arXiv subjects

David E. Morrissey

Publications and source records attributed to David E. Morrissey.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Low-Energy Signals from Kinetic Mixing with a Warped Abelian Hidden Sector

We investigate the detailed phenomenology of a light Abelian hidden sector in the Randall-Sundrum framework. Relative to other works with light hidden sectors, the main new feature is a tower of hidden Kaluza-Klein vectors that kinetically mix with the Standard Model photon and Z. We investigate the decay properties of the hidden sector fields in some detail, and develop an approach for calculating processes initiated on the ultraviolet brane of a warped space with large injection momentum relative to the infrared scale. Using these results, we determine the detailed bounds on the light warped hidden sector from precision electroweak measurements and low-energy experiments. We find viable regions of parameter space that lead to significant production rates for several of the hidden Kaluza-Klein vectors in meson factories and fixed-target experiments. This offers the possibility of exploring the structure of an extra spacetime dimension with lower-energy probes.

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arXiv2010

Low-Energy Probes of a Warped Extra Dimension

We investigate a natural realization of a light Abelian hidden sector in an extended Randall-Sundrum (RS) model. In addition to the usual RS bulk we consider a second warped space containing a bulk U(1)_x gauge theory with a characteristic IR scale of order a GeV. This Abelian hidden sector can couple to the standard model via gauge kinetic mixing on a common UV brane. We show that if such a coupling induces significant mixing between the lightest U(1)_x gauge mode and the standard model photon and Z, it can also induce significant mixing with the heavier U(1)_x Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes. As a result it might be possible to probe several KK modes in upcoming fixed-target experiments and meson factories, thereby offering a new way to investigate the structure of an extra spacetime dimension.

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arXiv2010

Physics searches at the LHC

With the LHC up and running, the focus of experimental and theoretical high energy physics will soon turn to an interpretation of LHC data in terms of the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking and the TeV scale. We present here a broad review of models for new TeV-scale physics and their LHC signatures. In addition, we discuss possible new physics signatures and describe how they can be linked to specific models of physics beyond the Standard Model. Finally, we illustrate how the LHC era could culminate in a detailed understanding of the underlying principles of TeV-scale physics.

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arXiv2010

Hylogenesis: A Unified Origin for Baryonic Visible Matter and Antibaryonic Dark Matter

We present a novel mechanism for generating both the baryon and dark matter densities of the Universe. A new Dirac fermion X carrying a conserved baryon number charge couples to the Standard Model quarks as well as a GeV-scale hidden sector. CP-violating decays of X, produced non-thermally in low-temperature reheating, sequester antibaryon number in the hidden sector, thereby leaving a baryon excess in the visible sector. The antibaryonic hidden states are stable dark matter. A spectacular signature of this mechanism is the baryon-destroying inelastic scattering of dark matter that can annihilate baryons at appreciable rates relevant for nucleon decay searches.

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arXiv2010

Higgs Boson Decays to Neutralinos in Low-Scale Gauge Mediation

We study the decays of a standard model-like MSSM Higgs boson to pairs of neutralinos, each of which subsequently decays promptly to a photon and a gravitino. Such decays can arise in supersymmetric scenarios where supersymmetry breaking is mediated to us by gauge interactions with a relatively light gauge messenger sector (M_{mess} < 100 TeV). This process gives rise to a collider signal consisting of a pair of photons and missing energy. In the present work we investigate the bounds on this scenario within the minimal supersymmetric standard model from existing collider data. We also study the prospects for discovering the Higgs boson through this decay mode with upcoming data from the Tevatron and the LHC.

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arXiv2009

Candidates for Inelastic Dark Matter

Although we have yet to determine whether the DAMA data represents a true discovery of new physics, among such interpretations inelastic dark matter (IDM) can match the energy spectrum of DAMA very well while not contradicting the results of other direct detection searches. In this paper we investigate the general properties that a viable IDM candidate must have and search for simple models that realize these properties in natural ways. We begin by determining the regions of IDM parameter space that are allowed by direct detection searches including DAMA, paying special attention to larger IDM masses. We observe that an inelastic dark matter candidate with electroweak interactions can naturally satisfy observational constraints while simultaneously yielding the correct thermal relic abundance. We comment on several other proposed dark matter explanations for the DAMA signal and demonstrate that one of the proposed alternatives -- elastic scattering of dark matter off electrons -- is strongly disfavored when the modulated and unmodulated DAMA spectral data are taken into account. We then outline the general essential features of IDM models in which inelastic scattering off nuclei is mediated by the exchange of a massive gauge boson, and construct natural models in the context of a warped extra dimension and supersymmetry.

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arXiv2009

Abelian Hidden Sectors at a GeV

We discuss mechanisms for naturally generating GeV-scale hidden sectors in the context of weak-scale supersymmetry. Such low mass scales can arise when hidden sectors are more weakly coupled to supersymmetry breaking than the visible sector, as happens when supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the visible sector by gauge interactions under which the hidden sector is uncharged, or if the hidden sector is sequestered from gravity-mediated supersymmetry breaking. We study these mechanisms in detail in the context of gauge and gaugino mediation, and present specific models of Abelian GeV-scale hidden sectors. In particular, we discuss kinetic mixing of a U(1)_x gauge force with hypercharge, singlets or bi-fundamentals which couple to both sectors, and additional loop effects. Finally, we investigate the possible relevance of such sectors for dark matter phenomenology, as well as for low- and high-energy collider searches.

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arXiv2009

Higgs Boson Signatures of MSSM Electroweak Baryogenesis

Electroweak baryogenesis (EWBG) in the MSSM can account for the cosmological baryon asymmetry, but only within a restricted region of the parameter space. In particular, MSSM EWBG requires a mostly right-handed stop that is lighter than the top quark and a standard model-like light Higgs boson. In the present work we investigate the effects of the light stop on Higgs boson production and decay. Relative to the standard model Higgs boson, we find a large enhancement of the Higgs production rate through gluon fusion and a suppression of the Higgs branching fraction into photon pairs. These modifications in the properties of the Higgs boson are directly related to the effect of the light stop on the electroweak phase transition, and are large enough that they can potentially be tested at the Tevatron and the LHC.

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arXiv2008

Vacuum Stability with Tachyonic Boundary Higgs Masses in No-Scale Supersymmetry or Gaugino Mediation

No-scale supersymmetry or gaugino mediation augmented with large negative Higgs soft masses at the input scale provides a simple solution to the supersymmetric flavor problem while giving rise to a neutralino LSP. However, to obtain a neutralino LSP it is often necessary to have tachyonic input Higgs soft masses that can give rise to charge-and-color-breaking (CCB) minima and unbounded-from-below (UFB) directions in the low energy theory. We investigate the vacuum structure in these theories to determine when such problematic features are present. When the standard electroweak vacuum is only metastable, we compute its lifetime under vacuum tunneling. We find that vacuum metastability leads to severe restrictions on the parameter space for larger $\tanβ\sim 30$, while for smaller $\tanβ\sim 10$, only minor restrictions are found. Along the way, we derive an exact bounce solution for tunneling through an inverted parabolic potential.

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arXiv2008

Changes in Dark Matter Properties After Freeze-Out

The properties of the dark matter that determine its thermal relic abundance can be very different from the dark matter properties today. We investigate this possibility by coupling a dark matter sector to a scalar that undergoes a phase transition after the dark matter freezes out. If the value of Omega_DM h^2 calculated from parameters measured at colliders and by direct and indirect detection experiments does not match the astrophysically observed value, a novel cosmology of this type could provide the explanation. This mechanism also has the potential to account for the "boost factor" required to explain the PAMELA data.

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arXiv2008

Non-Thermal Dark Matter from Cosmic Strings

Cosmic strings can be created in the early universe during symmetry-breaking phase transitions, such as might arise if the gauge structure of the standard model is extended by additional U(1) factors at high energies. Cosmic strings present in the early universe form a network of long horizon-length segments, as well as a population of closed string loops. The closed loops are unstable against decay, and can be a source of non-thermal particle production. In this work we compute the density of WIMP dark matter formed by the decay of gauge theory cosmic string loops derived from a network of long strings in the scaling regime or under the influence of frictional forces. We find that for symmetry breaking scales larger than 10^10 GeV, this mechanism has the potential to account for the observed relic density of dark matter. For symmetry breaking scales lower than this, the density of dark matter created by loop decays from a scaling string network lies below the observed value. In particular, the cosmic strings originating from a U(1) gauge symmetry broken near the electroweak scale, that could lead to a massive Z' gauge boson observable at the LHC, produce a negligibly small dark matter relic density by this mechanism.

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arXiv2008

Higgs Boson Exempt No-Scale Supersymmetry with a Neutrino Seesaw: Implications for Lepton Flavor Violation and Leptogenesis

Motivated by the observation of neutrino oscillations, we extend the Higgs boson exempt no-scale supersymmetry model (HENS) by adding three heavy right-handed neutrino chiral supermultiplets to generate the light neutrino masses and mixings. The neutrino Yukawa couplings can induce new lepton flavor violating couplings among the soft terms in the course of renormalization group running down from the boundary scale. We study the effects this has on the predictions for low-energy probes of lepton flavor violation(LFV). Heavy right-handed neutrinos also provide a way to generate the baryon asymmetry through leptogenesis. We find that consistency with LFV and leptogenesis puts strong requirements on either the form of the Yukawa mass matrix or the smallness of the Higgs up soft mass. In all cases, we generically expect that new physics LFV is non-zero and can be found in a future experiment.

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arXiv2008

Cosmic Strings from Supersymmetric Flat Directions

Flat directions are a generic feature of the scalar potential in supersymmetric gauge field theories. They can arise, for example, from D-terms associated with an extra abelian gauge symmetry. Even when supersymmetry is broken softly, there often remain directions in the scalar field space along which the potential is almost flat. Upon breaking a gauge symmetry along one of these almost flat directions, cosmic strings may form. Relative to the standard cosmic string picture based on the abelian Higgs model, these flat-direction cosmic strings have the extreme Type-I properties of a thin gauge core surrounded by a much wider scalar field profile. We perform a comprehensive study of the microscopic, macroscopic, and observational characteristics of this class of strings. We find many differences from the standard string scenario, including stable higher winding mode strings, the dynamical formation of higher mode strings from lower ones, and a resultant multi-tension scaling string network in the early universe. These strings are only moderately constrained by current observations, and their gravitational wave signatures may be detectable at future gravity wave detectors. Furthermore, there is the interesting but speculative prospect that the decays of cosmic string loops in the early universe could be a source of ultra-high energy cosmic rays or non-thermal dark matter. We also compare the observational signatures of flat-direction cosmic strings with those of ordinary cosmic strings as well as (p,q) cosmic strings motivated by superstring theory.

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arXiv2008

Modified Higgs Boson Phenomenology from Gauge or Gaugino Mediation in the NMSSM

In the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), the presence of light pseudoscalars can have a dramatic effect on the decays of the Standard Model-like Higgs boson. These pseudoscalars are naturally light if supersymmetry breaking preserves an approximate U(1)_R symmetry, spontaneously broken when the Higgs bosons take on their expectation values. We investigate two classes of theories that possess such an approximate U(1)_R at the mediation scale: deformations of gauge and gaugino mediation. In the models we consider, we find two disjoint classes of phenomenologically allowed parameter regions. One of these regions corresponds to a limit where the singlet of the NMSSM largely decouples. The other can give rise to a Standard Model-like Higgs boson with a dominant branching into light pseudoscalars.

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arXiv2006

Connecting (Supersymmetry) LHC Measurements with High Scale Theories

If supersymmetry is discovered at the LHC, the measured spectrum of superpartner masses and couplings will allow us to probe the origins of supersymmetry breaking. However, to connect the collider-scale Lagrangian soft parameters to the more fundamental theory from which they arise, it is usually necessary to evolve them to higher scales. The apparent unification of gauge couplings restricts the possible forms of new physics above the electroweak scale, and suggests that such an extrapolation is possible. Even so, this task is complicated if the low scale spectrum is not measured completely or precisely, or if there is new physics at heavy scales beyond the reach of collider experiments. In this work we study some of these obstacles to running up, and we investigate how to get around them. Our main conclusion is that even though such obstacles can make it very difficult to accurately determine the values of all the soft parameters at the high scale, there exist a number of special combinations of the soft parameters that can avoid these difficulties. We also present a systematic application of our techniques in an explicit example.

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arXiv2006

Higgs Boson Exempt No-Scale Supersymmetry and its Collider and Cosmology Implications

One of the most straightforward ways to address the flavor problem of low-energy supersymmetry is to arrange for the scalar soft terms to vanish simultaneously at a scale $M_{c}$ much larger than the electroweak scale. This occurs naturally in a number of scenarios, such as no-scale models, gaugino mediation, and several models with strong conformal dynamics. Unfortunately, the most basic version of this approach that incorporates gaugino mass unification and zero scalar masses at the grand unification scale is not compatible with collider and dark matter constraints. However, experimental constraints can be satisfied if we exempt the Higgs bosons from flowing to zero mass value at the high scale. We survey the theoretical constructions that allow this, and investigate the collider and dark matter consequences. A generic feature is that the sleptons are relatively light. Because of this, these models frequently give a significant contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and neutralino-slepton coannihilation can play an important role in obtaining an acceptable dark matter relic density. Furthermore, the light sleptons give rise to a large multiplicity of lepton events at colliders, including a potentially suggestive clean trilepton signal at the Tevatron, and a substantial four lepton signature at the LHC.

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arXiv2006

Holomorphic selection rules, the origin of the mu term, and thermal inflation

When an abelian gauge theory with integer charges is spontaneously broken by the expectation value of a charge Q field, there remains a Z_Q discrete symmetry. In a supersymmetric theory, holomorphy adds additional constraints on the operators that can appear in the effective superpotential. As a result, operators with the same mass dimension but opposite sign charges can have very different coupling strengths. In the present work we characterize the operator hierarchies in the effective theory due to holomorphy, and show that there exist simple relationships between the size of an operator and its mass dimension and charge. Using such holomorphy-induced operator hierarchies, we construct a simple model with a naturally small supersymmetric mu term. This model also provides a concrete realization of late-time thermal inflation, which has the ability to solve the gravitino and moduli problems of weak-scale supersymmetry.

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arXiv2005

The tension between gauge coupling unification, the Higgs boson mass, and a gauge-breaking origin of the supersymmetric mu-term

We investigate the possibility of generating the $μ$-term in the MSSM by the condensation of a field that is a singlet under the SM gauge group but charged under an additional family-independent $U(1)_X$ gauge symmetry. We attempt to do so while preserving the gauge coupling unification of the MSSM. For this, we find that SM non-singlet exotics must be present in the spectrum. We also prove that the pure $U(1)_X$ anomalies can always be solved with rationally charged fields, but that a large number of SM singlets are often required. For $U(1)_X$ charges that are consistent with an embedding of the MSSM in SU(5) or SO(10), we show that the $U(1)_X$ charges of the MSSM states can always be expressed as a linear combination of abelian subgroups of $E_6$. However, the SM exotics do not appear to have a straightforward embedding into GUT multiplets. We conclude from this study that if this approach to the $μ$-term is correct, as experiment can probe, it will necessarily complicate the standard picture of supersymmetric grand unification.

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