arXiv subjects

B. Holdom

Publications and source records attributed to B. Holdom.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Gribov copies and anomalous scaling

Nonperturbative and lattice methods indicate that Gribov copies modify the infrared behavior of gauge theories and cause a suppression of gluon propagation. We investigate whether this can be implemented in a modified perturbation theory. The minimal modification proceeds via a nonlocal generalization of the Fadeev-Popov ghost that automatically decouples from physical states. The expected scale invariance of the physics associated with Gribov copies leads to the emergence of a nontrivial infrared fixed point. For a range of a scaling exponent the gauge bosons exhibit unparticlelike behavior in the infrared. The confining regime of interest for QCD requires a larger scaling exponent, but then the severity of ghost dominance upsets naive power counting for the infrared scaling behavior of amplitudes.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Counting Gribov copies

We show that an explicit counting of Gribov copies can shed light on the infrared behavior of non-abelian gauge theories. A power-law growth of the number of copies suppresses gluon propagation while the distribution of copies along a gauge orbit implies an enhanced density of small eigenvalues of the Fadeev-Popov operator. Both of these phenomena are related to confinement. The discreteness in the number of copies and the associated nonlocality also has implications for vacuum energy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

New Flavor Interactions at the LHC

For a new family-nonuniversal gauge interaction to be accessible at the LHC it will most likely couple preferentially to the third family. By coupling to all members of the third family the production of a new gauge boson (the $X$ with $M_X\approx1$ TeV) will lead to final states with a distinctive $τ^+τ^-$ pair. We study the mass reconstruction of the $X$ and the cuts that can enhance signal to background. The $X$ boson should be associated with the physics of flavor and in the simplest picture a fourth family. We discuss how the mass mixing between the third and fourth families affects the $X$ couplings and a possible mixing with the $Z$.

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arXiv2008

Dpes massless QCD have vacuum energy?

It is widely thought that this question has a positive answer, but we argue that the support for this belief from both experiment and theory is weak or nonexistent. We then list some of the ramifications of a negative answer.

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arXiv2007

The heavy quark search at the LHC

We explore further the discovery potential for heavy quarks at the LHC, with emphasis on the $t'$ and $b'$ of a sequential fourth family associated with electroweak symmetry breaking. We consider QCD multijets, $t\bar{t}+\rm{jets}$, $W+\rm{jets}$ and single $t$ backgrounds using event generation based on improved matrix elements and low sensitivity to the modeling of initial state radiation. We exploit a jet mass technique for the identification of hadronically decaying $W$'s and $t$'s, to be used in the reconstruction of the $t'$ or $b'$ mass. This along with other aspects of event selection can reduce backgrounds to very manageable levels. It even allows a search for both $t'$ and $b'$ in the absence of $b$-tagging, of interest for the early running of the LHC. A heavy quark mass of order 600 GeV is motivated by the connection to electroweak symmetry breaking, but our analysis is relevant for any new heavy quarks with weak decay modes.

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arXiv2007

t' at the LHC: the physics of discovery

A search for a fourth family at the LHC is presently a low priority, but we argue that an effective search can be conducted early with only a few inverse femtobarns of data. We discuss a method based on invariant masses of single jets for identifying the $W$'s originating from heavy quark decays. This can significantly increase signal to background in the reconstruction of the $t'$ mass. We also study the various types of physics that can impact the background estimate, most notably higher order effects, initial state radiation, and models of the underlying event.

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arXiv2006

Approaching quantum behavior with classical fields

By averaging over an ensemble of field configurations, a classical field theory can display many of the characteristics of quantum field theory, including Lorentz invariance, a loop expansion, and renormalization effects. There is additional freedom in how the ensemble is chosen. When the field mode amplitudes have a Gaussian distribution, and the mode phases are randomly distributed, we review the known differences between the classical and quantum theories. When the mode amplitudes are fixed, or have a nongaussian distribution, the quartic and higher correlations among the free fields are modified, seemingly in a nonlocal way. We show how this in turn affects the perturbative expansion. We focus on $λϕ^4$ theory in 1+1 dimensions and use lattice simulations to augment our study. We give examples of how these nonlocal correlations induce behavior more similar to quantum field theory, at both weak and strong coupling.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

The discovery of the fourth family at the LHC: what if?

The first evidence of new strong interactions may be a sufficiently massive fourth family observed at the LHC. The fourth family masses, of the leptons in particular, are constrained by the electroweak precision data, and this leads to signatures at the LHC that may imply early discovery. We study the implications of this discovery from a bottom-up perspective, where effective 4-fermion operators model the dominant effects of the new dynamics. We identify simple approximate symmetries of these operators that may be required for realistic masses of the third and fourth families. The large top mass for instance is related to the structure of these operators.

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arXiv2006

Classical Simulation of Quantum Fields II

We consider the classical time evolution of a real scalar field in 2 dimensional Minkowski space with a $λϕ^4$ interaction. We compute the spatial and temporal two-point correlation functions and extract the renormalized mass of the interacting theory. We find our results are consistent with the one- and two-loop quantum computation. We also perform Monte Carlo simulations of the quantum theory and conclude that the classical scheme is able to produce more accurate results with a fraction of the CPU time.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2006

Classical Simulation of Quantum Fields I

We study classical field theories in a background field configuration where all modes of the theory are excited, matching the zero-point energy spectrum of quantum field theory. Our construction involves elements of a theory of classical electrodynamics by Wheeler-Feynman and the theory of stochastic electrodynamics of Boyer. The nonperturbative effects of interactions in these theories can be very efficiently studied on the lattice. In $λϕ^{4}$ theory in 1+1 dimensions we find results, in particular for mass renormalization and the critical coupling for symmetry breaking, that are in agreement with their quantum counterparts. We then study the perturbative expansion of the $n$-point Green's functions and find a loop expansion very similar to that of quantum field theory. When compared to the usual Feynman rules, we find some differences associated with particular combinations of internal lines going on-shell simultaneously.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Accelerated expansion and the Goldstone ghost

A vacuum instability due to a massless ghost in a hidden sector can lead to an effective equation of state for dark energy that changes smoothly from $w=-3/2$ at large redshifts, to $w\approx-1.2$ today, to $w=-1$ in the future. We discuss how this ghost can be the Goldstone boson of Lorentz symmetry breaking, and we find that this breaking in the hidden sector should occur at a scale below $\sim$10 KeV. The normal particles that are produced along with the ghosts are then predominantly neutrinos.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Fluctuations, Ghosts, and the Cosmological Constant

For a large region of parameter space involving the cosmological constant and mass parameters, we discuss fluctuating spacetime solutions that are effectively Minkowskian on large time and distance scales. Rapid, small amplitude oscillations in the scale factor have a frequency determined by the size of a negative cosmological constant. A field with modes of negative energy is required. If it is gravity that induces a coupling between the ghost-like and normal fields, we find that this results in stochastic rather than unstable behavior. The negative energy modes may also permit the existence of Lorentz invariant fluctuating solutions of finite energy density. Finally we consider higher derivative gravity theories and find oscillating metric solutions in these theories without the addition of other fields.

hep-th↗

arXiv2003

Can black holes have Euclidean cores?

The search for regular black hole solutions in classical gravity leads us to consider a core of Euclidean signature in the interior of a black hole. Solutions of Lorentzian and Euclidean general relativity match in such a way that energy densities and pressures of an isotropic perfect fluid form are everywhere finite and continuous. Although the weak energy condition cannot be satisfied for these solutions in general relativity, it can be when higher derivative terms are added. A numerical study shows how the transition becomes smoother in theories with more derivatives. As an alternative to the Euclidean core, we also discuss a closely related time dependent orbifold construction with a smooth space-like boundary inside the horizon.

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arXiv2000

Brane Cosmologies without Orbifolds

We study the dynamics of branes in configurations where 1) the brane is the edge of a single anti-de Sitter (AdS) space and 2) the brane is the surface of a vacuum bubble expanding into a Schwarzschild or AdS-Schwarzschild bulk. In both cases we find solutions that resemble the standard Robertson-Walker cosmologies although in the latter, the evolution can be controlled by a mass parameter in the bulk metric. We also include a term in the brane action for the scalar curvature. This term adds a contribution to the low energy theory of gravity which does not need to affect the cosmology but which is necessary for the surface of the vacuum bubble to recover four dimensional gravity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Linearized Gravity about a Brane

We use the Israel condition to treat carefully the weak-field perturbations due to the presence of matter on a 3-brane embedded between two regions of anti-de Sitter (AdS) space with different curvature lengths. A four dimensional Newton's Law only emerges at distances that are large compared to the AdS lengths. When a scalar curvature is included in the brane action, however, it is possible to generate a four dimensional theory of gravity even when one or both of the AdS lengths is large compared to distances along the brane. In particular, we provide an example in which the AdS lengths can be larger than the millimeter experimental bound.

hep-th↗

arXiv1999

Symmetry breaking via fermion 4-point functions

We construct the effective action and gap equations for nonperturbative fermion 4-point functions. Our results apply to situations in which fermion masses can be ignored, which is the case for theories of strong flavor interactions involving standard quarks and leptons above the electroweak scale. The structure of the gap equations is different from what a naive generalization of the 2-point case would suggest, and we find for example that gauge exchanges are insufficient to generate nonperturbative 4-point functions when the number of colors is large.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

Nonstandard order parameters and the origin of CP violation

The consideration of chirality-preserving 2-fermion order parameters may shed new light on the strong CP problem and the breakdown of flavor symmetries. We describe two situations, one having the standard KM picture for weak CP violation and another having new sources of weak CP violation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

New physics in ttbar spin correlations at the Tevatron

We show that the angular distributions of leptons or jets due to ttbar spin correlations allow a determination of the top chromomagnetic moment kappa with an accuracy of order 0.1. The method is quite insensitive to background, event reconstruction, and other experimental uncertainties. The total event number is important, so we suggest the inclusion of all-hadronic events.

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