Exotic Baryons in Two-Dimensional QCD

Two-dimensional QCD has often been used as a laboratory for studying the full four-dimensional theory, providing, for example, an explicit realization of baryons as solitons. We review aspects of conventional baryons in two-dimensional QCD, including the classical and quantum contributions to their masses. We then discuss the spectrum of exotic baryons in two-dimensional QCD, commenting on the solitonic radius inferred from the excitation spectrum as well as the two-dimensional version of the Goldberger-Treiman relation relating meson couplings to current matrix elements. Two-dimensional QCD provides strong overall support to the chiral-soliton picture for the structure of normal and exotic baryons in four dimensions.Comment: 15 pages latex, no figure

Today's View on Strangeness

There are several different experimental indications, such as the pion-nucleon sigma term and polarized deep-inelastic scattering, which suggest that the nucleon wave function contains a hidden s bar s component. This is expected in chiral soliton models, which also predicted the existence of new exotic baryons that may recently have been observed. Another hint of hidden strangeness in the nucleon is provided by copious phi production in various N bar N annihilation channels, which may be due to evasions of the Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule. One way to probe the possible polarization of hidden s bar s pairs in the nucleon may be via Lambda polarization in deep-inelastic scattering.Comment: 8 pages LaTeX, 10 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Parity Violation and Hadronic Structure, Grenoble, June 200

Supersymmetric Benchmarks with Non-Universal Scalar Masses or Gravitino Dark Matter

We propose and examine a new set of benchmark supersymmetric scenarios, some of which have non-universal Higgs scalar masses (NUHM) and others have gravitino dark matter (GDM). The scalar masses in these models are either considerably larger or smaller than the narrow range allowed for the same gaugino mass m_{1/2} in the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) with universal scalar masses m_0 and neutralino dark matter. The NUHM and GDM models with larger m_0 may have large branching ratios for Higgs and/or $Z$ production in the cascade decays of heavier sparticles, whose detection we discuss. The phenomenology of the GDM models depends on the nature of the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), which has a lifetime exceeding 10^4 seconds in the proposed benchmark scenarios. In one GDM scenario the NLSP is the lightest neutralino \chi, and the supersymmetric collider signatures are similar to those in previous CMSSM benchmarks, but with a distinctive spectrum. In the other GDM scenarios based on minimal supergravity (mSUGRA), the NLSP is the lighter stau slepton {\tilde \tau}_1, with a lifetime between ~ 10^4 and 3 X 10^6 seconds. Every supersymmetric cascade would end in a {\tilde \tau}_1, which would have a distinctive time-of-flight signature. Slow-moving {\tilde \tau}_1's might be trapped in a collider detector or outside it, and the preferred detection strategy would depend on the {\tilde \tau}_1 lifetime. We discuss the extent to which these mSUGRA GDM scenarios could be distinguished from gauge-mediated models.Comment: 52 pages LaTeX, 13 figure

Revisiting the Higgs Mass and Dark Matter in the CMSSM

Taking into account the available accelerator and astrophysical constraints, the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson h in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model with universal soft supersymmetry-breaking masses (CMSSM) has been estimated to lie between 114 and ~ 130 GeV. Recent data from ATLAS and CMS hint that m_h ~ 125 GeV, though m_h ~ 119 GeV may still be a possibility. Here we study the consequences for the parameters of the CMSSM and direct dark matter detection if the Higgs hint is confirmed, focusing on the strips in the (m_1/2, m_0) planes for different tan beta and A_0 where the relic density of the lightest neutralino chi falls within the range of the cosmological cold dark matter density allowed by WMAP and other experiments. We find that if m_h ~ 125 GeV focus-point strips would be disfavoured, as would the low-tan beta stau-chi and stop -chi coannihilation strips, whereas the stau-chi coannihilation strip at large tan beta and A_0 > 0 would be favoured, together with its extension to a funnel where rapid annihilation via direct-channel H/A poles dominates. On the other hand, if m_h ~ 119 GeV more options would be open. We give parametrizations of WMAP strips with large tan beta and fixed A_0/m_0 > 0 that include portions compatible with m_h = 125 GeV, and present predictions for spin-independent elastic dark matter scattering along these strips. These are generally low for models compatible with m_h = 125 GeV, whereas the XENON100 experiment already excludes some portions of strips where m_h is smaller.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Background Dependent Lorentz Violation: Natural Solutions to the Theoretical Challenges of the OPERA Experiment

To explain both the OPERA experiment and all the known phenomenological constraints/observations on Lorentz violation, the Background Dependent Lorentz Violation (BDLV) has been proposed. We study the BDLV in a model independent way, and conjecture that there may exist a "Dream Special Relativity Theory", where all the Standard Model (SM) particles can be subluminal due to the background effects. Assuming that the Lorentz violation on the Earth is much larger than those on the interstellar scale, we automatically escape all the astrophysical constraints on Lorentz violation. For the BDLV from the effective field theory, we present a simple model and discuss the possible solutions to the theoretical challenges of the OPERA experiment such as the Bremsstrahlung effects for muon neutrinos and the pion decays. Also, we address the Lorentz violation constraints from the LEP and KamLAMD experiments. For the BDLV from the Type IIB string theory with D3-branes and D7-branes, we point out that the D3-branes are flavour blind, and all the SM particles are the conventional particles as in the traditional SM when they do not interact with the D3-branes. Thus, we not only can naturally avoid all the known phenomenological constraints on Lorentz violation, but also can naturally explain all the theoretical challenges. Interestingly, the energy dependent photon velocities may be tested at the experiments.Comment: RevTex4, 14 pages, minor corrections, references adde

Colliders and Cosmology

Dark matter in variations of constrained minimal supersymmetric standard models will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the comparison between accelerator and direct detection constraints.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 15 pages, LaTex, 26 eps figure

Haaien en roggen in de Noordzee

Het gaat wereldwijd niet goed met haaien en roggen. Geldt dat ook voor de Noordzee? Welke eigenschappen maken haaien en roggen zo bijzonder en tegelijkertijd kwetsbaar en welke maatregelen kunnen genomen worden om te voorkomen dat er soorten uit de Noordzee verdwijnen

Relating the CMSSM and SUGRA models with GUT scale and Super-GUT scale Supersymmetry Breaking

While the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM) with universal gaugino masses, m_{1/2}, scalar masses, m_0, and A-terms, A_0, defined at some high energy scale (usually taken to be the GUT scale) is motivated by general features of supergravity models, it does not carry all of the constraints imposed by minimal supergravity (mSUGRA). In particular, the CMSSM does not impose a relation between the trilinear and bilinear soft supersymmetry breaking terms, B_0 = A_0 - m_0, nor does it impose the relation between the soft scalar masses and the gravitino mass, m_0 = m_{3/2}. As a consequence, tan(\beta) is computed given values of the other CMSSM input parameters. By considering a Giudice-Masiero (GM) extension to mSUGRA, one can introduce new parameters to the K\"ahler potential which are associated with the Higgs sector and recover many of the standard CMSSM predictions. However, depending on the value of A_0, one may have a gravitino or a neutralino dark matter candidate. We also consider the consequences of imposing the universality conditions above the GUT scale. This GM extension provides a natural UV completion for the CMSSM.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; added erratum correcting several equations and results in Sec.2, Sec.3 and 4 remain unaffected and conclusions unchange

Note on Varying Speed of Light Cosmologies

The various requirements on a consistent varying speed of light (`VSL') theory are surveyed, giving a short check-list of issues that should be satisfactorily handled by such theories.Comment: 6 pages; to appear in the GRG Journa