Atmospheric Neutrino Anomaly and Supersymmetric Inflation

A detailed investigation of hybrid inflation and the subsequent reheating process is performed within a mu problem solving supersymmetric model based on a left-right symmetric gauge group. The process of baryogenesis via leptogenesis is especially studied. For mu and tau neutrino masses consistent with the small angle MSW resolution of the solar neutrino problem and the recent results of the SuperKamiokande experiment, we show that maximal mu-tau neutrino mixing can be achieved. The required value of the relevant coupling constant is, however, quite small (of the order 10^{-6}).Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Coupling Reduction and the Higgs Mass

Assuming the existence of a functional relation among the Standard Model (SM) couplings gauge $\alpha_1$ and quartic $\lambda$, we determine the mass of the Higgs particle. Similar considerations for the top and bottom Yukawa couplings in the minimal supersymmetric SM lead to the prediction of a narrow window for $\tan\beta$, one of the main parameters that determine the light Higgs mass.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figure

On the GUT scale of F-Theory SU(5)

In F-theory GUTs, threshold corrections from Kaluza-Klein massive modes arising from gauge and matter multiplets play an important role in the determination of the weak mixing angle and the strong gauge coupling of the effective low energy model. In this letter we further explore the induced modifications on the gauge couplings running and the GUT scale. In particular, we focus on the KK-contributions from matter curves and analyse the conditions on the chiral and Higgs matter spectrum which imply a GUT scale consistent with the minimal unification scenario. As an application, we present an explicit computation of these thresholds for matter fields residing on specific non-trivial Riemann surfaces.Comment: 21 page

Gravitational Atom in Compactified Extra Dimensions

We consider quantum mechanical effects of the modified Newtonian potential in the presence of extra compactified dimensions. We develop a method to solve the resulting Schroedinger equation and determine the energy shifts caused by the Yukawa-type corrections of the potential. We comment on the possibility of detecting the modified gravitational bound state Energy spectrum by present day and future experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Tests of Anomalous Higgs Boson Couplings through e−e+→HZe^-e^+ \to HZ and HγH\gamma

We show how the processes $e^- e^+ \to ZH, ~ \gamma H$, which will be studied at LEP2 and at high energy colliders, could be used to search for types of New Physics (NP) characterized by an effective NP scale in the few TeV range and affecting the scalar sector only. In particular, for $e^- e^+ \to Z H$, we propose the measurement of suitable azimuthal asymmetries determined from the angular distribution of the $Z$-decay plane with respect to the $Z$-production one. Such asymmetries, together with the $ZH$ angular distribution, may allow a complete disentangling of the five $dim=6$ operators ${\cal O }_{UB}$, ${\cal O }_{UW}$, $\overline{{\cal O }}_{UB}$, $\overline{{\cal O }}_{UW}$, ${\cal O }_{\Phi2}$, describing the residual NP effects to the Higgs couplings. We note that the first four of these operators contribute to processes relevant to LEP1 precision measurements only at the 1-loop level, while the last operator remains completely unconstrained at this level. The process $e^- e^+ \to \gamma H$ is also very sensitive to NP and should bring important independent information.Comment: 20 pages + 9 figures in .uu files. revised version (corrected scales). (e-mail [email protected]

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results