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Eduard Masso

Publications and source records attributed to Eduard Masso.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2021

Baryogenesis via gauge field production from a relaxing Higgs

We show that the baryon asymmetry of the universe can be explained in models where the Higgs couples to the Chern-Simons term of the hypercharge group and is away from the late-time minimum of its potential during inflation. The Higgs then relaxes toward this minimum once inflation ends which leads to the production of (hyper)magnetic helicity. We discuss the conditions under which this helicity can be approximately conserved during its joint evolution with the thermal plasma. At the electroweak phase transition the helicity is then converted into a baryon asymmetry by virtue of the chiral anomaly in the standard model. We propose a simple model which realizes this mechanism and show that the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe can be reproduced.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2019

Primordial Black Holes from the QCD axion

We propose a mechanism to generate Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) which is independent of cosmological inflation and occurs slightly below the QCD phase transition. Our setup relies on the collapse of long-lived string-domain wall networks and is naturally realized in QCD axion models with domain wall number $N_{DW}>1$ and Peccei-Quinn symmetry broken after inflation. In our framework, dark matter is mostly composed of axions in the meV mass range along with a small fraction, $Ω_{\text{PBH}} \gtrsim 10^{-6} Ω_{\text{CDM}} $ of heavy $M \sim 10^4-10^7 M_\odot$ PBHs. The latter could play a role in alleviating some of the shortcomings of the $Λ$CDM model on sub-galactic scales. The scenario has distinct signatures in ongoing axion searches as well as gravitational wave observatories.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2014

An Effective Guide to Beyond the Standard Model Physics

Effective Lagrangians with dimension-six operators are widely used to analyse Higgs and other electroweak data. We show how to build a basis of operators such that each operator corresponds to a coupling which is well measured or will be in the future. We choose a set of couplings such that the correspondence is one-to-one. In our framework, some important features of the Lagrangian are transparent. For example, one can clearly see the presence or absence of correlations among measurable quantities. This may be a useful guide when searching for physics beyond the Standard Model.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2013

Limits on Anomalous Couplings of the Higgs to Electroweak Gauge Bosons from LEP and LHC

In this paper we assume the Higgs is an elementary scalar, and study how new physics could affect its couplings to electroweak gauge bosons. Adding LHC data to LEP data provides new, more stringent limits, particularly when the Higgs to two photon decay signal strength is taken into account. We then study the effect of anomalous angular correlations in the decay to WW*. We obtain a new limit on the rare decay to photon-Z, and use it to constrain Supersymmetry, to find that staus with large mixing would be most sensitive to this channel. We also use these limits to constrain radion exchange in Warped Extra-Dimensions, finding a limit on the radion mass and interaction scale of the order of TeV. Finally, we have extrapolated the current data to obtain prospects for the full 2012 dataset.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2011

Sub-GeV dark matter as pseudo-Goldstone from the seesaw scale

Pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons (pNGBs) are naturally light spin-zero particles, which can be interesting dark matter (DM) candidates. We study the phenomenology of a pNGB theta associated with an approximate symmetry of the neutrino seesaw sector. A small coupling of theta to the Higgs boson is induced radiatively by the neutrino Yukawa couplings. By virtue of this Higgs portal interaction (i) the pNGB acquires a mass m_theta proportional to the electroweak scale, and (ii) the observed DM relic density can be generated by the freeze-in of theta-particles with mass m_theta ~ 3 MeV. Alternatively, the coupling of theta to heavy sterile neutrinos can account for the DM relic density, in the 1 keV-3 MeV window. The decays of theta into light fermions are suppressed by the seesaw scale, making such pNGB sufficiently stable to play the role of DM.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

The Weight of Vacuum Fluctuations

We examine the gravitational properties of Lamb shift energies. Using available experimental data we show that these energies have a standard gravitational behavior at the level of $\sim 10^{-5}$. We are motivated by the point of view that Lamb shift energies may be interpreted as a consequence of vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. If this is the case, our result is a test of the gravitational properties of quantum fluctuations. The result is of interest in relation to the problem of the zero-point energy contribution to the cosmological constant. Indeed, the problem presupposes that the zero-point energy gravitates as all other forms of energy, and this supposition is what we test.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2009

Dipolar Dark Matter

If dark matter (DM) has non-zero direct or transition, electric or magnetic dipole moment then it can scatter nucleons electromagnetically in direct detection experiments. Using the results from experiments like XENON, CDMS, DAMA and COGENT we put bounds on the electric and magnetic dipole moments of DM. If DM consists of Dirac fermions with direct dipole moments, then DM of mass less than 10 GeV is consistent with the DAMA signal and with null results of other experiments. If on the other hand DM consists of Majorana fermions then they can have only non-zero transition moments between different mass eigenstates. We find that Majorana fermions with mass m_χ> 38 GeV and mass splitting of the order of (50-200) keV can explain the DAMA signal and the null observations from other experiments and in addition give the observed relic density of DM by dipole-mediated annihilation. This parameter space for the mass and for dipole moments is allowed by limits from L3 but may have observable signals at LHC.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2009

Physics and Cosmology : the Milli-Electron-Volt Scale

A short review about vacuum energy and the cosmological constant is presented. The observed acceleration of the universe introduces a new meV energy scale. The problem is that, theoretically, the predicted vacuum energy is many orders of magnitude larger than $10^{-3}$ eV. The problem is a link between two Standard Models, namely the Standard Model of Particles and their Interactions (where the vacuum energy appears) and the Standard Cosmological Model (where a cosmological constant is a good fit to data), and perhaps it is a clue in our search for new physics.

hep-th↗
arXiv2008

Mixing of photons with massive spin-two particles in a magnetic field

We study the mixing of photons with hypothetical massive spin-two particles in the presence of a magnetic field. Mixing phenomena have been studied in the case of axion-like particles and strictly massless spin-two particles (gravitons) but not in this case. We find several interesting differences between them.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2007

Imprint of spatial curvature on inflation power spectrum

If the universe had a large curvature before inflation there is a deviation from the scale invariant perturbations of the inflaton at the beginning of inflation. This may have some effect on the CMB anisotropy at large angular scales. We calculate the density perturbations for both open and closed universe cases using the Bunch-Davies vacuum condition on the initial state. We use our power spectrum to calculate the temperature anisotropy spectrum and compare the results with the WMAP three year data. We find that our power spectrum gives a lower quadrupole anisotropy when $Ω-1 >0$, but matches the temperature anisotropy calculated from the standard Ratra-Peebles power spectrum at large $l$. The determination of spatial curvature from temperature anisotropy data is not much affected by the different power spectra which arise from the choice of different boundary conditions for the inflaton perturbation.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Low-scale inflation in a model of dark energy and dark matter

We present a complete particle physics model that explains three major problems of modern cosmology: inflation, dark matter and dark energy, and also gives a mechanism for leptogenesis. The model has a new gauge group $SU(2)_Z$ that grows strong at a scale $Λ\sim 10^{-3}$ eV. We focus on the inflationary aspects of the model. Inflation occurs with a Coleman-Weinberg potential at a low scale, down to $\sim 6\times 10^5\gev$, being compatible with observational data.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Axion results: what is new?

The PVLAS collaboration has obtained results that may be interpreted in terms of a light axion-like particle, while the CAST collaboration has not found any signal of such particles. Moreover, the PVLAS results are in gross contradiction with astrophysical bounds. We develop a particle physics model with two paraphotons and with a low energy scale in which these apparent inconsistencies are circumvented.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

Compatibility of CAST search with axion-like interpretation of PVLAS results

The PVLAS collaboration has results that may be interpreted in terms of a light axion-like particle, while the CAST collaboration has not found any signal of such particles. We propose a particle physics model with paraphotons and with a low energy scale in which this apparent inconsistency is circumvented.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

Axions and their Relatives

A review of the status of axions and axion-like particles is given. Special attention is devoted to the recent results of the PVLAS collaboration, which are in conflict with the CAST data and with the astrophysical constraints. Solutions to the puzzle and the implications for new physics are discussed. The question of axion-like particles being dark matter is also addressed.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

New Results In Axion Physics

We comment on the recent experimental results from the PVLAS and CAST collaborations that search for axion-like particles. We propose a particle physics model in which their apparent inconsistency is circumvented.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

We need lab experiments to look for axion-like particles

The PVLAS signal has renewed the interest in light bosons coupled to the electromagnetic field. However, astrophysical bounds coming from the lifetime of the sun and the CAST experiment are seemingly in conflict with this result. We discuss effective models that allow to suppress production of axion-like particles in the sun and thereby relax the bounds by some orders of magnitude. This stresses the importance of laboratory searches.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2005

Scalar Field Oscillations Contributing to Dark Energy

We use action-angle variables to describe the basic physics of coherent scalar field oscillations in the expanding universe. These analytical mechanics methods have some advantages, like the identification of adiabatic invariants. As an application, we show some instances of potentials leading to equations of state with $p<-ρ/3$, thus contributing to the dark energy that causes the observed acceleration of the universe.

astro-ph↗