Showing papers on "Elementary particle published in 2011"

Improved measurement of the shape of the electron

Abstract: The electron is spherical — well, nearly. The standard model of particle physics predicts a slightly aspheric electron, with a distortion characterized by the electric dipole moment (EDM) that is far too small to be detected at current experimental sensitivities. However, some extensions to the standard model predict much larger EDM values that should be detectable. New experiments, using the dipolar ytterbium fluoride rather than spherical thallium, achieve the highest precision measurement of the EDM to date. At this new level of precision the EDM is consistent with zero, and the electron is indeed a sphere. This finding should help to constrain theories of particle physics and cosmology beyond the standard model. The electron is predicted to be slightly aspheric1, with a distortion characterized by the electric dipole moment (EDM), de. No experiment has ever detected this deviation. The standard model of particle physics predicts that de is far too small to detect2, being some eleven orders of magnitude smaller than the current experimental sensitivity. However, many extensions to the standard model naturally predict much larger values of de that should be detectable3. This makes the search for the electron EDM a powerful way to search for new physics and constrain the possible extensions. In particular, the popular idea that new supersymmetric particles may exist at masses of a few hundred GeV/c2 (where c is the speed of light) is difficult to reconcile with the absence of an electron EDM at the present limit of sensitivity2,4. The size of the EDM is also intimately related to the question of why the Universe has so little antimatter. If the reason is that some undiscovered particle interaction5 breaks the symmetry between matter and antimatter, this should result in a measurable EDM in most models of particle physics2. Here we use cold polar molecules to measure the electron EDM at the highest level of precision reported so far, providing a constraint on any possible new interactions. We obtain de = (−2.4 ± 5.7stat ± 1.5syst) × 10−28e cm, where e is the charge on the electron, which sets a new upper limit of |de| < 10.5 × 10−28e cm with 90 per cent confidence. This result, consistent with zero, indicates that the electron is spherical at this improved level of precision. Our measurement of atto-electronvolt energy shifts in a molecule probes new physics at the tera-electronvolt energy scale2.

Search for light dark matter in XENON10 data.

Abstract: We report results of a search for light (≲10 GeV) particle dark matter with the XENON10 detector. The event trigger was sensitive to a single electron, with the analysis threshold of 5 electrons corresponding to 1.4 keV nuclear recoil energy. Considering spin-independent dark matter-nucleon scattering, we exclude cross sections σn>7×10-42 cm2, for a dark matter particle mass mχ=7 GeV. We find that our data strongly constrain recent elastic dark matter interpretations of excess low-energy events observed by CoGeNT and CRESST-II, as well as the DAMA annual modulation signal. © 2011 American Physical Society

Two-Loop Electroweak Corrections for the K -> pi nu anti-nu Decays

Abstract: The rare K ! decays play a central role in testing the Standard Model and its extensions. Upcoming experiments plan to measure the decay rates with high accuracy. Yet, unknown higher-order electroweak corrections result in a sizeable theory error. We remove this uncertainty by computing the full two-loop electroweak corrections to the top-quark contribution Xt to the rare decays KL! 0 , K + ! + , and B ! Xd;s in the Standard Model. The remaining theoretical uncertainty related to electroweak eects is now far below 1%. Finally we update the branching ratios to

Electron stars for holographic metallic criticality

Abstract: We refer to the ground state of a gravitating, charged ideal fluid of fermions held at a finite chemical potential as an ``electron star.'' In a holographic setting, electron stars are candidate gravity duals for strongly interacting finite fermion density systems. We show how electron stars develop an emergent Lifshitz scaling at low energies. This IR scaling region is a consequence of the two-way interaction between emergent quantum critical bosonic modes and the finite density of fermions. By integrating from the IR region to an asymptotically $Ad{S}_{4}$ spacetime, we compute basic properties of the electron stars, including their electrical conductivity. We emphasize the challenge of connecting UV and IR physics in strongly interacting finite density systems.

Associated Higgs-W-boson production at hadron colliders: a fully exclusive QCD calculation at NNLO.

Abstract: We consider QCD radiative corrections to standard model Higgs-boson production in association with a W boson in hadron collisions. We present a fully exclusive calculation up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD perturbation theory. To perform this NNLO computation, we use a recently proposed version of the subtraction formalism. Our calculation includes finite-width effects, the leptonic decay of the W boson with its spin correlations, and the decay of the Higgs boson into a bb pair. We present selected numerical results at the Tevatron and the LHC.

Higgs G inflation

Abstract: A new class of inflation models within the context of G inflation is proposed, in which the standard model Higgs boson can act as an inflaton thanks to Galileon-like nonlinear derivative interaction. The generated primordial density perturbation is shown to be consistent with the present observational data. We also make a general discussion on potential-driven $G$-inflation models, and find a new consistency relation between the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ and the tensor spectral index ${n}_{T}$, $r=\ensuremath{-}32\sqrt{6}{n}_{T}/9$, which is crucial in discriminating the present models from standard inflation with a canonical kinetic term.

The Discrete Composite Higgs Model

Abstract: We describe a concrete, predictive incarnation of the general paradigm of a composite Higgs boson, which provides a valid alternative to the standard holographic models in five space-time dimensions. Differently from the latter, our model is four-dimensional and simple enough to be implemented in an event generator for collider studies. The model is inspired by dimensional deconstruction and hence it retains useful features of the five-dimensional scenario, in particular, the Higgs potential is finite and calculable. Therefore our setup, in spite of being simple, provides a complete description of the composite Higgs physics. After constructing the model we present a first analysis of its phenomenology, focusing on the structure of the Higgs potential, on the constraints from the EWPT and on the spectrum of the new particles.

Next-to-Leading-Order QCD Corrections to W + W - bb̄ Production at Hadron Colliders

Abstract: Top-antitop quark pairs belong to the most abundantly produced and precisely measurable heavy-particle signatures at hadron colliders and allow for crucial tests of the standard model and new physics searches. Here we report on the calculation of the next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections to hadronic ${W}^{+}{W}^{\ensuremath{-}}b\overline{b}$ production, which provides a complete NLO description of the production of top-antitop pairs and their subsequent decay into $W$ bosons and bottom quarks, including interferences, off-shell effects, and nonresonant backgrounds. Numerical predictions for the Tevatron and the LHC are presented.

Composite Higgs Boson Pair Production at the LHC

Abstract: The measurement of the trilinear and quartic Higgs self-couplings is necessary for the reconstruction of the Higgs potential. This way the Higgs mechanism as the origin of electroweak symmetry breaking can be tested. The couplings are accessible in multi-Higgs production processes at the LHC. In this paper we investigate the prospects of measuring the trilinear Higgs coupling in composite Higgs models. In these models, the Higgs boson emerges as a pseudo-Goldstone boson of a strongly interacting sector, and the Higgs potential is generated by loops of the Standard Model (SM) gauge bosons and fermions. The Higgs self-couplings are modified compared to the SM and controlled by the compositeness parameter ξ in addition to the Higgs boson mass. We construct areas of sensitivity to the trilinear Higgs coupling in the relevant parameter space for various final states.

Resonance parameters of the ρ meson from lattice QCD

Abstract: We perform a non-perturbative lattice calculation of the P-wave pion-pion scattering phase in the rho-meson decay channel using two flavors of maximally twisted mass fermions at pion masses ranging from 480 MeV to 290 MeV. Making use of finite-size methods, we evaluate the pion-pion scattering phase in the center-of-mass frame and two moving frames. Applying an effective range formula, we find a good description of our results for the scattering phase as a function of the energy covering the resonance region. This allows us to extract the rho-meson mass and decay width and to study their quark mass dependence.

Search for light gauge bosons of the dark sector at the Mainz Microtron.

Abstract: A new exclusion limit for the electromagnetic production of a light U(1) gauge boson γ' decaying to e + e- was determined by the A1 Collaboration at the Mainz Microtron. Such light gauge bosons appear in several extensions of the standard model and are also discussed as candidates for the interaction of dark matter with standard model matter. In electron scattering from a heavy nucleus, the existing limits for a narrow state coupling to e + e- were reduced by nearly an order of magnitude in the range of the lepton pair mass of 210 MeV/c2}

Gauge bosons at zero and finite temperature

Abstract: Gauge theories of the Yang-Mills type are the single most important building block of the standard model and beyond. Since Yang-Mills theories are gauge theories their elementary particles, the gauge bosons, cannot be described without fixing a gauge. Beyond perturbation theory, gauge-fixing in non-Abelian gauge theories is obstructed by the Gribov-Singer ambiguity. The construction and implementation of a method-independent gauge-fixing prescription to resolve this ambiguity is the most important step to describe gauge bosons beyond perturbation theory. Proposals for such a procedure, generalizing the perturbative Landau gauge, are described here. Their implementation are discussed for two example methods, lattice gauge theory and the quantum equations of motion. The most direct access to the properties of the gauge bosons is provided by their correlation functions. The corresponding two- and three-point correlation functions are presented at all energy scales. These give access to the properties of the gauge bosons, like their absence from the asymptotic physical state space, the absence of an on-shell mass pole, particle-like properties at high energies, and their running couplings. Furthermore, auxiliary degrees of freedom are introduced during gauge-fixing, and their properties are discussed as well. These results are presented for two, three, and four dimensions, and for various gauge algebras. Finally, the modifications of the properties of gauge bosons at finite temperature are presented. Evidence is provided that these reflect the phase structure of Yang-Mills theory. However, it is found that the phase transition is not deconfining the gauge bosons, although the bulk thermodynamical behavior is of a Stefan-Boltzmann type. The resolution of this apparent contradiction is also presented. This resolution also provides an explicit and constructive solution to the Linde problem.

Nucleon electromagnetic form factors from the covariant Faddeev equation

Abstract: We compute the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon in the Poincar\'e-covariant Faddeev framework based on the Dyson-Schwinger equations of QCD. The general expression for a baryon's electromagnetic current in terms of three interacting dressed quarks is derived. Upon employing a rainbow-ladder gluon-exchange kernel for the quark-quark interaction, the nucleon's Faddeev amplitude and electromagnetic form factors are computed without any further truncations or model assumptions. The form-factor results show clear evidence of missing pion-cloud effects below a photon momentum transfer of $\ensuremath{\sim}2\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{GeV}}^{2}$ and in the chiral region, whereas they agree well with experimental data at higher photon momenta. Thus, the approach reflects the properties of the nucleon's quark core.

Invariant mass distribution of jet pairs produced in association with a W Boson in pp̄ Collisions at √s=1.96TeV

Abstract: We report a study of the invariant mass distribution of jet pairs produced in association with a W boson using data collected with the CDF detector which correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.3 fb(-1). The observed distribution has an excess in the 120-160 GeV/c(2) mass range which is not described by current theoretical predictions within the statistical and systematic uncertainties. In this Letter, we report studies of the properties of this excess.

Universal relations for identical bosons from three-body physics.

Abstract: Systems consisting of identical bosons with a large scattering length satisfy universal relations determined by 2-body physics that are similar to those for fermions with two spin states. They require the momentum distribution to have a large-momentum 1/k4 tail and the radio-frequency transition rate to have a high-frequency 1/ω3/2 tail, both of which are proportional to the 2-body contact. Identical bosons also satisfy additional universal relations that are determined by 3-body physics and involve the 3-body contact, which measures the probability of 3 particles being very close together. The coefficients of the 3-body contact in the 1/k5 tail of the momentum distribution and in the 1/ω2 tail of the radio-frequency transition rate are log-periodic functions of k and ω that depend on the Efimov parameter.

Search for dilepton resonances in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

Abstract: This Letter reports on a search for narrow high-mass resonances decaying into dilepton final states. The data were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 1.08 (1.21) fb(-1) in the e(+)e(-) (mu(+)mu(-)) channel. No statistically significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed and upper limits are set at the 95% C. L. on the cross section times branching fraction of Z' resonances and Randall-Sundrum gravitons decaying into dileptons as a function of the resonance mass. A lower mass limit of 1.83 TeV on the sequential standard model Z' boson is set. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/(M) over bar Pl = 0.1 is excluded at 95% C. L. for masses below 1.63 TeV.

W / Z bremsstrahlung as the dominant annihilation channel for dark matter

Abstract: Dark matter annihilation to leptons, {chi}{chi}{yields}ll, is necessarily accompanied by electroweak radiative corrections, in which a W or Z boson is radiated from a final-state particle. Given that the W and Z gauge bosons decay dominantly via hadronic channels, it is thus impossible to produce final-state leptons without accompanying protons, antiprotons, and gamma rays. Significantly, while many dark matter models feature a helicity-suppressed annihilation rate to fermions, radiating a massive gauge boson from a final-state fermion removes this helicity suppression, such that the branching ratios Br(l{nu}W), Br(l{sup +}l{sup -}Z), and Br({nu}{nu}Z) dominate over Br(ll). W/Z bremsstrahlung thus allows indirect detection of many weakly interacting massive particle models that would otherwise be helicity suppressed, or v{sup 2} suppressed. Antiprotons and even antideuterons become consequential final-state particles. This is an important result for future dark matter searches. We discuss the implications of W/Z bremsstrahlung for 'leptonic' dark matter models which aim to fit recent cosmic ray positron and antiproton data.

Proton size anomaly.

Abstract: A measurement of the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen yields a charge radius of the proton that is smaller than the CODATA value by about 5 standard deviations. We explore the possibility that new scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor flavor-conserving nonuniversal interactions may be responsible for the discrepancy. We consider exotic particles that, among leptons, couple preferentially to muons and mediate an attractive nucleon-muon interaction. We find that the many constraints from low energy data disfavor new spin-0, spin-1, and spin-2 particles as an explanation.

Pb-Pb collisions at √ sNN = 2.76 TeV in a multiphase transport model

Abstract: The multiplicity and elliptic flow of charged particles produced in Pb-Pb collisions at center of mass energy $\sqrt{{s}_{\mathit{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV from the Large Hadron Collider are studied in a multiphase transport (AMPT) model. With the standard parameters in the HIJING model, which is used as initial conditions for subsequent partonic and hadronic scatterings in the AMPT model, the resulting multiplicity of final charged particles at mid-pseudorapidity is consistent with the experimental data measured by the ALICE Collaboration. This value is, however, increased by about $25%$ if the final-state partonic and hadronic scatterings are turned off. Because of final-state scatterings, particularly those among partons, the final elliptic flow of charged hadrons is also consistent with the ALICE data if a smaller but more isotropic parton scattering cross section than previously used in the AMPT model for describing the charged hadron elliptic flow in heavy ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is used. The resulting transverse momentum spectra of charged particles as well as the centrality dependence of their multiplicity density and the elliptic flow are also in reasonable agreement with the ALICE data. Furthermore, the multiplicities, transverse momentum spectra, and elliptic flows of identified hadrons such as protons, kaons, and pions are predicted.

Dark discrete gauge symmetries

Abstract: We investigate scenarios in which dark matter is stabilized by an Abelian Z{sub N} discrete gauge symmetry. Models are surveyed according to symmetries and matter content. Multicomponent dark matter arises when N is not prime and Z{sub N} contains one or more subgroups. The dark sector interacts with the visible sector through the renormalizable kinetic mixing and Higgs portal operators, and we highlight the basic phenomenology in these scenarios. In particular, multiple species of dark matter can lead to an unconventional nuclear recoil spectrum in direct detection experiments, while the presence of new light states in the dark sector can dramatically affect the decays of the Higgs at the Tevatron and LHC, thus providing a window into the gauge origin of the stability of dark matter.

Total cross-section for Higgs boson hadroproduction with anomalous Standard Model interactions

Abstract: We present a new program (iHixs) which computes the inclusive Higgs boson cross-section at hadron colliders. It incorporates QCD corrections through NNLO, real and virtual electroweak corrections, mixed QCD-electroweak corrections, quark-mass effects through NLO in QCD, and finite width effects for the Higgs boson and heavy quarks. iHixs can be used to obtain the most precise cross-section values in fixed order perturbation theory in the Standard Model. In addition, it allows for a consistent evaluation of the cross-section in modified Higgs boson sectors with anomalous Yukawa and electroweak interactions as required in extensions of the Standard Model. iHixs is interfaced with the LHAPDF library and can be used with all available NNLO sets of parton distribution functions.

Dark light-Higgs bosons.

Abstract: We study a limit of the nearly Peccei-Quinn-symmetric next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model possessing novel Higgs and dark matter (DM) properties. In this scenario, there naturally coexist three light singletlike particles: a scalar, a pseudoscalar, and a singlinolike DM candidate, all with masses of order 0.1-10 GeV. The decay of a standard model-like Higgs boson to pairs of the light scalars or pseudoscalars is generically suppressed, avoiding constraints from collider searches for these channels. For a certain parameter window annihilation into the light pseudoscalar and exchange of the light scalar with nucleons allow the singlino to achieve the correct relic density and a large direct-detection cross section consistent with the DM direct-detection experiments, CoGeNT and DAMA/LIBRA, preferred region simultaneously. This parameter space is consistent with experimental constraints from LEP, the Tevatron, Υ, and flavor physics.

Strange and multistrange particle production in Au + Au collisions at √sNN=62.4 GeV

Abstract: We present results on strange and multistrange particle production in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 62.4 GeV as measured with the STAR detector at RHIC. Midrapidity transverse momentum spectra and integrated yields of K-S(0), Lambda, Xi, and Omega and their antiparticles are presented for different centrality classes. The particle yields and ratios follow a smooth energy dependence. Chemical freeze-out parameters, temperature, baryon chemical potential, and strangeness saturation factor obtained from the particle yields are presented. Intermediate transverse momentum (p(T)) phenomena are discussed based on the ratio of the measured baryon-to-meson spectra and nuclear modification factor. The centrality dependence of various measurements presented show a similar behavior as seen in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV.

W -jet tagging: Optimizing the identification of boosted hadronically-decaying W bosons

Abstract: A method is proposed for distinguishing highly boosted hadronically-decaying \(W's\) \((W jets)\) from QCD-jets using jet substructure. Previous methods, such as the filtering/mass-drop method, can give a factor of \(\sim 2\) improvement in \(S/\sqrt{B}\) for jet \(p_T \ge 200 GeV\). In contrast, a multivariate approach including new discriminants such as \(R\) cores, which characterize the shape of the \(W\) jet, subjet planar flow, and grooming-sensitivities is shown to provide a much larger factor of \(\sim 5\) improvement in \(S/\sqrt{B}\). For longitudinally polarized \(W's\), such as those coming from many new physics models, the discrimination is even better. Comparing different Monte Carlo simulations, we observe a sensitivity of some variables to the underlying event; however, even with a conservative estimates, the multivariate approach is very powerful. Applications to semileptonic \(WW\) resonance searches and all-hadronic \(W+jet\) searches at the LHC are also discussed. Code implementing our \(W-je\)t tagging algorithm is publicly available at http://jets.physics.harvard.edu/wtag.

Photon spectra from WIMP annihilation

Abstract: If the present dark matter in the Universe annihilates into standard model particles, it must contribute to the fluxes of cosmic rays that are detected on the Earth and, in particular, to the observed gamma-ray fluxes. The magnitude of such a contribution depends on the particular dark matter candidate, but certain features of the produced photon spectra may be analyzed in a rather model-independent fashion. In this work we provide the complete photon spectra coming from WIMP annihilation into standard model particle-antiparticle pairs obtained by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We present results for each individual annihilation channel and provide analytical fitting formulas for the different spectra for a wide range of WIMP masses.