arXiv subjects

Bogdan A. Dobrescu

Publications and source records attributed to Bogdan A. Dobrescu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Coupling spans of the Higgs-like boson

Using the LHC and Tevatron data, we set upper and lower limits on the total width of the Higgs-like boson. The upper limit is based on the well-motivated assumption that the Higgs coupling to a W or Z pair is not much larger than in the Standard Model. These width limits allow us to convert the rate measurements into ranges for the Higgs couplings to various particles. A corollary of the upper limit on the total width is an upper limit on the branching fraction of exotic Higgs decays. Currently, this limit is 47% at the 95% CL if the electroweak symmetry is broken only by doublets.

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arXiv2012

Higgs Underproduction at the LHC

We show that production of the Higgs boson through gluon-fusion may be suppressed in the presence of colored scalars. Substantial destructive interference between the top quark diagrams and colored scalar diagrams is possible due to cancellations between the real (and also imaginary) parts of the amplitudes. As an example, we consider a color-octet scalar that has a negative, order one coupling to the Higgs doublet. We find that gluon fusion can be suppressed by more than an order of magnitude when the scalar mass is below a few hundred GeV, while milder suppressions occur for larger scalar masses or smaller couplings. Thus, the standard model extended with only one particle can evade the full range of present LHC exclusion limits on the Higgs mass. The colored scalars, however, would be produced in pairs with a large rate at the LHC, leading to multi-jet final states to which the LHC experiments are now becoming sensitive.

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arXiv2011

Weak-triplet, color-octet scalars and the CDF dijet excess

We extend the standard model to include a weak-triplet and color-octet scalar. This `octo-triplet' field consists of three particles, two charged and one neutral, whose masses and renormalizable interactions depend only on two new parameters. The charged octo-triplet decay into a W boson and a gluon is suppressed by a loop factor and an accidental cancellation. Thus, the main decays of the charged octo-triplet may occur through higher-dimensional operators, mediated by a heavy vectorlike fermion, into quark pairs. For an octo-triplet mass below the t\bar{b} threshold, the decay into Wb\bar{b} or Wb\bar{s} through an off-shell top quark has a width comparable to that into c\bar{s} or c\bar{b}. Pair production with one octo-triplet decaying into two jets and the other decaying into a W and two soft b jets may explain the dijet-plus-W excess reported by the CDF Collaboration. Using a few kinematic distributions, we compare two mechanisms of octo-triplet pair production: through an s-channel coloron and through the coupling to gluons. The higher-dimensional operators that allow dijet decays also lead to CP violation in B_s - \bar B_s mixing.

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arXiv2010

Heavy octets and Tevatron signals with three or four b jets

Hypothetical color-octet particles of spin 0, pair-produced at hadron colliders through their QCD coupling, may lead to final states involving three or four b jets. We analyze kinematic distributions of the 3b final state that differentiate the scalar octets from supersymmetric Higgs bosons. Studying the scalar sector that breaks an SU(3) \times SU(3) gauge symmetry down to the QCD gauge group, we find that the scalar octet is resonantly produced in pairs via a spin-1 octet (coloron). A scalar octet of mass in the 140 - 150 GeV range can explain the nonstandard shape of the b-jet transverse energy distributions reported by the CDF Collaboration, especially when the coloron mass is slightly above twice the scalar mass. The dominant decay mode of the scalar octet is into a pair of gluons, so that the production of a pair of dijet resonances is large in this model, of about 40 pb at the Tevatron. Even when a W boson is radiated from the initial state, the inclusive cross section for producing a dijet resonance near the scalar octet mass remains sizable, around 0.15 pb.

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arXiv2010

CP violation in B_s mixing from heavy Higgs exchange

The anomalous dimuon charge asymmetry reported by the D0 Collaboration may be due to the tree-level exchange of some spin-0 particles that mediate CP violation in B_s-\bar{B}_s meson mixing. We show that for a range of couplings and masses, the heavy neutral states in a two Higgs doublet model can generate a large charge asymmetry. This range is natural in "uplifted supersymmetry", and may enhance the B^- -> tau nu and B_s -> mu^+ mu^- decay rates. However, we point out that on general grounds the reported central value of the charge asymmetry requires new physics not only in B_s-\bar{B}_s mixing but also in ΔB = 1 transitions or in B_d-\bar{B}_d mixing.

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arXiv2010

Uplifted supersymmetric Higgs region

We show that the parameter space of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model includes a region where the down-type fermion masses are generated by the loop-induced couplings to the up-type Higgs doublet. In this region the down-type Higgs doublet does not acquire a vacuum expectation value at tree level, and has sizable couplings in the superpotential to the tau leptons and bottom quarks. Besides a light standard-like Higgs boson, the Higgs spectrum includes the nearly degenerate states of a heavy spin-0 doublet which can be produced through their couplings to the $b$ quark and decay predominantly into τ^+τ^- or τν.

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arXiv2009

Semileptonic decays of the standard Higgs boson

The Higgs boson decay into a pair of real or virtual W bosons, with one of them decaying leptonically, is predicted within the Standard Model to have the largest branching fraction of all Higgs decays that involve an isolated electron or muon, for M_h > 120 GeV. We compute analytically the fully-differential width for this h -> l νjj decay at tree level, and then explore some multi-dimensional cuts that preserve the region of large signal. Future searches for semileptonic decays at the Tevatron and LHC, employing fully-differential information as outlined here, may be essential for ruling out or in the Higgs boson and for characterizing a Higgs signal.

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arXiv2009

Prospects for top-prime quark discovery at the Tevatron

We show that a top-prime quark as heavy as 600 GeV can be discovered at the Tevatron, provided it is resonantly pair-produced via a vector color octet. If the top-prime originates from a vectorlike quark, then the production of a single top-prime in association with a top may also be observable, even through its decay into a Higgs boson and a top. A color octet with mass of about 1 TeV, which decays into a top-prime pair, may account for the CDF excess of semileptonic (Wj)(Wj) events.

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arXiv2009

Massive color-octet bosons and pairs of resonances at hadron colliders

We analyze collider signatures of massive color-octet bosons whose couplings to quarks are suppressed. Gauge invariance forces the octets to couple at tree level only in pairs to gluons, with a strength set by the QCD gauge coupling. For a spin-1 octet, the cross section for pair production at hadron colliders is larger than that for a quark of equal mass. The octet decays into two jets, leading to a 4-jet signature with two pairs of jets forming resonances of the same mass. For a spin-0 octet the cross section is smaller, and the dominant decay is into b\bar{b}, or t\bar{t} if kinematically allowed. We estimate that discovery of spin-1 octets is possible for masses up to 330 GeV at the Tevatron, and 1 TeV at the LHC with 1 fb^{-1}, while the reach is somewhat lower for spin-0 octets.

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arXiv2008

Quark and lepton masses from top loops

Assuming that the leptons and quarks other than top are massless at tree level, we show that their masses may be induced by loops involving the top quark. As a result, the generic features of the fermion mass spectrum arise from combinations of loop factors. Explicitly, we construct a renormalizable model involving a few new particles, which leads to 1-loop bottom and tau masses, a 2-loop charm mass, 3-loop muon and strange masses, and 4-loop masses for first generation fermions. This realistic pattern of masses does not require any symmetry to differentiate the three generations of fermions. The new particles may produce observable effects in future experiments searching for mu to e conversion in nuclei, rare meson decays, and other processes.

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arXiv2008

Accumulating evidence for nonstandard leptonic decays of D_s mesons

The measured rate for D_s -> l nu decays, where l is a muon or tau, is larger than the standard model prediction, which relies on lattice QCD, at the 3.8 sigma level. We discuss how robust the theoretical prediction is, and we show that the discrepancy with experiment may be explained by a charged Higgs boson or a leptoquark.

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arXiv2007

Spinless photon dark matter from two universal extra dimensions

We explore the properties of dark matter in theories with two universal extra dimensions, where the lightest Kaluza-Klein state is a spin-0 neutral particle, representing a six-dimensional photon polarized along the extra dimensions. Annihilation of this 'spinless photon' proceeds predominantly through Higgs boson exchange, and is largely independent of other Kaluza-Klein particles. The measured relic abundance sets an upper limit on the spinless photon mass of 500 GeV, which decreases to almost 200 GeV if the Higgs boson is light. The phenomenology of this dark matter candidate is strikingly different from Kaluza-Klein dark matter in theories with one universal extra dimension. Elastic scattering of the spinless photon with quarks is helicity suppressed, making its direct detection challenging, although possible at upcoming experiments. The prospects for indirect detection with gamma rays and antimatter are similar to those of neutralinos. The rates predicted at neutrino telescopes are below the sensitivity of next-generation experiments.

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arXiv2007

Resonances from Two Universal Extra Dimensions

Standard model gauge bosons propagating in two universal extra dimensions give rise to heavy spin-1 and spin-0 particles. The lightest of these, carrying Kaluza-Klein numbers (1,0), may be produced only in pairs at colliders, whereas the (1,1) modes, which are heavier by a factor of \sqrt{2}, may be singly produced. We show that the cascade decays of (1,1) particles generate a series of closely-spaced narrow resonances in the t\bar{t} invariant mass distribution. At the Tevatron, s-channel production of (1,1) gluons and electroweak bosons will be sensitive to t\bar{t} resonances up to masses in the 0.5 - 0.7 TeV range. Searches at the LHC for resonances originating from several higher-level modes will further test the existence of two universal extra dimensions.

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arXiv2007

Leptons and photons at the LHC: cascades through spinless adjoints

We study the hadron collider phenomenology of (1,0) Kaluza-Klein modes along two universal extra dimensions compactified on the chiral square. Cascade decays of spinless adjoints proceed through tree-level 3-body decays involving leptons as well as one-loop 2-body decays involving photons. As a result, spectacular events with as many as six charged leptons, or one photon plus four charged leptons are expected to be observed at the LHC. Unusual events with relatively large branching fractions include three leptons of same charge plus one lepton of opposite charge, or one photon plus two leptons of same charge. We estimate the current limit from the Tevatron on the compactification scale, set by searches for trilepton events, to be around 270 GeV.

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arXiv2006

Gauge Trimming of Neutrino Masses

We show that under a new U(1) gauge symmetry, which is non-anomalous in the presence of one ``right-handed neutrino'' per generation and consistent with the standard model Yukawa couplings, the most general fermion charges are determined in terms of four rational parameters. This generalization of the B-L symmetry with generation-dependent lepton charges leads to neutrino masses induced by operators of high dimensionality. Neutrino masses are thus naturally small without invoking physics at energies above the TeV scale, whether neutrinos are Majorana or Dirac fermions. This ``Leptocratic'' Model predicts the existence of light quasi-sterile neutrinos with consequences for cosmology, and implies that collider experiments may reveal the origin of neutrino masses.

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arXiv2006

Spin-Dependent Macroscopic Forces from New Particle Exchange

Long-range forces between macroscopic objects are mediated by light particles that interact with the electrons or nucleons, and include spin-dependent static components as well as spin- and velocity-dependent components. We parametrize the long-range potential between two fermions assuming rotational invariance, and find 16 different components. Applying this result to electrically neutral objects, we show that the macroscopic potential depends on 72 measurable parameters. We then derive the potential induced by the exchange of a new gauge boson or spinless particle, and compare the limits set by measurements of macroscopic forces to the astrophysical limits on the couplings of these particles.

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arXiv2005

Anomaly-Free Sets of Fermions

We present new techniques for finding anomaly-free sets of fermions. Although the anomaly cancellation conditions typically include cubic equations with integer variables that cannot be solved in general, we prove by construction that any chiral set of fermions can be embedded in a larger set of fermions which is chiral and anomaly-free. Applying these techniques to extensions of the Standard Model, we find anomaly-free models that have arbitrary quark and lepton charges under an additional U(1) gauge group.

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arXiv2005

Six-Dimensional Gauge Theory on the Chiral Square

We construct gauge theories in two extra dimensions compactified on the chiral square, which is a simple compactification that leads to chiral fermions in four dimensions. Stationarity of the action on the boundary specifies the boundary conditions for gauge fields. Any six-dimensional gauge field decomposed in Kaluza-Klein modes includes a tower of heavy spin-1 particles whose longitudinal polarizations are linear combinations of the extra-dimensional components, and a tower of heavy spin-0 particles corresponding to the orthogonal combinations. These linear combinations depend on the Kaluza-Klein numbers, and are independent of the gauge fixing. If the gauge symmetry is broken by the vacuum expectation value of a six-dimensional scalar, at each Kaluza-Klein level three spinless fields in the adjoint representation mix to provide the longitudinal polarization of the spin-1 mode, leaving the orthogonal states as two spin-0 particles. We derive the interactions of the Kaluza-Klein modes for generic gauge theories, laying the groundwork for the Standard Model in two universal extra dimensions, and more generally for future model building and phenomenological studies.

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