1,456 research outputs found
Higgs friends and counterfeits at hadron colliders
We consider the possibility of "Higgs counterfeits" - scalars that can be
produced with cross sections comparable to the SM Higgs, and which decay with
identical relative observable branching ratios, but which are nonetheless not
responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking. We also consider a related
scenario involving "Higgs friends," fields similarly produced through gg fusion
processes, which would be discovered through diboson channels WW, ZZ, gamma
gamma, or even gamma Z, potentially with larger cross sections times branching
ratios than for the Higgs. The discovery of either a Higgs friend or a Higgs
counterfeit, rather than directly pointing towards the origin of the weak
scale, would indicate the presence of new colored fields necessary for the
sizable production cross section (and possibly new colorless but electroweakly
charged states as well, in the case of the diboson decays of a Higgs friend).
These particles could easily be confused for an ordinary Higgs, perhaps with an
additional generation to explain the different cross section, and we emphasize
the importance of vector boson fusion as a channel to distinguish a Higgs
counterfeit from a true Higgs. Such fields would naturally be expected in
scenarios with "effective Z's," where heavy states charged under the SM produce
effective charges for SM fields under a new gauge force. We discuss the
prospects for discovery of Higgs counterfeits, Higgs friends, and associated
charged fields at the LHC.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures. References added and typos fixe
Phenomenology and Cosmology of an Electroweak Pseudo-Dilaton and Electroweak Baryons
In many strongly-interacting models of electroweak symmetry breaking the
lowest-lying observable particle is a pseudo-Goldstone boson of approximate
scale symmetry, the pseudo-dilaton. Its interactions with Standard Model
particles can be described using a low-energy effective nonlinear chiral
Lagrangian supplemented by terms that restore approximate scale symmetry,
yielding couplings of the pseudo-dilaton that differ from those of a Standard
Model Higgs boson by fixed factors. We review the experimental constraints on
such a pseudo-dilaton in light of new data from the LHC and elsewhere. The
effective nonlinear chiral Lagrangian has Skyrmion solutions that may be
identified with the `electroweak baryons' of the underlying
strongly-interacting theory, whose nature may be revealed by the properties of
the Skyrmions. We discuss the finite-temperature electroweak phase transition
in the low-energy effective theory, finding that the possibility of a
first-order electroweak phase transition is resurrected. We discuss the
evolution of the Universe during this transition and derive an
order-of-magnitude lower limit on the abundance of electroweak baryons in the
absence of a cosmological asymmetry, which suggests that such an asymmetry
would be necessary if the electroweak baryons are to provide the cosmological
density of dark matter. We revisit estimates of the corresponding
spin-independent dark matter scattering cross section, with a view to direct
detection experiments.Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, additional references adde
Distinguishing Various Models of the 125 GeV Boson in Vector Boson Fusion
The hint of a new particle around 125 GeV at the LHC through the decay modes
of diphoton and a number of others may point to quite a number of
possibilities. While at the LHC the dominant production mechanism for the Higgs
boson of the standard model and some other extensions is via the gluon fusion
process, the alternative vector boson fusion is more sensitive to electroweak
symmetry breaking through the gauge-Higgs couplings and therefore can be used
to probe for models beyond the standard model. In this work, using the well
known dijet-tagging technique to single out the vector boson fusion mechanism,
we investigate its capability to discriminate a number of models that have been
suggested to give an enhanced inclusive diphoton production rate, including the
standard model Higgs boson, fermiophobic Higgs boson, Randall-Sundrum radion,
inert-Higgs-doublet model, two-Higgs-doublet model, and the MSSM. The rates in
vector-boson fusion can give more information of the underlying models to help
distinguishing among the models.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures; in this version some wordings are change
Revealing the electroweak properties of a new scalar resonance
One or more new heavy resonances may be discovered in experiments at the CERN
Large Hadron Collider. In order to determine if such a resonance is the
long-awaited Higgs boson, it is essential to pin down its spin, CP, and
electroweak quantum numbers. Here we describe how to determine what role a
newly-discovered neutral CP-even scalar plays in electroweak symmetry breaking,
by measuring its relative decay rates into pairs of electroweak vector bosons:
WW, ZZ, \gamma\gamma, and Z\gamma. With the data-driven assumption that
electroweak symmetry breaking respects a remnant custodial symmetry, we perform
a general analysis with operators up to dimension five. Remarkably, only three
pure cases and one nontrivial mixed case need to be disambiguated, which can
always be done if all four decay modes to electroweak vector bosons can be
observed or constrained. We exhibit interesting special cases of Higgs
look-alikes with nonstandard decay patterns, including a very suppressed
branching to WW or very enhanced branchings to \gamma\gamma and Z\gamma. Even
if two vector boson branching fractions conform to Standard Model expectations
for a Higgs doublet, measurements of the other two decay modes could unmask a
Higgs imposter.Comment: 23 pages, two figures; v2: minor revision and version to appear in
JHE
Global Analysis of the Higgs Candidate with Mass ~ 125 GeV
We analyze the properties of the Higgs candidate with mass ~ 125 GeV
discovered by the CMS and ATLAS Collaborations, constraining the possible
deviations of its couplings from those of a Standard Model Higgs boson. The
CMS, ATLAS and Tevatron data are compatible with Standard Model couplings to
massive gauge bosons and fermions, and disfavour several types of composite
Higgs models unless their couplings resemble those in the Standard Model. We
show that the couplings of the Higgs candidate are consistent with a linear
dependence on particle masses, scaled by the electroweak scale ~ 246 GeV, the
power law and the mass scale both having uncertainties ~ 20%.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, v2 incorporates experimental data released
during July 2012 and corrected (and improved) treatment of mass dependence of
coupling
Prominent crista terminalis mimicking a right atrial mass: case report
The crista terminalis is a normal anatomical structure within the right atrium that is not normally visualised in the standard views obtained while performing a transthoracic echocardiogram. In this case report, transthoracic echocardiography suggested the presence of a right atrial mass in a patient with end stage renal disease. However, subsequent transesophageal echocardiography revealed that the right atrial mass was actually a thick muscular bridge in the right atrium consistent with a prominent crista terminalis. An understanding of the anatomy and the echocardiographic appearance of a prominent crista terminalis will minimize the misdiagnosis of this structure avoiding unnecessary expensive additional tests
Lorentz Violation in Warped Extra Dimensions
Higher dimensional theories which address some of the problematic issues of
the Standard Model(SM) naturally involve some form of -dimensional
Lorentz invariance violation (LIV). In such models the fundamental physics
which leads to, e.g., field localization, orbifolding, the existence of brane
terms and the compactification process all can introduce LIV in the higher
dimensional theory while still preserving 4-d Lorentz invariance. In this
paper, attempting to capture some of this physics, we extend our previous
analysis of LIV in 5-d UED-type models to those with 5-d warped extra
dimensions. To be specific, we employ the 5-d analog of the SM Extension of
Kostelecky et. al. ~which incorporates a complete set of operators arising from
spontaneous LIV. We show that while the response of the bulk scalar, fermion
and gauge fields to the addition of LIV operators in warped models is
qualitatively similar to what happens in the flat 5-d UED case, the gravity
sector of these models reacts very differently than in flat space.
Specifically, we show that LIV in this warped case leads to a non-zero bulk
mass for the 5-d graviton and so the would-be zero mode, which we identify as
the usual 4-d graviton, must necessarily become massive. The origin of this
mass term is the simultaneous existence of the constant non-zero
curvature and the loss of general co-ordinate invariance via LIV in the 5-d
theory. Thus warped 5-d models with LIV in the gravity sector are not
phenomenologically viable.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figs; discussion added, algebra repaire
Holographic metastability
We show how supersymmetric QCD in a slice of AdS can naturally acquire
metastable vacua. The formulation closely follows that of Intriligator, Seiberg
and Shih (ISS), with an "electric" sector on the UV brane and a "magnetic"
sector on the IR brane. However the 't Hooft anomaly matching that constrains
the Seiberg duality central to ISS is replaced by anomaly inflow and
cancellation, and the source of strong coupling is the CFT to which the theory
couples rather than the gauge groups. The theory contains an anomaly free
R-symmetry that, when broken by UV effects, leads to an O'Raifeartaigh model on
the IR brane. In contrast to ISS, the R-symmetry breaking in the UV can be
maximal, and yet the R-symmetry breaking in the IR theory remains under strict
control: there is no need for retrofitting of small parameters.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure
The Custodial Randall-Sundrum Model: From Precision Tests to Higgs Physics
We reexamine the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model with enlarged gauge symmetry
SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_X x P_LR in the presence of a brane-localized Higgs
sector. In contrast to the existing literature, we perform the Kaluza-Klein
(KK) decomposition within the mass basis, which avoids the truncation of the KK
towers. Expanding the low-energy spectrum as well as the gauge couplings in
powers of the Higgs vacuum expectation value, we obtain analytic formulas which
allow for a deep understanding of the model-specific protection mechanisms of
the T parameter and the left-handed Z-boson couplings. In particular, in the
latter case we explain which contributions escape protection and identify them
with the irreducible sources of P_LR symmetry breaking. We furthermore show
explicitly that no protection mechanism is present in the charged-current
sector confirming existing model-independent findings. The main focus of the
phenomenological part of our work is a detailed discussion of Higgs-boson
couplings and their impact on physics at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. For
the first time, a complete one-loop calculation of all relevant Higgs-boson
production and decay channels is presented, incorporating the effects stemming
from the extended electroweak gauge-boson and fermion sectors.Comment: 74 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. v2: Matches version published in JHE
Twenty Years of SUGRA
A brief review is given of the developments of mSUGRA and its extensions
since the formulation of these models in 1982. Future directions and prospects
are also discussed.Comment: Invited talk at the International Conference BEYOND-2003, Schloss
Ringberg, Germany, June 10-14, 2003; 21 pages, Late
- …