arXiv subjects

Danny Marfatia

Publications and source records attributed to Danny Marfatia.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Majorana dark matter through the Higgs portal under the vacuum stability lamppost

We study the vacuum stability of a minimal Higgs portal model in which the standard model (SM) particle spectrum is extended to include one complex scalar field and one Dirac fermion. These new fields are singlets under the SM gauge group and are charged under a global U(1) symmetry. Breaking of this U(1) symmetry results in a massless Goldstone boson, a massive CP-even scalar, and splits the Dirac fermion into two new mass-eigenstates, corresponding to Majorana fermions. The lightest Majorana fermion (w) is absolutely stable, providing a plausible dark matter (DM) candidate. We show that interactions between the Higgs sector and the lightest Majorana fermion which are strong enough to yield a thermal relic abundance consistent with observation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum or drive the theory into a non-perturbative regime at an energy scale well below the Planck mass. However, we also demonstrate that there is a region of the parameter space which develops a stable vacuum (up to the Planck scale), satisfies the relic abundance, and is in agreement with direct DM searches. Such an interesting region of the parameter space corresponds to DM masses 350 GeV \alt m_w \alt 1 TeV. The region of interest is within reach of second generation DM direct detection experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

S-dual Inflation: BICEP2 data without unlikeliness

We show that S-dual inflationary potentials solve the unlikeliness problem manifested in Planck data and explain the excess B-mode power observed by the BICEP2 experiment as arising from primordial tensor fluctuations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Isospin-Violating Dark Matter at the LHC

We consider a toy model of dark matter (DM) with a gauge singlet Dirac fermion that has contact interactions to quarks that differ for right-handed up and down quarks. This is motivated by the isospin-violating dark matter scenario that was proposed to reconcile reported hints of direct DM detection with bounds from non-observation of the signal in other experiments. We discuss how the effects of isospin violation in these couplings can be observed at the LHC. By studying events with large missing transverse momentum, we show that the ratio of mono-photon and mono-jet events is sensitive to the ratio of the absolute values of the couplings to the up and down quarks, while a dedicated study of di-jet plus missing transverse momentum events can reveal their relative sign. We also consider how our results are modified if instead of a contact interaction, a particle that mediates the interaction is introduced. Our methods have broad applicability to new physics that involves unequal couplings to up and down quarks.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

AMS-02 and Next-to-Minimal Universal Extra Dimensions

The anomaly detected by AMS-02 and PAMELA in the cosmic-ray positron flux when interpreted as arising from dark matter annihilation suggests that dark matter may interact differently with hadrons and leptons so as to remain compatible with cosmic-ray antiproton data. Such a scenario is readily accommodated in models with extra spatial dimensions. We study indirect detection of Kaluza-Klein (KK) dark matter in Universal Extra Dimensions with brane-localized terms and fermion bulk masses: Next-to-Minimal Universal Extra Dimensions. So that an excess of antiprotons is not produced in explaining the positron anomaly, it is necessary that the KK bulk masses in the lepton and hadron sectors be distinct. Even so, we find that cosmic-ray data disfavor a heavy KK photon dark matter scenario. Also, we find these scenarios with flavor-universal bulk masses to be in conflict with dijet and dilepton searches at the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Cosmic Neutrino Pevatrons: A Brand New Pathway to Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Particle Physics

The announcement by the IceCube Collaboration of the observation of 28 cosmic neutrino candidates has been greeted with a great deal of justified excitement. The data reported so far depart by 4.3σfrom the expected atmospheric neutrino background, which raises the obvious question: "Where in the Cosmos are these neutrinos coming from?" We review the many possibilities which have been explored in the literature to address this question, including origins at either Galactic or extragalactic celestial objects. For completeness, we also briefly discuss new physics processes which may either explain or be constrained by IceCube data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Dual models of the neutrino mass spectrum

We show that any model with a homogeneous relationship among elements of the neutrino mass matrix with one mass hierarchy yields predictions for the oscillation parameters and Majorana phases similar to those given by a model with the same homogeneous relationship among cofactors of the neutrino mass matrix with the opposite mass hierarchy, except when the lightest mass is of order 20 meV or less.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Configuring the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment

We study the neutrino oscillation physics performance of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) in various configurations. In particular, we compare the case of a surface detector at the far site augmented by a near detector, to that with the far site detector placed deep underground but no near detector. In the latter case, information from atmospheric neutrino events is also utilized. For values of θ_{13} favored by reactor experiments and a 100 kt-yr exposure, we find roughly equivalent sensitivities to the neutrino mass hierarchy, the octant of θ_{23}, and to CP violation. We also find that as the exposure is increased, the near detector helps increase the sensitivity to CP violation substantially more than atmospheric neutrinos.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

One diagonal texture or cofactor zero of the neutrino mass matrix

In view of the recent measurement of nonzero $θ_{13}$, we carry out a systematic study of a simple class of neutrino models that has one diagonal texture or cofactor zero in the mass matrix. There are seven free parameters in the model and five of them are already measured by neutrino oscillation experiments; some cases for the normal or inverted hierarchy are excluded and for the rest we obtain the preferred values for the lightest neutrino mass and Dirac CP phase. We find that there are strong similarities between one diagonal texture zero models with one mass hierarchy and one diagonal cofactor zero models with the opposite mass hierarchy. We also make predictions for neutrinoless double beta decay for these models. For the one cofactor zero models, we present a simple realization based on a new U(1) gauge symmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Isospin-Violating Dark Matter Benchmarks for Snowmass 2013

Isospin-violating dark matter (IVDM) generalizes the standard spin-independent scattering parameter space by introducing one additional parameter, the neutron-to-proton coupling ratio f_n/f_p. In IVDM the implications of direct detection experiments can be altered significantly. We review the motivations for considering IVDM and present benchmark models that illustrate some of the qualitatively different possibilities. IVDM strongly motivates the use of a variety of target nuclei in direct detection experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

LHC and dark matter signals of Z' bosons

We customize the simulation code FEWZ (Fully Exclusive W, Z Production) to study Z' production at the LHC for both \sqrt{s}=8 TeV and 14 TeV. Using the results of our simulation for several standard benchmark Z' models, we derive a semi-empirical expression for the differential cross section, that permits the determination of Z' couplings in a model-independent manner. We evaluate cross sections and other observables for large classes of models, including the common E_6, left-right and B-L models, as a function of model parameters. We also consider a hidden sector Z' that couples to standard model fermions via kinetic and mass mixing and serves as a mediator of isospin-violating interactions with dark matter. We combine the results of LHC Z' searches and dark matter direct detection experiments with global electroweak data to obtain mass-dependent constraints on the model parameters.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Bremsstrahlung signatures of dark matter annihilation in the Sun

The nonrelativistic annihilation of Majorana dark matter in the Sun to a pair of light fermions is chirality-suppressed. Annihilation to 3-body final states $\ell^+f^-V$, where $V=W,Z,γ$, and $\ell$ and $f$ are light fermions (that may be the same), becomes dominant since bremsstrahlung relaxes the chirality suppression. We evaluate the neutrino spectra at the source, including spin and helicity dependent effects, and assess the detectability of each significant bremsstrahlung channel at IceCube/DeepCore. We also show how to combine the sensitivities to the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross section in individual channels, since typically several channels contribute in models.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Dipole Moment Dark Matter at the LHC

Monojet and monophoton final states with large missing transverse energy (${\not E}_T$) are important for dark matter (DM) searches at colliders. We present analytic expressions for the differential cross sections for the parton-level processes, $q\bar{q}(qg)\to g(q)χ\barχ$ and $q\bar{q}\to γχ\barχ$, for a neutral DM particle with a magnetic dipole moment (MDM) or an electric dipole moment (EDM). We collectively call such DM candidates dipole moment dark matter (DMDM). We also provide monojet cross sections for scalar, vector and axial-vector interactions. We then use ATLAS/CMS monojet${+\not E}_T$ data and CMS monophoton$+{\not E}_T$ data to constrain DMDM. We find that 7 TeV LHC bounds on the MDM DM-proton scattering cross section are about six orders of magnitude weaker than on the conventional spin-independent cross section.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Neutrino mass hierarchy and octant determination with atmospheric neutrinos

The recent discovery by the Daya-Bay and RENO experiments, that θ_{13} is nonzero and relatively large, significantly impacts existing experiments and the planning of future facilities. In many scenarios, the nonzero value of θ_{13} implies that θ_{23} is likely to be different from π/4. Additionally, large detectors will be sensitive to matter effects on the oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos, making it possible to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and the octant of θ_{23}. We show that a 50 kT magnetized liquid argon neutrino detector can ascertain the mass hierarchy with a significance larger than 4 sigma with moderate exposure times, and the octant at the level of 2-3 sigma with greater exposure.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Constraint on parity-violating muonic forces

Using the nonobservance of missing mass events in the leptonic kaon decay $K \to μX$, we place a strong constraint on exotic parity-violating gauge interactions of the right-handed muon. By way of illustration, we apply it to an explanation of the proton size anomaly that invokes such a new force; scenarios in which the gauge boson decays invisibly or is long-lived are constrained.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Bremsstrahlung in dark matter annihilation

We show that the energy spectra from dark matter (DM) annihilation into $f^+f^-γ$ (where $f$ is a light fermion) via chirality preserving interactions are identical in 3 scenarios: (a) DM is a Majorana fermion and the particle exchanged is a scalar, (b) DM is a Majorana fermion and the particle exchanged is a vector and (c) DM is a scalar and the particle exchanged is a fermion. For cases (a) and (c), we also calculate the differential cross section to $\ell^+f^-V$, where $V=W,Z,γ$, and $\ell$ is a light fermion that may or not be the same as $f$. The form of the cross section depends on whether the DM is a Majorana fermion or a scalar but in both cases its form is independent of $V$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Isospin-Violating Dark Matter

Searches for dark matter scattering off nuclei are typically compared assuming that the dark matter's spin-independent couplings are identical for protons and neutrons. This assumption is neither innocuous nor well motivated. We consider isospin-violating dark matter (IVDM) with one extra parameter, the ratio of neutron to proton couplings, and include the isotope distribution for each detector. For a single choice of the coupling ratio, the DAMA and CoGeNT signals are consistent with each other and with current XENON constraints, and they unambiguously predict near future signals at XENON and CRESST. We provide a quark-level realization of IVDM as WIMPless dark matter that is consistent with all collider and low-energy bounds.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Isospin-Violating Dark Matter in the Sun

We consider the prospects for studying spin-independent isospin-violating dark matter-nucleon interactions with neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the Sun, with a focus on IceCube/DeepCore (IC/DC). If dark matter-nucleon interactions are isospin violating, IC/DC's reach in the spin-independent cross section may be competitive with current direct detection experiments for a wide range of dark matter masses. We also compare IC/DC's sensitivity to that of next generation argon, germanium, neon and xenon based detectors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Lorentz noninvariant oscillations of massless neutrinos are excluded

The bicycle model of Lorentz noninvariant neutrino oscillations without neutrino masses naturally predicts maximal mixing and a 1/E dependence of the oscillation argument for muon-neutrino to tau-neutrino oscillations of atmospheric and long-baseline neutrinos, but cannot also simultaneously fit the data for solar neutrinos and KamLAND. Within the Standard Model Extension, we examine all 19 possible structures of the effective Hamiltonian for Lorentz noninvariant oscillations of massless neutrinos that naturally have a 1/E dependence at high neutrino energy. Due to the lack of any evidence for direction dependence, we consider only direction-independent oscillations. Although we find a number of models with a 1/E dependence for atmospheric and long-baseline neutrinos, none can also simultaneously fit solar and KamLAND data.

hep-ph↗