Sterile neutrino portal to Dark Matter I: the U(1) B−L case
In this paper we explore the possibility that the sterile neutrino and Dark Matter sectors in the Universe have a common origin. We study the consequences of this assumption in the simple case of coupling the dark sector to the Standard Model via a global $U(1)_{B-L}$, broken down spontaneously by a dark scalar. This dark scalar provides masses to the dark fermions and communicates with the Higgs via a Higgs portal coupling. We find an interesting interplay between Dark Matter annihilation to dark scalars - the CP-even that mixes with the Higgs and the CP-odd which becomes a Goldstone boson, the Majoron - and heavy neutrinos, as well as collider probes via the coupling to the Higgs. Moreove…
The A5 and the pion field
In this talk, an SU(Nf)xSU(Nf)Yang-Mills model with a compact extra-dimension is used to describe the spin-1 mesons and pions of massless QCD in the large-Nc. The right 4D symmetry and symmetry-breaking pattern is produced by imposing appropriate boundary conditions. The Goldstone boson fields are constructed using a Wilson line. We derive the low-energy limit (chiral lagrangian), discuss rho-meson dominance, sum rules between resonance couplings and the relation with the QCD high-energy behavior. Finally, we provide an analytic expression for the two-point function of vector and axial currents.
Dynamical Symmetry Breaking in Warped Compactifications
We study dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking in the Randall-Sundrum scenario. We show that one extra dimension is enough to give the correct pattern of electroweak symmetry breaking in a simple model with gauge bosons and the right-handed top quark in the bulk. The top quark mass is also in agreement with experiment. Furthermore, we propose an extended scenario with all Standard Model gauge bosons and fermions propagating in the bulk, which naturally accommodates the fermion mass hierarchies. No new fields or interactions beyond the observed in the Standard Model are required.
Trilinear couplings and scalar bound states in supersymmetric extensions of the standard model
Abstract The trilinear terms in minimal supersymmetric extensions of the standard model can be responsible of forming a bound state of scalars. In this talk we outline our results on the study of this bound state using a non-perturbative method, the exact renormalization group. We focus on the trilinear term between the Higgs and stop fields.
Supersymmetry from boundary conditions
We study breaking and restoration of supersymmetry in five-dimensional theories by determining the mass spectrum of fermions from their equations of motion. Boundary conditions can be obtained from either the action principle by extremizing an appropriate boundary action (interval approach) or by assigning parities to the fields (orbifold approach). In the former, fields extend continuously from the bulk to the boundaries, while in the latter the presence of brane mass-terms cause fields to jump when one moves across the branes. We compare the two approaches and in particular we carefully compute the non-trivial jump profiles of the wavefunctions in the orbifold picture for very general bra…
Symmetry meets AI
We explore whether Neural Networks (NNs) can {\it discover} the presence of symmetries as they learn to perform a task. For this, we train hundreds of NNs on a {\it decoy task} based on well-controlled Physics templates, where no information on symmetry is provided. We use the output from the last hidden layer of all these NNs, projected to fewer dimensions, as the input for a symmetry classification task, and show that information on symmetry had indeed been identified by the original NN without guidance. As an interdisciplinary application of this procedure, we identify the presence and level of symmetry in artistic paintings from different styles such as those of Picasso, Pollock and Van…
Geometric approacch to condensates in halographic QCD
An SU(Nf)xSU(Nf) Yang-Mills theory on an extra-dimensional interval is considered, with appropriate symmetry-breaking boundary conditions on the IR brane. UV-brane to UV-brane correlators at high energies are compared with the OPE of two-point functions of QCD quark currents. Condensates correspond to departure from AdS of the (different) metrics felt by vector and axial combinations, away from the UV brane. Their effect on hadronic observables is studied: the extracted condensates agree with the signs and orders of magnitude expected from QCD.
Negative S parameter from holographic technicolor.
We present a new class of 5D models, Holographic Technicolor, which fulfills the basic requirements for a candidate of comprehensible 4D strong dynamics at the electroweak scale. It is the first Technicolor-like model able to provide a vanishing or even negative tree-level S parameter, avoiding any no-go theorem on its sign. The model is described in the large-N regime. S is therefore computable: possible corrections coming from boundary terms follow the 1/N suppression, and generation of fermion masses and the S parameter issue do split up. We investigate the model's 4D dual, probably walking Technicolor-like with a large anomalous dimension.
Interpolating between low and high energy QCD via a 5D Yang-Mills model
We describe the Goldstone bosons of massless QCD together with an infinite number of spin-1 mesons. The field content of the model is SU(Nf)xSU(Nf) Yang-Mills in a compact extra-dimension. Electroweak interactions reside on one brane. Breaking of chiral symmetry occurs due to the boundary conditions on the other brane, away from our world, and is therefore spontaneous. Our implementation of the holographic recipe maintains chiral symmetry explicit throughout. For intermediate energies, we extract resonance couplings. These satisfy sum rules due to the 5D nature of the model. These sum rules imply, when taking the high energy limit, that perturbative QCD constraints are satisfied. We also il…
Supersymmetric electroweak baryogenesis
We calculate the baryon asymmetry generated at the electroweak phase transition in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, using a new method to compute the CP-violating asymmetry in the Higgsino flux reflected into the unbroken phase. The method is based on a Higgs insertion expansion. We find that the CP asymmetry at leading order is proportional to the change in $\tan \beta$ in the bubble wall, which is at most of order $10^{-2}$, while at next-to-leading order this suppression factor disappears. This result may enhance the final baryon asymmetry generated during the electroweak phase transition for small $\Delta \beta (< 10^{-3}$).
The Minimal Supersymmetric Model without a mu term
We propose a supersymmetric extension of the standard model which is a realistic alternative to the MSSM, and which has several advantages. No ``mu'' supersymmetric Higgs/Higgsino mass parameter is needed for sufficiently heavy charginos. An approximate U(1) R symmetry naturally guarantees that tan beta is large, explaining the top/bottom quark mass hierarchy. This symmetry also suppresses supersymmetric contributions to anomalous magnetic moments, b to s gamma, and proton decay, and these processes place no lower bounds on superpartner masses, even at large tan beta. The soft supersymmetry breaking mass parameters can easily be obtained from either gauge or Planck scale mediation, without …
Using machine learning to disentangle LHC signatures of Dark Matter candidates
We study the prospects of characterising Dark Matter at colliders using Machine Learning (ML) techniques. We focus on the monojet and missing transverse energy (MET) channel and propose a set of benchmark models for the study: a typical WIMP Dark Matter candidate in the form of a SUSY neutralino, a pseudo-Goldstone impostor in the shape of an Axion-Like Particle, and a light Dark Matter impostor whose interactions are mediated by a heavy particle. All these benchmarks are tensioned against each other, and against the main SM background ($Z$+jets). Our analysis uses both the leading-order kinematic features as well as the information of an additional hard jet. We explore different representa…
Sterile neutrino portal to Dark Matter II: exact dark symmetry
We analyze a simple extension of the Standard Model (SM) with a dark sector composed of a scalar and a fermion, both singlets under the SM gauge group but charged under a dark sector symmetry group. Sterile neutrinos, which are singlets under both groups, mediate the interactions between the dark sector and the SM particles, and generate masses for the active neutrinos via the seesaw mechanism. We explore the parameter space region where the observed Dark Matter relic abundance is determined by the annihilation into sterile neutrinos, both for fermion and scalar Dark Matter particles. The scalar Dark Matter case provides an interesting alternative to the usual Higgs portal scenario. We also…
The Diboson Excess: Experimental Situation and Classification of Explanations; A Les Houches Pre-Proceeding
We examine the `diboson' excess at $\sim 2$ TeV seen by the LHC experiments in various channels. We provide a comparison of the excess significances as a function of the mass of the tentative resonance and give the signal cross sections needed to explain the excesses. We also present a survey of available theoretical explanations of the resonance, classified in three main approaches. Beyond that, we discuss methods to verify the anomaly, determining the major properties of the various surpluses and exploring how different models can be discriminated. Finally, we give a tabular summary of the numerous explanations, presenting their main phenomenological features.