arXiv subjects

Ann E. Nelson

Publications and source records attributed to Ann E. Nelson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Dark Matter Thermalization in Neutron Stars

We study how many-body effects alter the dark matter (DM) thermalization time inside neutron stars. We find that Pauli blocking, kinematic constraints, and superfluidity and superconductivity in the neutron star significantly affect the DM thermalization time, in general lengthening it. This could change the final DM mass and DM-nucleon cross section constraints by considering black hole formation in neutron stars due to DM accretion. We consider the class of models in which DM is an asymmetric, complex scalar particle with a mass between 1 keV and 5 GeV which couples to regular matter via some heavy vector boson. Interestingly, we find that the discovery of asymmetric, bosonic DM could motivate the existence of exotic neutron star cores. We apply our results to the case of mixed sneutrino DM.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Heavy Flavor & Dark Sector

We consider some contributions to rare processes in $B$ meson decays from a Dark Sector containing 2 light unstable scalars, with large couplings to each other and small mixings with Standard Model Higgs scalars. We show that existing constraints allow for an exotic contribution to high multiplicity final states with a branching fraction as large as $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$, and that exotic particles could appear as narrow resonances or long lived particles which are mainly found in high multiplicity final states from $B$ decays.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Little flavor: A model of weak-scale flavor physics

We describe a model of quarks which identifies the large global symmetries of little Higgs models with the global flavor symmetries that arise in a deconstruction of the extra-dimensional 'topological insulator' model of flavor. The nonlinearly realized symmetries of little Higgs theories play a critical role in determining the flavor structure of fermion masses and mixing. All flavor physics occurs at the few TeV scale in this model, yet flavor changing neutral currents arising from the new physics are naturally smaller than those generated radiatively in the standard model, without having to invoke minimal flavor violation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

A unified, flavor symmetric explanation for the t-tbar asymmetry and Wjj excess at CDF

We present a simple, perturbative, and renormalizable model with a flavor symmetry which can explain both the t-tbar forward-backward asymmetry and the bump feature present in the dijet mass distribution of the W+jj sample in the range 120-160 GeV that was recently reported by the CDF collaboration. The flavor symmetry not only ensures the flavor/CP safety of the model, but also relates the two anomalies unambiguously. It predicts a comparable forward-backward asymmetry in c-cbar. The forward-backward asymmetry in b-bar is, however, small. A bump in the dijet mass distribution in Z+jj sample is also predicted but with a suppressed cross-section.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Dark Light, Dark Matter and the Misalignment Mechanism

We explore the possibility that the dark matter is a condensate of a very light vector boson. Such a condensate could be produced during inflation, provided the vector mass arises via the Steuckelberg mechanism. We derive bounds on the kinetic mixing of the dark matter boson with the photon, and point out several potential signatures of this model.

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arXiv2010

Slightly Non-Minimal Dark Matter in PAMELA and ATIC

We present a simple model in which dark matter couples to the standard model through a light scalar intermediary that is itself unstable. We find this model has several notable features, and allows a natural explanation for a surplus of positrons, but no surplus of anti-protons, as has been suggested by early data from PAMELA and ATIC. Moreover, this model yields a very small nucleon coupling, well below the direct detection limits. In this paper we explore the effect of this model in both the early universe and in the galaxy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

CP Violating Contribution to Delta Gamma in the B_s System from Mixing with a Hidden Pseudoscalar

Recent evidence for a CP violating asymmetry in the semileptonic decays of B_s mesons cannot be accommodated within the Standard Model. Such an asymmetry can be explained by new physics contributions to Delta B=2 components of either the mass matrix or the decay matrix. We show that mixing with a hidden pseudoscalar meson with a mass around 5 GeV can result in a new CP violating contribution to the mixing and can resolve several anomalies in this system including the width difference, the average width and the charge asymmetry. We also discuss the effects of the hidden meson on other b physics observables, and present viable decay modes for the hidden meson. We make predictions for new decay channels of B hadrons, which can be tested at the Tevatron, the LHC and B-factories.

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arXiv2010

Apparent CPT Violation in Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

We consider searching for light sterile fermions and new forces by using long baseline oscillations of neutrinos and antineutrinos. A new light sterile state and/or a new force can lead to apparent CPT violation in muon neutrino and antineutrino oscillations. As an example, we present an economical model of neutrino masses containing a sterile neutrino. The potential from the Standard Model neutral current gives rise to a difference between the disappearance probabilities of neutrinos and antineutrinos, when mixing with a light sterile neutrino is considered. The addition of a B-L interaction adds coherently to the neutrino current potential and increases the difference between neutrino and antineutrino disappearance. We find that this model can improve the fit to the results of MINOS for both neutrinos and antineutrinos, without any CPT violation, and that the regions of parameter space which improve the fit are within experimental constraints.

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arXiv2009

Protecting unparticles from the MSSM Higgs sector

We construct a model of an unparticle sector consisting of a supersymmetric SU(N) gauge theory with the number of flavors in the Seiberg conformal window. We couple this sector to the MSSM via heavy messengers. The resulting low energy theory has a Higgs coupling to unparticles. The Higgs vev drives the hidden Seiberg sector to a new conformal fixed point. The coupling to the Higgs mediates supersymmetry breaking to the Seiberg sector, and breaks conformal invariance at a lower scale. The low energy theory contains light stable and metastable mesons. Higgs decay into this sector gives signatures which are similar to those of "hidden valley" models. Decays of the lightest superpartner of standard model particles into the hidden sector reveal potentially observable unparticle kinematics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Inflationary Axion Cosmology Beyond Our Horizon

In theories of axion dark matter with large axion decay constant, temperature variations in the CMB are extremely sensitive to perturbations in the initial axion field, allowing one to place a lower bound on the total amount of inflation. The most stringent bound comes from axion strings, which for axion decay constant f=10^17 GeV would currently be observable at a distance of 6 x 10^16 light-years, nearly ten million times as far away as our horizon.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Short Baseline Neutrino Oscillations and a New Light Gauge Boson

We consider a model of neutrino oscillations with three additional sterile neutrinos and a gauged B-L interaction. We find allowed values of the model parameters which can reconcile the results of the evidence for antimuon neutrino to antielectron neutrino conversion seen at the LSND neutrino oscillation experiment with the null results of the MiniBooNE experiment. A portion of the low energy excess of electron neutrino events seen at MiniBooNE can arise naturally, and we make a quantitative prediction for the forthcoming anti-neutrino oscillation results at MiniBooNE.

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arXiv2006

Dirac Gaugino Masses and Supersoft Supersymmetry Breaking

We introduce a new supersymmetric extension of the standard model in which the gauge sector contains complete N=2 supersymmetry multiplets. Supersymmetry breaking from the D-term vev of a hidden sector U(1) gauge field leads to Dirac soft supersymmetry breaking gaugino masses, and a new type of soft scalar trilinear couplings. The resulting squark and slepton masses are finite, calculable, positive and flavor universal. The Higgs soft mass squared is negative. The phenomenology of these theories differs significantly from the MSSM. We discuss a variety of possible origins for the soft operators and new fields, including models in both four and higher dimensions.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

New Regions for a Chameleon to Hide

We show that inclusion of an extremely small quartic coupling constant in the potential for a nearly massless scalar field greatly increases the experimentally allowed region for the mass term and the coupling of the field to matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Supersymmetric Theories of Neutrino Dark Energy

We present a supersymmetric model of dark energy from Mass Varying Neutrinos which is stable against radiative corrections to masses and couplings, and free of dynamical instabilities. This is the only such model of dark energy involving fields with significant couplings to any standard model particle. We briefly discuss consequences for neutrino oscillations and solar neutrinos.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

A Composite Little Higgs Model

We describe a natural UV complete theory with a composite little Higgs. Below a TeV we have the minimal Standard Model with a light Higgs, and an extra neutral scalar. At the TeV scale there are additional scalars, gauge bosons, and vector-like charge 2/3 quarks, whose couplings to the Higgs greatly reduce the UV sensitivity of the Higgs potential. Stabilization of the Higgs mass squared parameter, without finetuning, occurs due to a softly broken shift symmetry--the Higgs is a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson. Above the 10 TeV scale the theory has new strongly coupled interactions. A perturbatively renormalizable UV completion, with softly broken supersymmetry at 10 TeV is explicitly worked out. Our theory contains new particles which are odd under an exact "dark matter parity", (-1)^{(2S+3B+L)}. We argue that such a parity is likely to be a feature of many theories of new TeV scale physics. The lightest parity odd particle, or "LPOP", is most likely a neutral fermion, and may make a good dark matter candidate, with similar experimental signatures to the neutralino of the MSSM. We give a general effective field theory analysis of the calculation of corrections to precision electroweak observables.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

The Intermediate Higgs

Two paradigms for the origin of electroweak superconductivity are a weakly coupled scalar condensate, and a strongly coupled fermion condensate. The former suffers from a finetuning problem unless there are cancelations to radiative corrections, while the latter presents potential discrepancies with precision electroweak physics. Here we present a framework for electroweak symmetry breaking which interpolates between these two paradigms, and mitigates their faults. As in Little Higgs theories, the Higgs is a pseudo-Nambu Goldstone boson, potentially composite. The cutoff sensitivity of the one loop top quark contribution to the effective potential is canceled by contributions from additional vector-like quarks, and the cutoff can naturally be higher than in the minimal Standard Model. Unlike the Little Higgs models, the cutoff sensitivity from one loop gauge contributions is not canceled. However, such gauge contributions are naturally small as long as the cutoff is below 6 TeV. Precision electroweak corrections are suppressed relative to those of Technicolor or generic Little Higgs theories. In some versions of the intermediate scenario, the Higgs mass is computable in terms of the masses of these additional fermions and the Nambu-Goldstone Boson decay constant. In addition to the Higgs, new scalar and pseudoscalar particles are typically present at the weak scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Neutrino Oscillations as a Probe of Dark Energy

We consider a class of theories in which neutrino masses depend significantly on environment, as a result of interactions with the dark sector. Such theories of mass varying neutrinos (MaVaNs) were recently introduced to explain the origin of the cosmological dark energy density and why its magnitude is apparently coincidental with that of neutrino mass splittings. In this Letter we argue that in such theories neutrinos can exhibit different masses in matter and in vacuum, dramatically affecting neutrino oscillations. Both long and short baseline experiments are essential to test for these interactions. As an example of modifications to the standard picture, we consider simple models which may simultaneously account for the LSND anomaly, KamLAND, K2K and studies of solar and atmospheric neutrinos, while providing motivation to continue to search for neutrino oscillations in short baseline experiments such as BooNE.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Dark Energy from Mass Varying Neutrinos

We show that mass varying neutrinos (MaVaNs) can behave as a negative pressure fluid which could be the origin of the cosmic acceleration. We derive a model independent relation between the neutrino mass and the equation of state parameter of the neutrino dark energy, which is applicable for general theories of mass varying particles. The neutrino mass depends on the local neutrino density and the observed neutrino mass can exceed the cosmological bound on a constant neutrino mass. We discuss microscopic realizations of the MaVaN acceleration scenario, which involve a sterile neutrino. We consider naturalness constraints for mass varying particles, and find that both ev cutoffs and ev mass particles are needed to avoid fine-tuning. These considerations give a (current) mass of order an eV for the sterile neutrino in microscopic realizations, which could be detectable at MiniBooNE. Because the sterile neutrino was much heavier at earlier times, constraints from big bang nucleosynthesis on additional states are not problematic. We consider regions of high neutrino density and find that the most likely place today to find neutrino masses which are significantly different from the neutrino masses in our solar system is in a supernova. The possibility of different neutrino mass in different regions of the galaxy and the local group could be significant for Z-burst models of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We also consider the cosmology of and the constraints on the ``acceleron'', the scalar field which is responsible for the varying neutrino mass, and briefly discuss neutrino density dependent variations in other constants, such as the fine structure constant.

astro-ph↗