arXiv subjects

Chih-Ting Lu

Publications and source records attributed to Chih-Ting Lu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Probing long-lived doubly charged scalar in the Georgi-Machacek model at the LHC and in far detectors

Searching for long-lived particles (LLPs) beyond the Standard Model (SM) is a promising direction in collider experiments. The Georgi-Machacek (GM) model extends the scalar sector in the SM by introducing various new scalar bosons. In this study, we focus on the parameter space that allows the light doubly charged scalar to become long-lived. This light doubly charged scalar is fermophobic and predominantly decays into a pair of on-shell or off-shell same-sign $W$ bosons. We investigate three types of signal signatures at the LHC: displaced vertices in the inner tracking detector, displaced showers in the muon system, and heavy stable charged particles. Additionally, we analyze the potential for detecting such doubly charged scalars in far detectors, including ANUBIS, MATHUSLA, FACET, FASER, CODEX-b, MoEDAL-MAPP and AL3X. By combining the LLP searches at the LHC and in far detectors, we project that the limits on the mixing angle, $θ_H$, (between the doublet and triplets) can cover most of the parameter space with $\sinθ_H\lesssim 10^{-3}$ for the mass range of long-lived doubly charged scalars between $50$ GeV to $180$ GeV, assuming the full integrated luminosity at the LHC and HL-LHC.

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arXiv2024

Can a pseudoscalar with a mass of 365 GeV in two-Higgs-doublet models explain the CMS $t\bar{t}$ excess?

We investigate the recently reported $t\bar{t}$ excess by the CMS Collaboration within the framework of conventional Two-Higgs-Doublet Models (2HDMs). Considering all four types (I, II, X, and Y), we perform a comprehensive parameter space scan using the best-fit values for a pseudoscalar boson $A$: $M_A = 365$ GeV, $Γ_A/M_A = 2\%$, and $\tanβ= 1.28$. Theoretical requirements and experimental constraints are systematically applied, including conditions from a bounded-below scalar potential, vacuum stability, unitarity, perturbativity, Flavor-Changing Neutral Currents (FCNCs), and direct searches at high-energy colliders. Our analysis shows that perturbativity imposes upper bounds of around 723 GeV on $M_{H^\pm}$ and $M_H$. FCNC constraints exclude all viable parameter space in Types II and Y, while a small region persists in Types I and X, but this region is ultimately ruled out by recent $t\bar{t} Z$ measurements by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations at the LHC. We conclude that conventional 2HDMs alone cannot accommodate a pseudoscalar boson that explains the observed $t\bar{t}$ excess within viable parameter space. However, incorporating toponium effects in the background fit could potentially alter this conclusion.

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arXiv2024

Searching Accretion-Enhanced Dark Matter Annihilation Signals in the Galactic Centre

This study reanalyzes the detection prospects of dark matter (DM) annihilation signals in the Galactic Center, focusing on velocity-dependent dynamics within a spike density near the supermassive black hole (Sgr~A$^{\star}$). We investigate three annihilation processes -- $p$-wave, resonance, and forbidden annihilation -- under semi-relativistic velocities, leveraging gamma-ray data from Fermi and DAMPE telescopes. Our analysis integrates a fermionic DM model with an electroweak axion-like particle (ALP) portal, exploring annihilation into two or four photons. Employing a comprehensive six-dimensional integration, we precisely calculate DM-induced gamma-ray fluxes near Sgr~A$^{\star}$, incorporating velocity and positional dependencies in the annihilation cross-section and photon yield spectra. Our findings highlight scenarios of resonance and forbidden annihilation, where the larger ALP-DM-DM coupling constant $C_{aχχ}$ can affect spike density, potentially yielding detectable gamma-ray line spectra within Fermi and DAMPE energy resolution. We set upper limits for $C_{aχχ}$ across these scenarios, offering insights into the detectability and spectral characteristics of DM annihilation signals from the Galactic Center.

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arXiv2024

Exploring interference effects between two ALP effective operators at the LHC

We observe that most studies of axion-like particle (ALP) production channels at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) focus on a single type of ALP operator for each process in the effective field theory framework. In this work, we propose an alternative approach that considers two or more types of relevant ALP effective operators together in some specific ALP production channels and study their interference effects. Using the $p p\rightarrow t j a$ process with $a\rightarrowγγ$ as an example, we show that this approach allows us to constrain the ALP interactions with both the $W$ boson and the top quark, as well as their interference in a single process. For the final state with two isolated photons and a top quark decaying semi-leptonically, we predict that the future bounds on the ALP decay constant can reach around $f_a \sim 10\;(20) $ TeV for $25$ GeV $< M_a < 100$ GeV at the LHC with 300 (3000) fb$^{1}$ luminosity.

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arXiv2024

Exploring Exotic Decays of the Higgs Boson to Multi-Photons at the LHC via Multimodal Learning Approaches

The Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson, the most recently discovered elementary particle, may still serve as a mediator between the SM sector and a new physics sector related to dark matter (DM). The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has not yet fully constrained the physics associated with the Higgs boson, leaving room for such possibilities. Among the various potential mass scales of the dark sector, the sub-GeV mass range is particularly intriguing. This parameter space presents significant challenges for DM direct detection experiments that rely on nuclear recoils. Various innovative experimental methods are currently under investigation to explore this sub-GeV dark sector. The LHC, functioning as a Higgs factory, could explore this sector once the challenge of identifying DM signals is resolved. Due to the significantly lower mass of particles in the dark sector compared to the Higgs boson, these particles are expected to be highly boosted following the Higgs boson's decay. However, detecting and identifying these highly boosted particles remains a considerable challenge at the LHC, despite their eventual decay into SM particles. We employ a well-motivated leptophobic $Z^{\prime}_B$ model as a prototype to analyze the distinctive signatures from Higgs boson exotic decays into multi-photons. These signatures consist of collimated photons that fail to meet the photon isolation criteria, forming jet-like objects. Conventional analyses relying solely on the purity of energy deposits in the electromagnetic calorimeter would fail to detect these signatures, as they would be overwhelmed by background events from Quantum Chromodynamics. To effectively distinguish between such novel signal signatures and SM background events, we leverage advanced machine learning techniques, specifically the transformer encoder in a multimodal network structure.

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arXiv2024

Probing Inelastic Dark Matter at the LHC, FASER and STCF

In this work, we explore the potential of probing the inelastic dark matter (DM) model with an extra U(1)D gauge symmetry at the Large Hadron Collider, ForwArd Search ExpeRiment and Super Tau Charm Factory. To saturate the observed DM relic density, the mass splitting between two light dark states has to be small enough, and thus leads to some distinctive signatures at these colliders. By searching for the long-lived particle, the displaced muon-jets, the soft leptons, and the mono-photon events, we find that the inelastic DM mass in the range of 1 MeV to 210 GeV could be tested.

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arXiv2024

Can supercooled phase transitions explain the gravitational wave background observed by pulsar timing arrays?

Several pulsar timing array collaborations recently reported evidence of a stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) at nHz frequencies. Whilst the SGWB could originate from the merger of supermassive black holes, it could be a signature of new physics near the 100 MeV scale. Supercooled first-order phase transitions (FOPTs) that end at the 100 MeV scale are intriguing explanations, because they could connect the nHz signal to new physics at the electroweak scale or beyond. Here, however, we provide a clear demonstration that it is not simple to create a nHz signal from a supercooled phase transition, due to two crucial issues that could rule out many proposed supercooled explanations and should be checked. As an example, we use a model based on non-linearly realized electroweak symmetry that has been cited as evidence for a supercooled explanation. First, we show that a FOPT cannot complete for the required transition temperature of around 100 MeV. Such supercooling implies a period of vacuum domination that hinders bubble percolation and transition completion. Second, we show that even if completion is not required or if this constraint is evaded, the Universe typically reheats to the scale of any physics driving the FOPT. The hierarchy between the transition and reheating temperature makes it challenging to compute the spectrum of the SGWB.

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arXiv2024

Constraining Bosonic Dark Matter-Baryon Interactions from Neutron Star Collapse

Dark matter (DM) may be captured around a neutron star (NS) through DM-nucleon interactions. We observe that the enhancement of such capturing is particularly significant when the DM velocity and/or momentum transfer depend on the DM-nucleon scattering cross-section. This could potentially lead to the formation of a black hole within the typical lifetime of the NS. As the black hole expands through the accretion of matter from the NS, it ultimately results in the collapse of the host. Utilizing the existing pulsar data J0437-4715 and J2124-3858, we derive the stringent constraints on the DM-nucleon scattering cross-section across a broad range of DM masses.

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arXiv2024

Detecting highly collimated photon-jets from Higgs boson exotic decays with deep learning

Recently, there has been a growing focus on the search for anomalous objects beyond standard model (BSM) signatures at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This study investigates novel signatures involving highly collimated photons, referred to as photon-jets. These photon-jets can be generated from highly boosted BSM particles that decay into two or more collimated photons in the final state. Since these photons cannot be isolated from each other, they are treated as a single jet-like object rather than a multi-photon signature. The Higgs portal model is utilized as a prototype for studying photon-jet signatures. Specifically, GEANT4 is employed to simulate electromagnetic showers in an ATLAS-like electromagnetic calorimeter, and three machine learning techniques: Boosted Decision Trees (BDT), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), and Particle Flow Networks (PFN) are applied to effectively distinguish these photon-jet signatures from single photons and neutral pions within the SM backgrounds. Our models attain an identification efficiency exceeding $99\%$ for photon-jets, coupled with a rejection rate surpassing $99\%$ for SM backgrounds. Furthermore, the sensitivities for searching photon-jet signatures from the Higgs boson exotic decays at the High-Luminosity LHC are obtained.

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arXiv2023

Lighting Electroweak-Violating ALP-Lepton Interactions at $e^{+}e^{-}$ and $ep$ Colliders

Recently, Altmannshofer, Dror and Gori (2022) claimed there is a four-point interaction, $W$-$\ell$-$ν$-$a$, in the electroweak-violating scenario of axion-like particle (ALP) and lepton interactions which plays a critical role in searching for ALPs from $π^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$ mesons and $W$ boson decays because of the novel energy enhancements. Inspired by this interesting finding, we first propose new t-channel processes, $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrowν_e a\bar{ν_e}$ and $e^{-}p\rightarrowν_e a j$, for electrophilic ALPs ($e$ALPs) which also involve $W$-$\ell$-$ν$-$a$ four-point interaction and have obvious energy enhancement behaviors in their cross sections when the collision energy is increasing. On the other hand, heavier $e$ALPs mainly decay to a photon pair induced by the chiral anomaly instead of an electron-positron pair. Therefore, studies of these t-channel processes with a photon pair plus missing energy at $e^+ e^-$ and $ep$ colliders open a new door to search for $e$ALPs at high energy colliders. The proposed search strategies are not only aiming to generate a larger production rate of ALPs, but also trying to distinguish electroweak-violating ALP-lepton interactions from electroweak-preserving ones.

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arXiv2023

Probing Dark QCD Sector through the Higgs Portal with Machine Learning at the LHC

The QCD-like dark sector with GeV-scale dark hadrons has the potential to generate new signatures at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In this paper, we consider a singlet scalar mediator in the tens of GeV-scale that connects the dark sector and the Standard Model (SM) sector via the Higgs portal. We focus on the Higgs-strahlung process, $q\overline{q}'\rightarrow W^{\ast}\rightarrow WH $, to produce a highly boosted Higgs boson. Our scenario predicts two different processes that can generate dark mesons: (1) the cascade decay from the Higgs boson to two light scalar mediators and then to four dark mesons; (2) the Higgs boson decaying to two dark quarks, which then undergo a QCD-like shower and hadronization to produce dark mesons. We apply machine learning techniques, such as Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Energy Flow Network (EFN), to the fat jet structure to distinguish these signal processes from large SM backgrounds. We find that the branching ratio of the Higgs boson to two light scalar mediators can be constrained to be less than $10\%$ at 14 TeV LHC with $\mathcal{L} = 3000 fb^{-1}$.

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arXiv2023

Exploring muonphilic ALPs at muon colliders

Axion-like particles (ALPs) are new particles that extend beyond the standard model (SM) and are highly motivated. When considering ALPs within an effective field theory framework, their couplings with SM particles can be studied independently. It is a daunting task to search for GeV-scale ALPs coupled to muons in collider experiments because their coupling is proportional to the muon mass. However, a recent study by Altmannshofer, Dror, and Gori (2022) highlighted the importance of a four-point interaction, $W$-$μ$-$ν_μ$-$a$, as well as interactions from the chiral anomaly which couplings are not dependent on the muon mass. These interactions provide a new opportunity to explore muonphilic ALPs ($μ$ALPs) at the GeV scale. We have explored various $μ$ALPs production channels at muon colliders with $μ$ALPs decaying into a pair of muons. Especially, we found a pair of neutrinos accompanied by a $μ$ALP is a most effective channel to search for $μ$ALPs in the electrowek violating (EWV) scenario. In contract, a photon plus a $μ$ALP becomes a better channel to search for $μ$ALPs in the electroweak preserving (EWP) scenario because there is no $W$-$μ$-$ν_μ$-$a$ interaction in this situation. Most importantly, we found that the future bounds for $μ$ALPs in EWV scenario are much stronger than the ones in EWP scenario and the existing bounds for exploring $μ$ALPs with $1$ GeV $\leq m_a\lesssim M_W$.

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arXiv2023

Hadronic Uncertainties versus New Physics for the $W$ boson Mass and Muon $g-2$ Anomalies

There are now two single measurements of precision observables that have major anomalies in the Standard Model: the recent CDF measurement of the $W$ mass shows a $7σ$ deviation and the Muon $g-2$ experiment at FNAL confirmed a long-standing anomaly, implying a $4.2 σ$ deviation. Doubts regarding new physics interpretations of these anomalies could stem from uncertainties in the common hadronic contributions. We demonstrate that these two anomalies pull the hadronic contributions in opposite directions by performing electroweak fits in which the hadronic contribution was allowed to float. The fits show that including the $g - 2$ measurement worsens the tension with the CDF measurement and conversely that adjustments that alleviate the CDF tension worsen the $g-2$ tension beyond $5 σ$. This means that if we adopt the CDF $W$ mass measurement, the case for new physics in either the $W$ mass or muon $g-2$ is inescapable regardless of the size of the SM hadronic contributions. Lastly, we demonstrate that a mixed scalar leptoquark extension of the Standard Model could explain both anomalies simultaneously.

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arXiv2022

Status of the two-Higgs-doublet model in light of the CDF $m_W$ measurement

The most recent $W$-boson mass measurement by the CDF collaboration with a substantially reduced uncertainty indicates a significant deviation from the standard model prediction, as large as $7σ$ if taken literally. Then the Peskin-Takeuchi parameters of $S$ and $T$ shift to larger values, which has profound consequences in searching for physics beyond the SM. In the framework of two-Higgs-doublet models, we study the effect of the new $W$-boson mass measurement on the parameter space. Combined with other constraints including theoretical requirements, flavor-changing neutral currents in $B$ physics, the cutoff scale above 1 TeV, Higgs precision data, and direct collider search limits from the LEP, Tevatron, and LHC experiments, we find upper bounds on the masses of the heavy Higgs bosons: $M_{H, A, H^\pm} \lesssim 1.1$ TeV in type I, II, X, and Y for the normal Higgs scenario; $M_{H^\pm} \lesssim 450 $ GeV and $M_{A} \lesssim 420 $ GeV in type I and X for the inverted scenario where the heavier $CP$-even Higgs boson is the observed one. Another important finding is that type II and type Y in the inverted scenario are completely excluded. Such unprecedented findings imply that the upcoming LHC run can readily close out a large portion of the still-available parameter space.

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arXiv2022

Muonphilic Dark Matter explanation of gamma-ray galactic center excess: a comprehensive analysis

The Galactic center gamma-ray excess (GCE) is a long-standing unsolved problem. One of candidate solutions, the dark matter (DM) annihilation, has been recently tested with other astrophysical observations, such as AMS-02 electron-positron spectra, Fermi Dwarf spheroidal galaxies gamma-ray data, and so on. By assuming that the DM particles annihilate purely into a normal charged fermion pair, Di Mauro and Winkle (2021) claimed that only a muon-pair is compatible with the null detection of all the corresponding astrophysical measurements and can explain GCE simultaneously. On the other hand, a muonphilic DM model may also lead to a signal in the recent Fermilab muon $g-2$ measurement or be constrained by the latest PandaX-4T limit. In this work, we comprehensively study interactions between DM and muon, including various combinations of DM and mediator spins. In agreement with GCE (not only $2μ$ but also $4μ$ final states), we test these interactions against all the thermal DM constraints. Our results show that only the parameter space near the resonance region of mediator can explain GCE and relic density simultaneously, and larger parameter spaces are still allowed if other poorly-known systematic uncertainties are included. Regardless of the DM spin, only the interactions with the spin-0 mediator can explain the recent muon $g-2$ excess on top of GCE, relic density, and other DM and mediator constraints.

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arXiv2022

Reshuffled Strongly Interacting Massive Particle Dark Matter

In this work, we reanalyze the multi-component strongly interacting massive particle (mSIMP) scenario using an effective operator approach. As in the single-component SIMP case, the total relic abundance of mSIMP dark matter (DM) is determined by the coupling strengths of $3 \to 2$ processes achieved by a five-point effective operator. Intriguingly, we notice that there is an irreducible $2 \to 2$ process induced by the corresponding five-point interaction in the dark sector, which would reshuffle the mass densities of SIMP DM after the chemical freeze-out. We dub this DM scenario as reshuffled SIMP ($r$SIMP). Given this observation, we then numerically solve the coupled Boltzmann equations including the $3 \to 2$ and $2 \to 2$ processes to get the correct yields of $r$SIMP DM. It turns out that the masses of $r$SIMP DM must be nearly degenerate for them to contribute sizable abundances. On the other hand, we also introduce effective operators to bridge the dark sector and visible sector via a vector portal coupling. Notably, we find that the reshuffled mechanism in the $r$SIMP scenario is sensitive to the size of the DM self-interacting cross section.

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arXiv2022

Comprehensive study of the light charged Higgs boson in the type-I two-Higgs-doublet model

In the type-I two-Higgs-doublet model, existing theoretical and experimental constraints still permit the light charged Higgs boson with a mass below the top quark mass. We present a complete roadmap for the light charged Higgs boson at the LHC through the comprehensive phenomenology study, focusing on the normal scenario where the lighter \textit{CP}-even Higgs boson is the observed Higgs boson. In type-I, it is challenging to simultaneously accommodate the light mass of the charged Higgs boson and the constraints from theory, electroweak precision data, Higgs data, $b\to s γ$, and direct search bounds. Consequently, the parameter space is extremely curtailed, which predicts somewhat definite phenomenological signatures. We find that the mass of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson, $M_A$, is the most crucial factor in the phenomenology of the charged Higgs boson. If $M_A$ is light, the charged Higgs boson decays mainly into $A W^\pm$. When $M_A$ is above the $A W^\pm$ threshold, the dominant decay mode is into $ τ^\pm ν$. Over the whole viable parameter space, we study all the possible production and decay modes of charged Higgs bosons at the LHC, and suggest three efficient channels: (i) $pp \to H^+ H^-\to [τν] [τν]$; (ii) $pp \to HA/HH/AA \to H^\pm W^\mp H^\pm W^\mp \to [τν] [τν] W W$; (iii) $pp \to H^+ H^-\to [b \bar b W ] [b \bar b W ] $. Based on the sophisticated signal-background analyses including detector simulation, we showed that the significance of the first final state is large, that of the second one is marginal around three, but the third one suffers from huge $t\bar t$ related backgrounds.

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arXiv2022

Electroweak Precision Fit and New Physics in light of $W$ Boson Mass

The $W$ boson mass is one of the most important electroweak precision observables for testing the Standard Model or its extensions. The very recent measured $W$ boson mass at CDF shows about $7σ$ deviations from the SM prediction, which may challenge the internal consistency of the SM. By performing the global electroweak fit with the new $W$-boson, we present the new values of the oblique parameters: $S = 0.06 \pm 0.10$, $T= 0.11 \pm 0.12$, $U=0.13 \pm 0.09$, or $S=0.14 \pm 0.08$, $T= 0.26 \pm 0.06$ with $U =0$ and the corresponding correlation matrices, which strongly indicates the need for the non-degenerate multiplets beyond the SM. As a proof-of-concept, we show that the new results can be accommodated in the two-Higgs doublet model, where the charged Higgs boson has to be either heavier or lighter than both two heavy neutral Higgs bosons. Therefore, searching for these non-SM Higgs bosons will provide a complementary way to test the new physics for the $W$ boson mass anomaly.

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