arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Benjamin Koch.
We consider the possibility that the superluminal neutrino propagation reported by the OPERA collaboration originates from a violation of CPT. On this basis we compare our actual knowledge concerning the CPT theorem to the nuclear reaction chain between CNGS and OPERA.
Partial Split Supersymmetry with bilinear R-parity violation allows to reproduce all neutrino mass and mixing parameters. The viable dark matter candidate in this model is the gravitino. We study the hypothesis that both possibilities are true: Partial Split Supersymmetry explains neutrino physics and that dark matter is actually composed of gravitinos. Since the gravitino has a small but non-zero decay probability, its decay products could be observed in astrophysical experiments. Combining bounds from astrophysical photon spectra with the bounds coming from the mass matrix in the neutrino sector we derive a stringent upper limit for the allowed gravitino mass. This mass limit is in good agreement with the results of direct dark matter searches.
It is shown that the equations of relativistic Bohmian mechanics for multiple bosonic particles have a dual description in terms of a classical theory of conformally "curved" space-time. This shows that it is possible to formulate quantum mechanics as a purely classical geometrical theory. The results are further generalized to interactions with an external electromagnetic field.
The unsatisfactory status of the search for a consistent and predictive quantization of gravity is taken as motivation to study the question whether geometrical laws could be more fundamental than quantization procedures. In such an approach the quantum mechanical laws should emerge from the geometrical theory. A toy model that incorporates the idea is presented and its necessary formulation in configuration space is emphasized.
By taking into account a running of the gravitational coupling constant with an ultra violet fixed point, an improvement of classical black hole space-times in extra dimensions is studied. It is found that the thermodynamic properties in this framework allow for an effective description of the black hole evaporation process. Phenomenological consequences of this approach are discussed and the LHC discovery potential is estimated.
Partial Split Supersymmetry with violation of R-parity as a model for neutrino masses is explored. It is shown that at the one-loop level the model can give predictions that are in agreement with all present experimental values for the neutrino sector. An analytical result is that the small solar neutrino mass difference can be naturally explained in the decoupling limit for the heavy Higgs mass eigenstates.
The mass differences and mixing angles of neutrinos can neither be explained by R-Parity violating split supersymmetry nor by flavor blind quantum gravity alone. It is shown that combining both effects leads, within the allowed parameter range, to good agreement with the experimental results. The atmospheric mass is generated by supersymmetry through mixing between neutrinos and neutralinos, while the solar mass is generated by gravity through flavor blind dimension five operators. Maximal atmospheric mixing forces the tangent squared of the solar angle to be equal to 1/2. The scale of the quantum gravity operator is predicted within a 5% error, implying that the reduced Planck scale should lie around the GUT scale. In this way, the model is very predictive and can be tested at future experiments.
In this article it is shown that the fundamental equations of relativistic Bohmian mechanics for multiple bosonic particles have a dual description in terms of a classical theory of curved space-time. We further generalize the results to interactions with an external electromagnetic field, which corresponds to the minimally coupled Klein-Gordon equation.
In this paper it is shown that an equivalent to the complex Klein-Gordon equation can be obtained from the (2+3) dimensional Einstein equations coupled to a conserved energy momentum tensor. In an explicit toy model we give matching conditions for what corresponds to the phase, the amplitude, and the mass of the complex wave function.
In this article we show that the fundamental equations of relativistic Bohmian mechanics for a single particle can be derived from a scalar theory of curved space-time.
The upcoming high energy experiments at the LHC are one of the most outstanding efforts for a better understanding of nature. It is associated with great hopes in the physics community. But there is also some fear in the public, that the conjectured production of mini black holes might lead to a dangerous chain reaction. In this paper we summarize the most straight forward arguments that are necessary to rule out such doomsday scenarios.
We calculate the inclusive cross section of double Z-boson production within large extra dimensions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Using perturbatively quantized gravity in the ADD model we perform a first order calculation of the graviton mediated contribution to the pp to ZZ cross section. At low energies (e.g. Tevatron) this additional contribution is very small, making it virtually unobservable, for a fundamental mass scale above 2500 GeV. At LHC energies however, the calculation indicates that the ZZ-production rate within the ADD model should differ significantly from the Standard Model if the new fundamental mass scale would be below 15000 GeV. A comparison with the observed production rate at the LHC might therefore provide direct hints on the number and structure of the extra dimensions.
This article reports on a student summer project performed in 2006 at the University of Frankfurt. It is addressed to undergraduate students familiar with the basic principles of relativistic quantum mechanics and general relativity. The aim of the project was to study the Dirac equation in curved space time. To obtain the general relativistic Dirac equation we use the formulation of gravity as a gauge theory in the first part. After these general considerations we restrict the further discussion to the special case of the Schwarzschild metric. This setting corresponds to the hydrogen atom, with the electromagnetic field replaced by gravity. Although there is a singularity at the event horizon it turns out that a regular solution of the time independent Dirac equation exists. Finally the Dirac equation is solved numerically using suitable boundary conditions.
We discuss the radiative corrections to charged and neutral current deep-inelastic neutrino--nucleon scattering in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). In particular, we study deviations, delta_R^nu(nu-bar), from the Standard Model prediction for the ratios of neutral- to charged-current cross sections, taking into account all sources for deviations in the MSSM, i.e. different contributions from virtual Higgs bosons and virtual superpartners. Our calculation includes the full q^2 dependence of the one-loop amplitudes, parton distribution functions and a NuTeV-inspired process kinematics. We present results of a scan of delta_R^nu(nu-bar) over the relevant MSSM parameter space.
The concept of Large Extra Dimensions (LED) provides a way of solving the Hierarchy Problem which concerns the weakness of gravity compared with the strong and electro-weak forces. A consequence of LED is that miniature Black Holes (mini-BHs) may be produced at the Large Hadron Collider in p+p collisions. The present work uses the CHARYBDIS mini-BH generator code to simulate the hadronic signal which might be expected in a mid-rapidity particle tracking detector from the decay of these exotic objects if indeed they are produced. An estimate is also given for Pb+Pb collisions.
Within the scenario of large extra dimensions, the Planck scale is lowered to values soon accessible. Among the predicted effects, the production of TeV mass black holes at the {\sc LHC} is one of the most exciting possibilities. Though the final phases of the black hole's evaporation are still unknown, the formation of a black hole remnant is a theoretically well motivated expectation. We analyze the observables emerging from a black hole evaporation with a remnant instead of a final decay. We show that the formation of a black hole remnant yields a signature which differs substantially from a final decay. We find the total transverse momentum of the black hole event to be significantly dominated by the presence of a remnant mass providing a strong experimental signature for black hole remnant formation.
Large extra dimensions lower the Planck scale to values soon accessible. The production of TeV mass black holes at the {\sc LHC} is one of the most exciting predictions. However, the final phases of the black hole's evaporation are still unknown and there are strong indications that a black hole remnant can be left. Since a certain fraction of such objects would be electrically charged, we argue that they can be trapped. In this paper, we examine the occurrence of such charged black hole remnants. These trapped remnants are of high interest, as they could be used to closely investigate the evaporation characteristics. Due to the absence of background from the collision region and the controlled initial state, the signal would be very clear. This would allow to extract information about the late stages of the evaporation process with high precision.