arXiv subjects

Adam Ritz

Publications and source records attributed to Adam Ritz.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Astrophysical Signatures of Secluded Dark Matter

We analyze the indirect astrophysical signatures of secluded models of WIMP dark matter, characterized by a weak-scale rate for annihilation into light MeV-scale mediators which are metastable to decay into Standard Model states. Such scenarios allow a significant enhancement of the annihilation cross section in the galactic halo relative to its value at freeze-out, particularly when the mediator is light enough for this process to proceed through radiative capture to a metastable `WIMP-onium' bound state. For MeV-scale vector mediators charged under a hidden U(1)' gauge group, the enhanced annihilation rate leads predominantly to a sizable excess positron flux, even in the absence of astrophysical boost factors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Bosonic super-WIMPs as keV-scale dark matter

We consider models of light super-weakly interacting cold dark matter, with O(10-100) keV mass, focusing on bosonic candidates such as pseudoscalars and vectors. We analyze the cosmological abundance, the gamma-background created by particle decays, the impact on stellar processes due to cooling, and the direct detection capabilities in order to identify classes of models that pass all the constraints. In certain models, variants of photoelectric (or axioelectric) absorption of dark matter in direct-detection experiments can provide a sensitivity to the superweak couplings to the Standard Model which is superior to all existing indirect constraints. In all models studied, the annual modulation of the direct-detection signal is at the currently unobservable level of O(10^{-5}).

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Resonant scattering and recombination of pseudo-degenerate WIMPs

We consider the direct and indirect detection signatures of WIMPs χ^0 in kinematic regimes with a heavier, but nearly degenerate, charged state χ^{+-}. For small splittings of O(10) MeV, the scattering of WIMPs off nuclei may be dominated by inelastic recombination processes mediated by the formation of (χ^- N) bound states, leading to a distinct signature for direct detection. These cross-sections are bound primarily by limits on the abundance of heavy isotopes, and may be considerably larger than the elastic scattering cross section in more conventional models. If the mass splitting is too large for recombination to occur, there may still be a significant resonant enhancement of loop-induced electromagnetic form-factors of the WIMP, which can enhance the elastic scattering cross-section. We also discuss how this regime affects the annihilation cross-section and indirect detection signatures, and note the possibility of a significant mono-energetic γ-signal, mediated by resonant processes near the (χ^+χ^-) bound state threshold.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Dyon dynamics near marginal stability and non-BPS states

We derive the general form of the moduli-space effective action for the long-range interaction of two BPS dyons in N=2 gauge theories. This action determines the bound state structure of various BPS and non-BPS states near marginal stability curves, and we utilise it to compute the leading correction to the BPS-mass of zero-torsion non-BPS bound states close to marginal stability.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Universal conductivity and central charges

We discuss a class of critical models in d>1+1 dimensions whose electrical conductivity and charge susceptibility are fixed by the central charge in a universal manner. We comment on possible bounds on conductivity, as suggested by holographic duality.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Pseudoscalar perturbations and polarization of the cosmic microwave background

We show that models of new particle physics containing massless pseudoscalar fields super-weakly coupled to photons can be very efficiently probed with CMB polarization anisotropies. The stochastic pseudoscalar fluctuations generated during inflation provide a mechanism for converting E-mode polarization to B-mode during photon propagation from the surface of last scattering. The efficiency of this conversion process is controlled by the dimensionless ratio H/(2πf_a), where H is the Hubble scale during inflation, and f_a^{-1} is the strength of the pseudoscalar coupling to photons. The current observational limits on the B-mode constrain this ratio to be less than 0.07, which in many models of inflation translates to a sensitivity to values of f_a in excess of 10^{14} GeV, surpassing the sensitivity of other tests.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Black holes and universality classes of critical points

We argue that there exists an infinite class of conformal field theories in diverse dimensions, having a universal ratio of the central charge c to the normalized entropy density c'. The universality class includes all conformal theories which possess a classical gravity dual according to the AdS/CFT correspondence. From the practical point of view, the universality of c/c' provides an explicit test which can be applied to determine whether a given critical point may admit a dual description in terms of classical gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Secluded WIMP Dark Matter

We consider a generic mechanism via which thermal relic WIMP dark matter may be decoupled from the Standard Model, namely through a combination of WIMP annihilation to metastable mediators with subsequent delayed decay to Standard Model states. We illustrate this with explicit examples of WIMPs connected to the Standard Model by metastable bosons or fermions. In all models, provided the WIMP mass is greater than that of the mediator, it can be secluded from the Standard Model with an extremely small elastic scattering cross-section on nuclei and rate for direct collider production. In contrast, indirect signatures from WIMP annihilation are consistent with a weak scale cross-section and provide potentially observable γ-ray signals. We also point out that γ-ray constraints and flavor physics impose severe restrictions on MeV-scale variants of secluded models, and identify limited classes that pass all the observational constraints.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Electric dipole moment constraints on minimal electroweak baryogenesis

We study the simplest generic extension of the Standard Model which allows for conventional electroweak baryogenesis, through the addition of dimension six operators in the Higgs sector. At least one such operator is required to be CP-odd, and we study the constraints on such a minimal setup, and related scenarios with minimal flavor violation, from the null results of searches for electric dipole moments (EDMs), utilizing the full set of two-loop contributions to the EDMs. The results indicate that the current bounds are stringent, particularly that of the recently updated neutron EDM, but fall short of ruling out these scenarios. The next generation of EDM experiments should be sufficiently sensitive to provide a conclusive test.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

The galactic 511 keV line from electroweak scale WIMPs

We consider possible mechanisms via which electroweak scale WIMPs χ^0 could provide the source of the INTEGRAL/SPI 511 keV photon flux from the galactic centre. We consider scenarios where the WIMP spectrum contains near-degeneracies, with MeV-scale splitting, and focus on three possible production mechanisms for galactic positrons: (i) collisional excitation of the WIMP to a nearby charged state, χ^0 + χ^0 -> χ^+ + χ^-, with the subsequent decay producing positrons; (ii) capture of the WIMP by nuclei in the galactic interstellar medium, χ^0 + N -> e^+ + (χ^- N); and (iii) the decay of a nearby long-lived state surviving from the Big Bang, χ^0_2 -> χ_1^0 + e^+ + e^-. We find that process (i) requires a cross-section which is significantly larger than the unitarity bound, process (ii) is allowed by unitarity, but is impractical due to terrestrial bounds on the χ-N cross-section, while process (iii) is viable and we construct a simple model realization with singlet dark matter fields interacting with the Standard Model via the Higgs sector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Superconformal R-charges and dyon multiplicities in N=2 gauge theories

N=(2,2) theories in 1+1D exhibit a direct correspondence between the R-charges of chiral operators at a conformal point and the multiplicities of BPS kinks in a massive deformation, as shown by Cecotti and Vafa. We obtain an analogous relation in 3+1D for N=2 gauge theories that are massive perturbations of Argyres-Douglas fixed points, utilizing the geometric engineering approach to N=2 vacua within IIB string theory. In this case the scaling dimensions of a certain subset of chiral operators at the UV fixed point are related to the multiplicities of BPS dyons. When the Argyres-Douglas SCFT is realized at the root of a baryonic Higgs branch, this translation from 1+1D to 3+1D can be understood physically from the relation between the bulk dynamics and the N=(2,2) worldsheet dynamics of vortices in the baryonic Higgs phase. Under a relevant perturbation, the BPS kink multiplicity on the vortex worldsheet translates to that of the bulk dyonic states. The latter viewpoint suggests the 3+1D version of the Cecotti-Vafa relation may hold more generally, and simple tests provide evidence in favor of this for more generic choices of the baryonic root.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Sensitivity to new supersymmetric thresholds through flavour and CP violating physics

Treating the MSSM as an effective theory below a threshold scale Lambda, we study the consequences of having dimension-five operators in the superpotential for flavour and CP-violating processes. Below the supersymmetric threshold such terms generate flavour changing and/or CP-odd effective operators of dimension six composed from the Standard Model fermions, that have the interesting property of decoupling linearly with the threshold scale, i.e. as 1/(Lambda m_soft), where m_soft is the scale of soft supersymmetry breaking. The assumption of weak-scale supersymmetry, together with the stringent limits on electric dipole moments and lepton flavour-violating processes, then provides sensitivity to Lambda as high as 10^7-10^9 GeV. We discuss the varying sensitivity to these scales within several MSSM benchmark scenarios and also outline the classes of UV physics which could generate these operators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Central charges, S-duality and massive vacua of N=1* super Yang-Mills

We provide a simple derivation of the extremal values of the superpotential in massive vacua of N=1* SYM, making use of the required modular weight for the central charge of BPS walls interpolating between these vacua. This modular weight descends from the action of S-duality on the N=4 superalgebra which in turn is inherited from its classical action on the dyon spectrum. We show that this kinematic information, combined with minimal knowledge of the weak coupling asymptotics, is sufficient to determine the exact vacuum superpotentials in terms of Eisenstein series.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Flavor and CP violating physics from new supersymmetric thresholds

Treating the MSSM as an effective theory, we study the implications of having dimension five operators in the superpotential for flavor and CP-violating processes, exploiting the linear decoupling of observable effects with respect to the new threshold scale Λ. We show that the assumption of weak scale supersymmetry, when combined with the stringent limits on electric dipole moments and lepton flavor-violating processes, provides sensitivity to Λas high as 10^7-10^9 GeV, while the next generation of experiments could directly probe the high-energy scales suggested by neutrino physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Electric dipole moments as probes of new physics

We review several aspects of flavour-diagonal CP violation, focussing on the role played by the electric dipole moments (EDMs) of leptons, nucleons, atoms and molecules, which consitute the source of several stringent constraints on new CP-violating physics. We dwell specifically on the calculational aspects of applying the hadronic EDM constraints, reviewing in detail the application of QCD sum-rules to the calculation of nucleon EDMs and CP-odd pion-nucleon couplings. We also consider the current status of EDMs in the Standard Model, and on the ensuing constraints on the underlying sources of CP-violation in physics beyond the Standard Model, focussing on weak-scale supersymmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

CP-odd Phase Correlations and Electric Dipole Moments

We revisit the constraints imposed by electric dipole moments (EDMs) of nucleons and heavy atoms on new CP-violating sources within supersymmetric theories. We point out that certain two-loop renormalization group corrections induce significant mixing between the basis-invariant CP-odd phases. In the framework of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model (CMSSM), the CP-odd invariant related to the soft trilinear A-phase at the GUT scale, theta_A, induces non-trivial and distinct CP-odd phases for the three gaugino masses at the weak scale. The latter give one-loop contributions to EDMs enhanced by tan beta, and can provide the dominant contribution to the electron EDM induced by theta_A. We perform a detailed analysis of the EDM constraints within the CMSSM, exhibiting the reach, in terms of sparticle spectra, which may be obtained assuming generic phases, as well as the limits on the CP-odd phases for some specific parameter points where detailed phenomenological studies are available. We also illustrate how this reach will expand with results from the next generation of experiments which are currently in development.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Theta Vacua, QCD Sum Rules, and the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment

We present a detailed study of the electric dipole moment of the neutron induced by a vacuum theta angle within the framework of QCD sum rules. At next-to-next-to leading order in the operator product expansion, we find the result d_n(θ) = 2.4 x 10^{-16} θe cm, to approximately 40% precision. With the current experimental bound this translates into a limit on the theta parameter of |θ| < 3 x 10^{-10}. We compare this result with the long-standing estimates obtained within chiral perturbation theory, and observe a numerical similarity, but also significant differences in the source of the dominant contribution.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Neutron EDM from Electric and Chromoelectric Dipole Moments of Quarks

Using QCD sum rules, we calculate the electric dipole moment of the neutron d_n induced by all CP violating operators up to dimension five. We find that the chromoelectric dipole moments of quarks \tilde d_i, including that of the strange quark, provide significant contributions comparable in magnitude to those induced by the quark electric dipole moments d_i. When the theta term is removed via the Peccei-Quinn symmetry, the strange quark contribution is also suppressed and d_n =(1\pm 0.5)[1.1e(\tilde d_d + 0.5\tilde d_u)+1.4(d_d-0.25d_u)].

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