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A. Racioppi

Publications and source records attributed to A. Racioppi.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Natural Metric-Affine Inflation: Reloaded

We revisit natural inflation within the framework of metric-affine gravity, considering the impact of a periodic non-minimal coupling between the inflaton and the Nieh-Yan term. Such a term, alone, leads to linear inflation predictions in the strong coupling limit and cannot help to rescue the natural inflation scenario. However, once an analogous non-minimal coupling with the Ricci scalar is added, agreement with data can be easily achieved. Remarkably, the scenario remains viable even with a sub-Planckian periodicity scale and relatively small (order of one) non-minimal couplings.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2025

Natural inflation in Palatini $F(R)$

$F(R)$ Palatini gravity provides a robust framework for constructing viable inflationary potentials. In this study, we examine natural inflation and show that its consistency with observational data can be restored when the model is embedded within $F(R)$ Palatini gravity, specifically for $F(R) = R + \alpha R^n$ with $7/4 \lesssim n \leq 2$. For completeness, we also demonstrate that models with $n > 2$ do not yield comparable improvements, achieving partial agreement with the data only in the limit $n \rightarrow 2$.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2025

Natural inflation in Palatini $F(R,X)$

In the context of Palatini gravity, $F(R+X)$ models, with X the inflaton kinetic term, are characterized by the appealing property of generating asymptotically flat inflaton potentials, exactly like the more commonly studied Palatini $F(R)$ models, but without the complication of non-canonical inflaton kinetic terms in the Einstein frame. In this paper, we study the case of a Jordan frame potential which is positive and bounded, specifically, natural inflation. We compute the CMB observables and show that for a wide class of $F(R + X)$ theories, including the quadratic one, natural inflation is still viable.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2017

Prospects for charged Higgs searches at the LHC

The goal of this report is to summarize the current situation and discuss possible search strategies for charged scalars, in non-supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model at the LHC. Such scalars appear in Multi-Higgs-Doublet models (MHDM), in particular in the popular Two-Higgs-Doublet model (2HDM), allowing for charged and additional neutral Higgs bosons. These models have the attractive property that electroweak precision observables are automatically in agreement with the Standard Model at the tree level. For the most popular version of this framework, Model~II, a discovery of a charged Higgs boson remains challenging, since the parameter space is becoming very constrained, and the QCD background is very high. We also briefly comment on models with dark matter which constrain the corresponding charged scalars that occur in these models. The stakes of a possible discovery of an extended scalar sector are very high, and these searches should be pursued in all conceivable channels, at the LHC and at future colliders.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2014

Long-lived charged Higgs at LHC as a probe of scalar Dark Matter

We study inert charged Higgs boson $H^\pm$ production and decays at LHC experiments in the context of constrained scalar dark matter model (CSDMM). In the CSDMM the inert doublet and singlet scalar's mass spectrum is predicted from the GUT scale initial conditions via RGE evolution. We compute the cross sections of processes $pp\to H^+H^-,\, H^\pm S_i^0$ at the LHC and show that for light $H^\pm$ the first one is dominated by top quark mediated 1-loop diagram with Higgs boson in s-channel. In a significant fraction of the parameter space $H^\pm$ are long-lived because their decays to predominantly singlet scalar dark matter (DM) and next-to-lightest (NL) scalar, $H^\pm\to S_{\text{DM, NL}} ff',$ are suppressed by the small singlet-doublet mixing angle and by the moderate mass difference $ ΔM=M_{H^+}-M_{\text{DM}} .$ The experimentally measurable displaced vertex in $H^\pm$ decays to leptons and/or jets and missing energy allows one to discover the $H^+H^-$ signal over the huge $W^+W^-$ background. We propose benchmark points for studies of this scenario at the LHC. If, however, $H^\pm$ are short-lived, the subsequent decays $S_{\text{NL}}\to S_{\text{DM}} f\bar f$ necessarily produce additional displaced vertices that allow to reconstruct the full $H^\pm$ decay chain.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Implications of effective axial-vector coupling of gluon for $t\bar{t}$ spin polarizations at the LHC

We analyze the impact of effective axial-vector coupling of the gluon on spin polarization observables in $t\bar{t}$ pair production at the LHC. Working at leading order in QCD, we compute the $t\bar{t}$ spin-correlation and left-right spin asymmetry coefficients in the helicity basis in the laboratory frame as functions of the new physics scale $Λ$ associated with this coupling. We found that the $t\bar{t}$ invariant mass dependent asymmetries are more sensitive to the scale $Λ$ than the corresponding inclusive ones, in particular when suitable cuts selecting high $t\bar{t}$ invariant mass regions are imposed. In the context of this scenario, we show that the LHC has potential either to confirm or to rule out the Tevatron FB top asymmetry anomaly by analyzing the $t\bar{t}$ spin-correlation and left-right polarization asymmetries. On the other hand, stringent lower bound on the new physics scale $Λ$ can be set in this scenario if no significant deviations from the SM predictions for those observables will be measured.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Implications of the 125 GeV Higgs boson for scalar dark matter and for the CMSSM phenomenology

We study phenomenological implications of the ATLAS and CMS hint of a $125\pm 1$ GeV Higgs boson for the singlet, and singlet plus doublet non-supersymmetric dark matter models, and for the phenomenology of the CMSSM. We show that in scalar dark matter models the vacuum stability bound on Higgs boson mass is lower than in the standard model and the 125 GeV Higgs boson is consistent with the models being valid up the GUT or Planck scale. We perform a detailed study of the full CMSSM parameter space keeping the Higgs boson mass fixed to $125\pm 1$ GeV, and study in detail the freeze-out processes that imply the observed amount of dark matter. After imposing all phenomenological constraints except for the muon $(g-2)_μ,$ we show that the CMSSM parameter space is divided into well separated regions with distinctive but in general heavy sparticle mass spectra. Imposing the $(g-2)_μ$ constraint introduces severe tension between the high SUSY scale and the experimental measurements -- only the slepton co-annihilation region survives with potentially testable sparticle masses at the LHC. In the latter case the spin-independent DM-nucleon scattering cross section is predicted to be below detectable limit at the XENON100 but might be of measurable magnitude in the general case of light dark matter with large bino-higgsino mixing and unobservably large scalar masses.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2012

Supersymmetry Breaking in a Minimal Anomalous Extension of the MSSM

We study a supersymmetry breaking mechanism in the context of a minimal anomalous extension of the MSSM. The anomaly cancellation mechanism is achieved through suitable counterterms in the effective action, i.e. Green-Schwarz terms. We assume that the standard MSSM superpotential is perturbatively realized, i.e. all terms allowed by gauge symmetries, except for the $μ$-term which has a non-perturbative origin. The presence of this term is expected in many intersecting D-brane models which can be considered as the ultraviolet completion of our model. We show how soft supersymmetry breaking terms arise in this framework and we study the effect of some phenomenological constraints on this scenario.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

Implications of the CDMS result on Dark Matter and LHC physics

The requirements of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) and correct thermal relic density of Dark Matter (DM) predict large spin-independent direct detection cross section in scalar DM models based on underlying SO(10) non-supersymmetric GUT. Interpreting the CDMS signal events as DM recoil on nuclei, we study implications of this assumption on EWSB, Higgs boson mass and direct production of scalar DM at LHC experiments. We show that this interpretation indicates relatively light DM, M_DM ~ O(100) GeV, with large pair production cross section at LHC in correlation with the spin-independent direct DM detection cross section. The next-to-lightest dark scalar S_NL is predicted to be long-lived, providing distinctive experimental signatures of displaced vertex of two leptons or jets plus missing transverse energy.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

EWSB from the soft portal into Dark Matter and prediction for direct detection

Scalar Dark Matter (DM) can have dimensionful coupling to the Higgs boson - the "soft" portal into DM - which is predicted to be unsuppressed by underlying SO(10) GUT. The dimensionful coupling can be large, μ/v >> 1, without spoiling perturbativity of low energy theory up to the GUT scale. We show that the soft portal into DM naturally triggers radiative EWSB via large 1-loop DM corrections to the effective potential. In this scenario EWSB, DM thermal freeze-out cross section and DM scattering on nuclei are all dominated by the same coupling, predicting DM mass range to be 700 GeV< M_{DM} < 2 TeV. The spin-independent direct detection cross section is predicted to be just at the present experimental sensitivity and can explain the observed CDMS II recoil events.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

1st Roman Young Researchers Meeting Proceedings

During the last few decades scientists have been able to test the bases of the physics paradigms, where the quantum mechanics has to match the cosmological scales. Between the extremes of this scenario, biological phenomena and their complexity take place, challenging the laws we observe in the atomic and sub-atomic world. In order to explore the details of this world, new huge experimental facilities are under construction. These projects involve people coming from several countries and give physicists the opportunity to work together with chemists, biologists and other scientists. The Roman Young Researchers Meeting is a conference, organised by Ph. D. students and young postdocs connected to the Roman area. It is aimed primarily at graduate students and post-docs, working in physics. The 1st conference has been held on the 21st of July 2009 at the University of Roma Tor Vergata. It was organised in three sessions, devoted to Astrophysics and Cosmology, Soft and Condensed Matter Physics and Theoretical and Particle Physics. In this proceeding we collect the contributions which have been presented and discussed during the meeting, according to the specific topics treated.

physics.gen-ph↗