan (to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D

Supersymmetry without a light Higgs boson but with a light pseudoscalar

We consider the lambda-SUSY model, a version of the NMSSM with large lambda H_1 H_2 S coupling, relaxing the approximation of large singlet mass and negligible mixing of the scalar singlet with the scalar doublets. We show that there are regions of the parameter space in which the lightest pseudoscalar can be relatively light, with unusual consequences on the decay pattern of the CP-even Higgs bosons and thus on the LHC phenomenology.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. v3: Conforms to published versio

Gauge Trimming of Neutrino Masses

We show that under a new U(1) gauge symmetry, which is non-anomalous in the presence of one ``right-handed neutrino'' per generation and consistent with the standard model Yukawa couplings, the most general fermion charges are determined in terms of four rational parameters. This generalization of the B-L symmetry with generation-dependent lepton charges leads to neutrino masses induced by operators of high dimensionality. Neutrino masses are thus naturally small without invoking physics at energies above the TeV scale, whether neutrinos are Majorana or Dirac fermions. This ``Leptocratic'' Model predicts the existence of light quasi-sterile neutrinos with consequences for cosmology, and implies that collider experiments may reveal the origin of neutrino masses

Spinless photon dark matter from two universal extra dimensions

We explore the properties of dark matter in theories with two universal extra dimensions, where the lightest Kaluza-Klein state is a spin-0 neutral particle, representing a six-dimensional photon polarized along the extra dimensions. Annihilation of this 'spinless photon' proceeds predominantly through Higgs boson exchange, and is largely independent of other Kaluza-Klein particles. The measured relic abundance sets an upper limit on the spinless photon mass of 500 GeV, which decreases to almost 200 GeV if the Higgs boson is light. The phenomenology of this dark matter candidate is strikingly different from Kaluza-Klein dark matter in theories with one universal extra dimension. Elastic scattering of the spinless photon with quarks is helicity suppressed, making its direct detection challenging, although possible at upcoming experiments. The prospects for indirect detection with gamma rays and antimatter are similar to those of neutralinos. The rates predicted at neutrino telescopes are below the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.Comment: 22 pages. Figure 7 corrected, leading to improved prospects for direct detection. Some clarifying remarks include