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Douglas W. McKay

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas W. McKay.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Fitting direct interaction pieces into neutrino puzzles

We develop a framework and unified, compact notation to include neutrino direct interaction effects with neutrino oscillations for a wide class of low-energy, effective four-Fermi interactions. Modest flavor-violating interaction strengths can make significant changes in the boundaries in $ΔM^2 \leftrightarrow sin^2 2θ$ and in $tan^2 θ_{13} \leftrightarrow tan^2 θ_{23} parameter space. We draw examples from the L-R symmetric and $MSSM + \slash R$ models and find the recently reported decay-at-rest $μ\leftrightarrow e$ transition probability can be described without oscillations in L-R symmetric models.

hep-ph↗

Extending Sensitivity for Low-Mass Neutral Heavy Lepton Searches

We point out the importance of two-body final states of weak isosinglet neutral heavy leptons predicted in several models of new physics beyond the standard model. We concentrate on muon-type neutral heavy leptons $L_μ^0$ with mass $M<2$ GeV which can be searched for with increased sensitivity at a new round of neutrino experiments at CERN and Fermilab. Providing explicit decay rate formulae for the $e e ν$, $eμν$, $μμν$, $πμ$, $ρμ$, and $a_1μ$ final states, we use general scaling features to estimate sensitivity of $L_μ^0$ searches in current and future experiments, emphasizing the importance of the $πμ$ decay mode.

hep-ph↗

Technicolor Mechanisms for Single Top Production

We investigate the contribution of technicolor mechanisms to the production of single top quarks at hadron colliders. We find that a promising candidate process is gluon-gluon fusion to produce a W-boson plus technipion, with subsequent decay of the technipion to a top quark plus a bottom quark. The top-plus-bottom mode is the dominant one when the technipion mass is larger than the top mass. We calculate the total cross section and the $p_{T}$ distribution for the technipion production at Tevatron and LHC energies for a range of technipion masses, starting at 200 GeV. The decay chain of technipion to top plus bottom quarks and then top to W plus bottom yields a final state with two W's and two bottom quarks. We study the backgrounds to our process and the kinematic cuts that maximize the signal to background. We report event rate estimates for the upgraded Tevatron and the LHC.

hep-ph↗

Study of Quark Propagator Solutions to the Dyson--Schwinger Equation in a Confining Model

We solve the Dyson--Schwinger equation for the quark propagator in a model with singular infrared behavior for the gluon propagator. We require that the solutions, easily found in configuration space, be tempered distributions and thus have Fourier transforms. This severely limits the boundary conditions that the solutions may satisify. The sign of the dimensionful parameter that characterizes the model gluon propagator can be either positive or negative. If the sign is negative, we find a unique solution. It is singular at the origin in momentum space, falls off like $1/p^2$ as $p^2\rightarrow +/-\infty$, and it is truly nonperturbative in that it is singular in the limit that the gluon--quark interaction approaches zero. If the sign of the gluon propagator coefficient is positive, we find solutions that are, in a sense that we exhibit, unconstrained linear combinations of advanced and retarded propagators. These solutions are singular at the origin in momentum space, fall off like $1/p^2$ asympotically, exhibit ``resonant--like" behavior at the position of the bare mass of the quark when the mass is large compared to the dimensionful interaction parameter in the gluon propagator model, and smoothly approach a linear combination of free--quark, advanced and retarded two--point functions in the limit that the interaction approaches zero. In this sense, these solutions behave in an increasingly ``particle--like" manner as the quark becomes heavy. The Feynman propagator and the Wightman function are not tempered distributions and therefore are not acceptable solutions to the Schwinger--Dyson equation in our model. On this basis we advance several arguments to show that the Fourier--transformable solutions we find are consistent with quark confinement, even though they have singularities on the

hep-th↗

The Ultra High Energy Neutrino-Nucleon Cross Section

The ultra-high energy neutrino nucleon cross section grows at a surprising rate with energy due to QCD effects in the target. Recent electroproduction data allows an update of earlier predictions. We compare the results of our own calculations with those of other groups, and critically review the foundation and reliability of the calculations. The question of the `new physics' potential of neutrino telescopes sensitive to the total cross section in multi-PeV energy domain is considered. We point out a loophole in the arguments which might be an important consideration in extrapolating the cross section to extremely high energies.

astro-ph↗

Toward Radio Detection of PeV Neutrinos on the Cubic Kilometer Scale

Interactions of ultrahigh energy neutrinos of cosmological origin in large volumes of radio-transparent South Polar ice can be detected via coherent Cherenkov emission from accompanying electromagnetic showers. A pilot experiment employing buried radio receivers has been successfully deployed at the South Pole and data are now being collected. The physics of coherent radio emission together with the properties of radio-pulse propagation in Antarctic ice clearly distinguishes the radio method from phototube detection. In the context of the proposed km^3-scale neutrino telescope, these two detection modes provide complementary information on UHE neutrino interactions.

astro-ph↗

On Radio Detection of Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos in Antarctic Ice

Interactions of ultrahigh energy neutrinos of cosmological origin in large volumes of dense, radio-transparent media can be detected via coherent Cherenkov emission from accompanying electromagnetic showers. Antarctic ice meets the requirements for an efficient detection medium for a radio frequency neutrino telescope. We carefully estimate the sensitivity of realistic antennas embedded deep in the ice to 100 MHz - 1 GHz signals generated by predicted neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei. Our main conclusion is that a {\it single radio receiver} can probe a $\sim 1$ ${\rm km}^3$ volume for events with primary energy near 2 PeV and that the total number of events registered would be roughly 200 to 400 ${\rm year}^{-1}$ in our most conservative estimate. An array of such receivers would increase sensitivity dramatically. A radio neutrino telescope could directly observe and test our understanding of the most powerful particle accelerators in the universe, simultaneously testing the standard theory of particle physics at unprecedented energies.

astro-ph↗

A Minimal Four-Family Supergravity Model

We investigate the phenomenology of minimal four-family MSSM supergravity theories containing an additional generation of heavy fermions along with their superpartners. We demand: gauge coupling constant unification at high energy scales; perturbative values for all Yukawa couplings for energy scales $\leq \mgut$; radiative electroweak symmetry breaking via renormalization group evolution; and a neutral LSP. The perturbative constraints imply a light fourth-family quark and lepton spectrum, and $\tanb\lsim 3$. The lightest CP-even Higgs mass is increased. Fourth-family Yukawa coupling contributions to the evolution of scalar masses lead to unexpected mass hierarchies; \eg\ the $\staupone$ is generally the lightest slepton and the lightest squark is the $\wt\bpr_1$. A significant lower bound is placed on the gluino mass by the requirement that the $\staupone$ not be the LSP. Sleptons of the first two families are much more massive compared to the LSP and other neutralinos and charginos than in the three-family models, and could easily lie beyond the reach of a $\sqrt s=500\gev$ $\epem$ collider. Relations between slepton masses and gaugino masses are shown to be very sensitive to the presence of a fourth generation. The most important near-future experimental probes of the four-family models are reviewed. A scenario with $\mt\sim\mw$ and $t\rta {\wt t_1}\cnone$ is shown to be inconsistent with universal soft-SUSY-breaking boundary conditions. Full four-family evolution of $α_s$ is shown to lead to a significant enhancement in inclusive jet and di-jet spectra at Tevatron energies when all sparticle masses are near their lower bounds.

hep-ph↗

Possible Higgs Boson Effects on the Running of Third and Fourth Generation Quark Masses and Mixings.

The Schwinger-Dyson equation for the quark self-energy is solved for the case of the third and fourth quark generations. The exchanges of standard model gluons and Higgs bosons are taken into account. It is found that Higgs boson exchange dominates quark self-energy in the ultraviolet region for sufficiently large input quark masses, causing the running quark propagator mass to increase with energy-scale. No running of the quark mixing angles is found for input quark masses up to and including 500 GeV.

hep-ph↗

A Nonperturbative, Schwinger-Dyson-Equation Analysis of Quark Masses and Mixings in a Model with QCD and Higgs Interactions

The Landau gauge Schwinger-Dyson Equation for the quark self-energy is solved in the quenched ladder approximation for several cases of one- and two-quark-generations. The exchanges of Standard Model gluons and Higgs bosons are taken into account. It is found that Higgs boson exchange dominates the quark self-energy for sufficiently large input quark masses (>75 GeV), causing the running quark propagator mass to increase with energy-scale. The running of the quark mixing angles is also considered. No running of the quark mixing angles is found, to one part in a billion, for input quark masses up to and including 500 GeV.

hep-ph↗

Small-X Quarks at HERA Predict the Ultra High Energy Neutrino-Nucleon Cross Section

New structure function data at small Bjorken $x$ from HERA are used along with next-to-leading order QCD evolution to predict a cross section for charged-current interactions of ultrahigh energy neutrinos with nucleons. This new result is over twice the size of previous estimates and has important implications for cosmic ray experiments now underway as well as for KM3 arrays (cubic kilometer-scale neutrino telescopes) now in the planning stages.

hep-ph↗

Gauge-Coupling Unification and the Minimal SUSY Model: A Fourth Generation Below the Top?

We explore the possibility of a fourth generation in the gauge-coupling-unified, minimal supersymmetric (MSSM) framework. We find that a sequential fourth generation (with a heavy neutrino $ν'$) can still fit, surviving all present experimental constraints, provided $λ_b(M_U)=λ_τ(M_U)$ Yukawa unification is relaxed. For the theory to remain perturbative up to $M_U$, the new leptonic generation must lie within reach of LEP-II and the new $b',t'$ must have masses within the reach of the Tevatron. For example, for $\mt>150\gev$ we find $m_{ν'},m_{τ'}< 86\gev$, $m_{t'}<178$, and $m_{b'}<156\gev$. Experiments at Fermilab are already sensitive to the latter mass regions; we comment on direct $b'$ searches and on the $m_{t'}\simeq \mt$ case in light of new CDF data. Discovery may involve novel decay signatures; however, CDF and LEP-II will confirm or exclude an MSSM fourth generation in the near future.

hep-ph↗

Isospin Multiplet Structure in Ultra--Heavy Fermion Bound States

The coupled Bethe--Salpeter bound state equations for a $Q\bar Q$ system, where $Q=(U,D)$ is a degenerate, fourth generation, super--heavy quark doublet, are solved in several ladder approximation models. The exchanges of gluon, Higgs and Goldstone modes in the standard model are calculated in the ultra--heavy quark limit where weak $γ, W^\pm$ and $Z^0$ contributions are negligible. A natural $I=0$ and $I=1$ multiplet pattern is found, with large splittings occuring between the different weak iso--spin states when $M_Q$, the quark masses, are larger than values in the range $0.4 TeV<M_Q<0.8 TeV$, depending on which model is used. Consideration of ultra--heavy quark lifetime constraints and $U-D$ mass splitting constraints are reviewed to establish the plausibility of lifetime and mass degeneracy requirements assumed for this paper.

hep-ph↗

Infrared Corrections to the Top Quark Width

We present a nonperturbative analysis of the top quark propagator using the Schwinger Dyson equation in the ladder approximation including both the electroweak as well as the infrared QCD effects. We find that the infrared effects are negligible only for top mass larger than about 250 GeV.

hep-ph↗