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Daneng Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Daneng Yang.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2023

A Self-interacting Dark Matter Solution to the Extreme Diversity of Low-mass Halo Properties

The properties of low-mass dark matter (DM) halos appear to be remarkably diverse relative to cold, collisionless DM predictions, even in the presence of baryons. We show that self-interacting DM (SIDM) can simultaneously explain observations of halo diversity at two opposite extremes$-$the inner density profile of the dense substructure perturbing the strong lens galaxy SDSSJ0946+1006 and the rotation curves of isolated, gas-rich ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs). To achieve this, we present the first cosmological zoom-in simulation featuring strong DM self-interactions in a galaxy group environment centered on a $10^{13}~M_{\mathrm{\odot}}$ host halo. In our SIDM simulation, most surviving subhalos of the group-mass host are deeply core-collapsed, yielding excellent candidates for the observed dense strong-lens perturber. Self-interactions simultaneously create kiloparsec-scale cores in low-concentration isolated halos, which could host the observed UDGs. Our scenario can be further tested with observations of DM structure and galaxies over a wide mass range.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

A graph model for the clustering of dark matter halos

We use network theory to study topological features in the hierarchical clustering of dark matter halos. We use public halo catalogs from cosmological N-body simulations and construct tree graphs that connect halos within main halo systems. Our analysis shows these graphs exhibit a power-law degree distribution with an exponent of $-2$, and possess scale-free and self-similar properties according to the criteria of graph metrics. We propose a random graph model with preferential attachment kernels, which effectively incorporate the effects of minor mergers, major mergers, and tidal stripping. The model reproduces the structural, topological properties of simulated halo systems, providing a new way of modeling complex gravitational dynamics of structure formation.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

The impact of baryonic potentials on the gravothermal evolution of self-interacting dark matter haloes

The presence of a central baryonic potential can have a significant impact on the gravothermal evolution of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) haloes. We extend a semi-analytical fluid model to incorporate the influence of a static baryonic potential and calibrate it using controlled N-body simulations. We construct benchmark scenarios with varying baryon concentrations and different SIDM models, including constant and velocity-dependent self-interacting cross sections. The presence of the baryonic potential induces changes in SIDM halo properties, including central density, core size, and velocity dispersion, and it accelerates the halo's evolution in both expansion and collapse phases. Furthermore, we observe a quasi-universality in the gravothermal evolution of SIDM haloes with the baryonic potential, resembling a previously known feature in the absence of the baryons. By appropriately rescaling the physical quantities that characterize the SIDM haloes, the evolution of all our benchmark cases exhibits remarkable similarity. Our findings offer a framework for testing SIDM predictions using observations of galactic systems where baryons play a significant dynamical role.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2023

Strong Dark Matter Self-interactions Diversify Halo Populations within and surrounding the Milky Way

We perform a high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulation of a Milky Way (MW)--like system, which includes a realistic Large Magellanic Cloud analog, using a large differential elastic dark matter self-interaction cross section that reaches $\approx 100~\mathrm{cm}^2\ \mathrm{g}^{-1}$ at relative velocities of $\approx 10~\mathrm{km\ s}^{-1}$, motivated by the diverse and orbitally dependent central densities of dwarf galaxies within and surrounding the MW. We explore the effects of dark matter self-interactions on satellite, splashback, and isolated halos through their abundance, central densities, maximum circular velocities, orbital parameters, and correlations between these variables. We use an effective constant cross section model to analytically predict the stages of our simulated halos' gravothermal evolution, demonstrating that deviations from the collisionless $R_{\rm max}$--$V_{\rm max}$ relation can be used to select deeply core-collapsed halos, where $V_{\rm max}$ is a halo's maximum circular velocity, and $R_{\rm max}$ is the radius at which it occurs. We predict that a sizable fraction ($\approx 20\%$) of subhalos with masses down to $\approx 10^8~M_{\odot}$ is deeply core collapsed in our SIDM model. Core-collapsed systems form $\approx 10\%$ of the isolated halo population down to the same mass; these isolated, core-collapsed halos would host faint dwarf field galaxies with extremely steep central density profiles. Finally, most halos with masses above $\approx 10^9~M_{\odot}$ are core-forming in our simulation. Our study thus demonstrates how self-interactions diversify halo populations in an environmentally dependent fashion within and surrounding MW-mass hosts, providing a compelling avenue to address the diverse dark matter distributions of observed dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2022

Gravothermal evolution of dark matter halos with differential elastic scattering

We study gravothermal evolution of dark matter halos in the presence of differential self-scattering that has strong velocity and angular dependencies. We design controlled N-body simulations to model Rutherford and Moller scatterings in the halo, and follow its evolution in both core-expansion and -collapse phases. The simulations show the commonly-used transfer cross section underestimates the effects of dark matter self-interactions, but the viscosity cross section provides an accurate approximation for modeling angular-dependent dark matter scattering. We investigate thermodynamic properties of the halo, and find that the three moments of the Boltzmann equation under the fluid approximation are satisfied. We further propose a constant effective cross section, which integrates over the halo's characteristic velocity dispersion with weighting kernels motivated by kinetic theory of heat conduction. The effective cross section provides a good approximation to differential self-scattering for most of the halo evolution. It indicates that we can map astrophysical constraints on a constant self-interacting cross section to an SIDM model with velocity- and angular-dependent scatterings.

astro-ph.CO↗
arXiv2022

Self-Interacting Dark Matter and Small-Scale Gravitational Lenses in Galaxy Clusters

Recently, Meneghetti et al. reported an excess of small-scale gravitational lenses in galaxy clusters. We study its implications for self-interacting dark matter (SIDM), compared with standard cold dark matter (CDM). We design controlled N-body simulations that incorporate observational constraints. The presence of early-type galaxies in cluster substructures can deepen gravitational potential and reduce tidal mass loss. Both scenarios require a relatively high baryon concentration in the substructure to accommodate the lensing measurements, and their tangential caustics are similar. The SIDM substructure can experience gravothermal collapse and produce a steeper density profile than its CDM counterpart, leading to a larger radial galaxy-galaxy strong lensing cross section, although this effect is hard to observe. Our results indicate SIDM can provide a unified explanation to small-scale lenses in galaxy clusters and stellar motions in dwarf galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2021

Exploring Uncharted Soft Displaced Vertices in Open Data

A cluster of soft displaced tracks corresponds to the dark matter co-annihilation regime. The long-lived regime is, in particular, motivated by the unexplored top partner physics. The background in this regime is extremely challenging to model using a traditional simulation method. We demonstrate the feasibility of handling the formidable background using the CMS Open Data. We perform this analysis to search for compressed and long-lived top partners in the 8 TeV CMS Open Data events with the integrated luminosity of 11.6 fb$^{-1}$ and obtain new limits. With 15-30 GeV mass splitting between the top partner and the DM candidate, we exclude the top partner mass below 350 GeV, which is more stringent than the ATLAS and CMS results using 8 TeV data with 20 fb$^{-1}$ luminosity. Our study also shows that the CMS Open Data can be a powerful tool to help physicists explore non-conventional new physics and even enable deriving new limits on exotic signals from data directly.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2021

Direct detection of freeze-in inelastic dark matter

We show that the current sensitivities of direct detection experiments have already reached the interesting parameter space of freeze-in dark matter models if the dark sector is in the inelastic dark matter framework and the excited dark matter state is cosmologically stable. Using results recently presented by the XENON1T experiment, we present constraints on these models. We also show that these models can explain the reported excess in the electron recoil signals if the mass gap between the ground state and the excited state is at keV scale.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2020

Self-Interacting Dark Matter and the Origin of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies NGC1052-DF2 and -DF4

Observations of ultra-diffuse galaxies NGC 1052-DF2 and -DF4 show they may contain little dark matter, challenging our understanding of galaxy formation. Using controlled N-body simulations, we explore the possibility that their properties can be reproduced through tidal stripping from the elliptical galaxy NGC 1052, in both cold dark matter (CDM) and self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) scenarios. To explain the dark matter deficiency, we find that a CDM halo must have a very low concentration so that it can lose sufficient inner mass in the tidal field. In contrast, SIDM favors a higher and more reasonable concentration as core formation enhances tidal mass loss. Final stellar distributions in our SIDM benchmarks are more diffuse than the CDM one, and hence the former are in better agreement with the data. We further show that a cored CDM halo model modified by strong baryonic feedback is unlikely to reproduce the observations. Our results indicate that SIDM is more favorable for the formation of dark-matter-deficient galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2020

Determining Strong Phase of $a_1$ Meson Decay Amplitude using $W \to ντ(\to νa_1(\toπ^\mp π^\mp π^\pm))$ Process

To measure the helicity of a spin-1 meson from the triple vector product of the three-momenta of its decay products, one needs information about the strong phase of the decay amplitude. In this paper, taking $a_1(1260)$ meson as an example, we present a method to extract information about the strong phase from the triple vector product of the pion momenta in $W \to ντ(\to νa_1(\toπ^\mp π^\mp π^\pm))$ process, where the $a_1$ helicity is known a priori from electroweak theory. This process is advantageous in that highly-boosted $a_1^-$ mesons from $τ_L^-$ decays have nearly maximal helicity asymmetry and thus most reflect the strong phase. We revisit the theoretical calculation of the $a_1$ meson helicity in $W \to ντ(\to νa_1)$ process. We formulate the differential decay rate of polarized $a_1$ mesons in a manner convenient for the study of the $a_1$ meson helicity asymmetry. Finally, we present the method for extracting information about the strong phase, and assess its feasibility at the LHC.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2018

Probing the Dark Sector through Mono-Z Boson Leptonic Decays

Collider search for dark matter production has been performed over the years based on high pT standard model signatures balanced by large missing transverse energy. The mono-Z boson production with leptonic decay has a clean signature with the advantage that the decaying electrons and muons can be precisely measured. This signature not only enables reconstruction of the Z boson rest frame, but also makes possible recovery of the underlying production dynamics through the decaying lepton angular distribution. In this work, we exploit full information carried by the leptonic Z boson decays to set limits on coupling strength parameters of the dark sector. We study simplified dark sector models with scalar, vector, and tensor mediators and observe among them different signatures in the distribution of angular coefficients.Specifically, we show that angular coefficients can be used to distinguish different scenarios of the spin-0 and spin-1 models, including the ones with parity-odd and charge conjugation parity-odd operators. To maximize the statistical power, we perform a matrix element method study with a dynamic construction of event likelihood function. We parametrize the test statistic such that sensitivity from the matrix element is quantified through a term measuring the shape difference. Our results show that the shape differences provide significant improvements in the limits, especially for the scalar mediator models. We also present an example application of a matrix-element-kinematic-discriminator, an easier approach that is applicable for experimental data.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2017

Measurement of $\mathrm{H} \to μ^+ μ^-$ production in association with a Z boson at the CEPC

The Circular Electron-Positron Collider (CEPC) is a future Higgs factory proposed by the Chinese high energy physics community. It will operate at a center-of-mass energy of 240-250 GeV and is expected to accumulate an integrated luminosity of 5 ab$^{\rm{-1}}$ with ten years of operation. At CEPC, Higgs bosons are dominantly produced from $ZH$ associated process. Vast amount of Higgs events collected will enable precise studies of its properties including Yukawa couplings to massive particles. With {\sc GEANT4}-based simulation of detector effects, we study CEPC feasibility on measuring Higgs boson decaying into a pair of muons. The results with or without information from Z boson decay products are provided, which show a signal significance of over 10 standard deviations can be achieved and the H-$\mathrmμ$-$\mathrmμ$ coupling can be measured within $10\%$ accuracy.

hep-ex↗
arXiv2015

Probing Triple-W Production and Anomalous WWWW Coupling at the CERN LHC and future 100TeV proton-proton collider

Triple gauge boson production at the LHC can be used to test the robustness of the Standard Model and provide useful information for VBF di-boson scattering measurement. Especially, any derivations from SM prediction will indicate possible new physics. In this paper we present a detailed Monte Carlo study on measuring WWW production in pure leptonic and semileptonic decays, and probing anomalous quartic gauge WWWW couplings at the CERN LHC and future hadron collider, with parton shower and detector simulation effects taken into account. Apart from cut-based method, multivariate boosted decision tree method has been exploited for possible improvement. For the leptonic decay channel, our results show that at the sqrt{s}=8(14)[100] TeV pp collider with integrated luminosity of 20(100)[3000] fb-1, one can reach a significance of 0.4(1.2)[10]sigma to observe the SM WWW production. For the semileptonic decay channel, one can have 0.5(2)[14]sigma to observe the SM WWW production. We also give constraints on relevant Dim-8 anomalous WWWW coupling parameters.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

The CERN LHC Sensitivity on measuring WZGamma Production and Anomalous WWZGamma Coupling

In this paper we present for the first time a detailed Monte Carlo study of measuring WZGamma production with pure leptonic decays and probing anomalous quartic gauge-boson WWZGamma couplings at the sqrt(s) = 14 TeV LHC, with parton shower and detector simulation effects taken into account. We find that with an integrated luminosity of 100 fb-1 and proper selection cuts, the Standard Model WZGamma signal significance can be improved to as much as 3 sigma. After reviewing previous parametrization on anomalous WWZGamma couplings (see e.g.an/Lambda^2 or k2m/Lambda^2 as shown in Ref. [17]), we propose a more general parametrization scheme with 4 free inputs leading only to genuine WWZGamma aQGC couplings. Finally, our numerical results show that one can reach constraints at 95% confidence level of -5.7 * 10^{-5} GeV^{-2} < k2m/Lambda^2 < 5.5 * 10^{-5} GeV^{-2} and -2.2 x 10^{-5} GeV^{-2} < an/Lambda^2 < 2.4 * 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}, which are more stringent than LEP's results by three orders of magnitude.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Probing W+W-gamma Production and Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at the CERN LHC

Triple gauge boson associated production at the LHC serves as an interesting channel to test the robustness of the Standard Model. Any deviation from its SM prediction may indicate possible existence of relevant new physics, e.g., anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings. In this paper, a Monte-Carlo feasibility study of measuring WWA production with pure leptonic decays and probing anomalous quartic gauge-boson (e.g., WWAA) couplings, is presented in detail for the first time, with parton shower and detector simulation effects taken into account. Our results show that at the sqrt{s} = 14 TeV LHC with an integrated luminosity of 100 (30) fb-1, one can reach a significance of 9 (5) sigma to observe the SM WWA production, and can constrain at the 95% CL the anomalous WWAA coupling parameters, e.g., a_{0,c}^W/Λ^2 (see Ref.[15] for their definitions), at 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}, respectively.

hep-ph↗