arXiv subjects

Da Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Da Liu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Snowmass 2021 White Paper: Higgs Coupling Sensitivities and Model-Independent Bounds on the Scale of New Physics

In this Snowmass white paper, we describe how unitarity bounds can convert sensitivities for Higgs couplings at future colliders into sensitivities to the scale of new physics. This gives a model-independent consequence of improving these sensitivities and illustrate the impact they would have on constraining new physics. Drawing upon past successful applications of unitarity as a guide for future colliders (e.g. the Higgs mass bound and discovering it at the LHC), we hope this data will be useful in the planning for next generation colliders.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Hunting composite vector resonances at the LHC: naturalness facing data

We introduce a simplified low-energy effective Lagrangian description of the phenomenology of heavy vector resonances in the minimal composite Higgs model, based on the coset SO(5)/SO(4), analysing in detail their interaction with lighter top partners. Our construction is based on robust assumptions on the symmetry structure of the theory and on plausible natural assumptions on its dynamics. We apply our simplified approach to triplets in the representations (3, 1) and (1, 3) and to singlets in the representation (1, 1) of SO(4). Our model captures the basic features of their phenomenology in terms of a minimal set of free parameters and can be efficiently used as a benchmark in the search for heavy spin-1 states at the LHC and at future colliders. We devise an efficient semi-analytic method to convert experimental limits on σ {\times} BR into bounds on the free parameters of the theory and we recast the presently available 8 TeV LHC data on experimental searches of spin-1 resonances as exclusion regions in the parameter space of the models. These latter are conveniently interpreted as a test of the notion of naturalness.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Electroweak Couplings of the Higgs Boson at a Multi-TeV Muon Collider

We estimate the expected precision at a multi-TeV muon collider for measuring the Higgs boson couplings with electroweak gauge bosons, $HVV$ and $HHVV\ (V=W^\pm,Z)$, as well as the trilinear Higgs self-coupling $HHH$. At very high energies both single and double Higgs productions rely on the vector-boson fusion (VBF) topology. The outgoing remnant particles have a strong tendency to stay in the very forward region, leading to the configuration of the "inclusive process" and making it difficult to isolate $ZZ$ fusion events from the $WW$ fusion. In the single Higgs channel, we perform a maximum likelihood analysis on $HWW$ and $HZZ$ couplings using two categories: the inclusive Higgs production and the 1-muon exclusive signal. In the double Higgs channel, we consider the inclusive production and study the interplay of the trilinear $HHH$ and the quartic $VVHH$ couplings, by utilizing kinematic information in the invariant mass spectrum. We find that at a centre-of-mass energy of 10 TeV (30 TeV) with an integrated luminosity of 10 ab$^{-1}$ (90 ab$^{-1}$), one may reach a 95\% confidence level sensitivity of 0.073\% (0.023\%) for $WWH$ coupling, 0.61\% (0.21\%) for $ZZH$ coupling, 0.62\% (0.20\%) for $WWHH$ coupling, and 5.6\% (2.0\%) for $HHH$ coupling. For dim-6 operators contributing to the processes, these sensitivities could probe the new physics scale $Λ$ in the order of $1-10$ ($2-20$) TeV at a 10 TeV (30 TeV) muon collider.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Broad composite resonances and their signals at the LHC

We explore the possibility that the left-handed third generation quark doublet $q_L$ is fully composite in composite Higgs models. The signature of the model is the presence of broad spin-1 resonances strongly interacting with the third generation quark doublet $q_L$. In this case, The $t\bar{t}$ resonance search channel is comparable in sensitivity to the di-lepton channel. In addition, the same-sign di-lepton channel in the $t\bar{t}ρ$ associate production can probe the large $g_ρ$ parameter space and complementary to the Drell-Yan production channels.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Chrysanthemum-like high-entropy diboride nanoflowers: A new class of high-entropy nanomaterials

High-entropy nanomaterials have been arousing considerable interest in recent years due to their huge composition space, unique microstructure, and adjustable properties. Previous studies focused mainly on high-entropy nanoparticles, while other high-entropy nanomaterials were rarely reported. Herein, we reported a new class of high-entropy nanomaterials, namely (Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2W02Mo0.2)B2 high-entropy diboride (HEB-1) nanoflowers, for the first time. The formation possibility of HEB-1 was first theoretically analyzed from two aspects of lattice size difference and chemical reaction thermodynamics. We then successfully synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers by a facile molten salt synthesis method at 1473 K. The as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers showed an interesting chrysanthemum-like morphology assembled from numerous well-aligned nanorods with the diameters of 20-30 nm and lengths of 100-200 nm. Meanwhile, these nanorods possessed a single-crystalline hexagonal structure of metal diborides and highly compositional uniformity from nanoscale to microscale. In addition, the formation of the as-synthesized HEB-1 nanoflowers could be well interpreted by a classical surface-controlled crystal growth theory. This work not only enriches the categories of high-entropy nanomaterials but also opens up a new research field on the high-entropy diboride nanomaterials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

A Golden Probe of Nonlinear Higgs Dynamics

The most salient generic feature of a composite Higgs boson resides in the nonlinearity of its dynamics, which arises from degenerate vacua associated with the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (PNGB) nature of the Higgs boson. It has been shown that the nonlinear Higgs dynamics is universal in the IR and controlled only by a single parameter $f$, the decay constant of the PNGB Higgs. In this work we perform a fit, for the first time, to Wilson coefficients of ${\cal O}(p^4)$ operators in the nonlinear Lagrangian using the golden H $\to$ 4L decay channel. By utilizing both the "rate" information in the signal strength and the "shape" information in the fully differential spectra, we provide limits on the Goldstone decay constant $f$, as well as ${\cal O}(p^4)$ Wilson coefficients, using Run 2 data at the LHC. In rate measurements alone, the golden channel prefers a negative $ξ=v^2/f^2$ corresponding to a non-compact coset structure. Including the shape information, we identify regions of parameter space where current LHC constraint on $f$ is still weak, allowing for $ξ\lesssim 0.5$ or $ξ\gtrsim -0.5$. We also comment on future sensitivity at the high-luminosity upgrade of the LHC which could allow for simultaneous fits to multiple Wilson coefficients.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

A $\pmbν$ Solution to the Strong CP Problem

We present a new solution to the strong CP problem in which the imaginary component of the up quark mass, $\mathcal{I}[m_u]$, acquires a tiny, but non-vanishing value. This is achieved via a Dirac seesaw mechanism, which is also responsible for the generation of the small neutrino masses. Consistency with the observed value of the up quark mass is achieved via instanton contributions arising from QCD-like interactions. In this framework, the value of the neutron electric dipole moment is directly related to $\mathcal{I}[m_u]$, which, due to its common origin with the neutrino masses, implies that the neutron electric dipole moment is likely to be measured in the next round of experiments. We also present a supersymmetric extension of this Dirac seesaw model to stabilize the hierarchy among the scalar mass scales involved in this new mechanism.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Synthesis of superfine high-entropy metal diboride powders

High-purity and superfine high-entropy metal diboride powders, namely (Hf0.2Zr0.2Ta0.2Nb0.2Ti0.2)B2, were successfully synthesized via a facile borothermal reduction method at 1973 K for the first time. The as-synthesized powders with an average particle size of ~ 310 nm had a single-crystalline hexagonal structure of metal diborides and simultaneously possessed high compositional uniformity from nanoscale to microscale. In addition, their formation mechanisms were well interpreted by analyzing the thermodynamics of the possible chemical reactions based on the first principles calculations. This work will open up a new research field on the synthesis of high-entropy metal diboride powders.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Prospects of searching for composite resonances at the LHC and beyond

Composite Higgs models predict the existence of resonances. We study in detail the collider phenomenology of both the vector and fermionic resonances, including the possibility of both of them being light and within the reach of the LHC. We present current constraints from di-boson, di-lepton resonance searches and top partner pair searches on a set of simplified benchmark models based on the minimal coset $SO(5)/SO(4)$, and make projections for the reach of the HL-LHC. We find that the cascade decay channels for the vector resonances into top partners, or vice versa, can play an important role in the phenomenology of the models. We present a conservative estimate for their reach by using the same-sign di-lepton final states. As a simple extrapolation of our work, we also present the projected reach at the 27 TeV HE-LHC and a 100 TeV $pp$ collider.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Universal Relations in Composite Higgs Models

We initiate a phenomenological study of `universal relations' in composite Higgs models, which are dictated by nonlinear shift symmetries acting on the 125 GeV Higgs boson. These are relations among one Higgs couplings with two electroweak gauge bosons (HVV), two Higgses couplings with two electroweak gauge bosons (HHVV), one Higgs couplings with three electroweak gauge bosons (HVVV), as well as triple gauge boson couplings (TGC), which are all controlled by a single input parameter: the decay constant $f$ of the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Higgs boson. Assuming custodial invariance in strong sector, the relation is independent of the symmetry breaking pattern in the UV, for an arbitrary symmetric coset $G/H$. The complete list of corrections to HVV, HHVV, HVVV and TGC couplings in composite Higgs models is presented to all orders in $1/f$, and up to four-derivative level, without referring to a particular $G/H$. We then present several examples of universal relations in ratios of coefficients which could be extracted experimentally. Measuring the universal relation requires a precision sensitive to effects of dimension-8 operators in the effective Lagrangian and highlights the importance of verifying the tensor structure of HHVV interactions in the standard model, which remains untested to date.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

A Light Higgs at the LHC and the B-Anomalies

After the Higgs discovery, the LHC has been looking for new resonances, decaying into pairs of Standard Model (SM) particles. Recently, the CMS experiment observed an excess in the di-photon channel, with a di-photon invariant mass of about 96~GeV. This mass range is similar to the one of an excess observed in the search for the associated production of Higgs bosons with the $Z$ neutral gauge boson at LEP, with the Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quark pairs. On the other hand, the LHCb experiment observed a discrepancy with respect to the SM expectations of the ratio of the decay of $B$-mesons to $K$-mesons and a pair of leptons, $R_{K^{(*)}} = BR(B \to K^{(*)} μ^+μ^-)/BR(B\to K^{(*)} e^+e^-)$. This observation provides a hint of the violation of lepton-flavor universality in the charged lepton sector and may be explained by the existence of a vector boson originating form a $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$ symmetry and heavy quarks that mix with the left-handed down quarks. Since the coupling to heavy quarks could lead to sizable Higgs di-photon rates in the gluon fusion channel, in this article we propose a common origin of these anomalies identifying a Higgs associated with the breakdown of the $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$ symmetry and at the same time responsible to the quark mixing, with the one observed at the LHC. We also discuss the constraints on the identification of the same Higgs with the one associated with the bottom quark pair excess observed at LEP.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Universal Imprints of a Pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Higgs Boson

A large class of models addressing the electroweak naturalness problem postulates the existence of new spontaneously broken global symmetries above the weak scale. The Higgs boson arises as a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) whose interactions are nonlinear due to the presence of de- generate vacua. We argue that, once the normalization of the pNGB decay constant f is determined, the Higgs nonlinear interactions in the gauge sector are universal in the infrared and independent of the symmetry breaking pattern G/H, even after integrating out heavy composite resonances. We propose a set of "universal relations" in Higgs couplings with electroweak gauge bosons and in triple gauge boson couplings, which are unique predictions of the universal nonlinearity. Experimental measurements of these relations would serve as the litmus test of a pNGB Higgs boson.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Precision Measurement with Diboson at the LHC

Precision measurements at the LHC can provide probes of new physics, and they are complementary to direct searches. The high energy distribution of di-boson processes ($WW,WZ,Vh$) is a promising place, with the possibility of significant improvement in sensitivity as the data accumulates. We focus on the semi-leptonic final states, and make projections of the reach for future runs of the LHC with integrated luminosities of 300 fb$^{-1}$ and 3 ab$^{-1}$. We emphasize the importance of tagging the polarization of the vector bosons, in particular for the $WW$ and $WZ$ channels. We employ a combination of kinematical distributions of both the $W$ and $Z$, and their decay products to select the longitudinally polarized $W$ and $Z$. We have also included our projections for the reach using the associated production of vector boson and the Higgs. We demonstrate that di-boson measurement in the semi-leptonic channel can surpass the sensitivity of the precision measurement at LEP, and they can be significantly more sensitive than the HL-LHC $h \to Z γ$ measurements. Compared with fully leptonic decaying $WZ$ channel, the reach from semi-leptonic channel can be better with effective suppression of the reducible background and systematic error. We have also considered the reaches on the new physics mass scale in different new physics scenarios, including the Strongly Interacting-Light Higgs (SILH), the Strongly Coupled Multi-pole Interaction (Remedios), and the class of models with partially composite fermions. We find that in the SILH and non-compact Remedios scenario with large coupling $g_* > 7$, measurements in the di-boson channel is more sensitive than the Drell-Yan di-lepton channel at the HL-LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Bottom-quark Forward-Backward Asymmetry, Dark Matter and the LHC

The LEP experiment at CERN provided accurate measurements of the $Z$ neutral gauge boson properties. Although all measurements agree well with the SM predictions, the forward backward asymmetry of the bottom-quark remains almost 3$σ$ away from the SM value. We proposed that this anomaly may be explained by the existence of a new $U(1)_D$ gauge boson, which couples with opposite charges to the right-handed components of the bottom and charm quarks. Cancellation of gauge anomalies demands the presence of a vector-like singlet charged lepton as well as a neutral Dirac (or Majorana) particle that provides a Dark Matter candidate. Constraints from precision measurements imply that the mass of the new gauge boson should be around $115$~GeV. We discuss the experimental constraints on this scenario, including the existence of a di-jet resonance excess at an invariant mass similar to the mass of this new gauge boson, observed in boosted topologies at the CMS experiment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Modification of Higgs Couplings in Minimal Composite Models

We present a comprehensive study of the modifications of Higgs couplings in the SO(5)/SO(4) minimal composite model. We focus on three couplings of central importance to Higgs phenomenology at the LHC: the couplings to top and bottom quarks and the coupling to two gluons. We consider three possible embeddings of the fermionic partners in 5, 10 and 14 of SO(5) and find tth and bbh couplings to be always suppressed in 5 and 10, while in 14 they can be either enhanced or suppressed. Assuming partial compositeness, we analyze the interplay between the tth coupling and the top sector contribution to the Coleman-Weinberg potential for the Higgs boson, and the correlation between tth and ggh couplings. In particular, if the electroweak symmetry breaking is triggered radiatively by the top sector, we demonstrate that the ratio of the tth coupling in composite Higgs models over the Standard Model expectation is preferred to be less than the corresponding ratio of the ggh coupling.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Interference Effect on Resonance Studies in Searches of Heavy Particles

The interference between resonance signal and continuum background can be either constructive or destructive, depending on the relative sign of couplings between the signal and background amplitudes. Different interference schemes lead to asymmetric distortions of the resonance line shape, which could be distinguished in experiments, when the internal resonance width is larger than the detector resolution. Interpreting the ATLAS diboson excesses by means of a toy $W'$ model as an illustrative example (though it is disfavored by the 13 TeV data), we find that the signs of resonance couplings can only be revealed in the line shape measurements up to a high confidence level at a high luminosity, which could bring us further information on the underlying theory beyond resonance searches at future lepton and hadron colliders.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

A hidden confining world on the 750 GeV diphoton excess

We explain the recent diphoton excesses around $750$ GeV by both ATLAS and CMS as a singlet scalar $Φ$ which couples to SM gluon and neutral gauge bosons only through higher dimensional operators. A natural explanation is that $Φ$ is a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (pNGB) which receives parity violation through anomaly if there exists a hidden strong dynamics. The singlet and other light pNGBs will decay into two SM gauge bosons and even serves as the meta-stable coloured states which can be probed in the future. By accurately measuring their relative decay and the total production rate in the future, we will learn the underlying strong dynamics parameter. The lightest baryon in this confining theory could serve as a viable dark matter candidate.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Patterns of Strong Coupling for LHC Searches

Even though the Standard Model (SM) is weakly coupled at the Fermi scale, a new strong dynamics involving its degrees of freedom may conceivably lurk at slightly higher energies, in the multi TeV range. Approximate symmetries provide a structurally robust context where, within the low energy description, the dimensionless SM couplings are weak, while the new strong dynamics manifests itself exclusively through higher-derivative interactions. We present an exhaustive classification of such scenarios in the form of effective field theories, paying special attention to new classes of models where the strong dynamics involves, along with the Higgs boson, the SM gauge bosons and/or the fermions. The IR softness of the new dynamics suppresses its effects at LEP energies, but deviations are in principle detectable at the LHC, even at energies below the threshold for production of new states. Our construction provides the so far unique structurally robust context where to motivate several searches in Higgs physics, diboson production, or WW scattering, which were so far poorly justified. Perhaps surprisingly, the interplay between weak coupling, strong coupling and derivatives, which is controlled by symmetries, can override the naive expansion in operator dimension, providing instances where dimension-8 dominates dimension-6, well within the domain of validity of the low energy effective theory. This result reveals the limitations of an analysis that is both ambitiously general and restricted to dimension-6 operators.

hep-ph↗