arXiv subjects

Frank Daniel Steffen

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Daniel Steffen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

Dark radiation and dark matter in supersymmetric axion models with high reheating temperature

Recent studies of the cosmic microwave background, large scale structure, and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) show trends towards extra radiation. Within the framework of supersymmetric hadronic axion models, we explore two high-reheating-temperature scenarios that can explain consistently extra radiation and cold dark matter (CDM), with the latter residing either in gravitinos or in axions. In the gravitino CDM case, axions from decays of thermal saxions provide extra radiation already prior to BBN and decays of axinos with a cosmologically required TeV-scale mass can produce extra entropy. In the axion CDM case, cosmological constraints are respected with light eV-scale axinos and weak-scale gravitinos that decay into axions and axinos. These decays lead to late extra radiation which can coexist with the early contributions from saxion decays. Recent results of the Planck satellite probe extra radiation at late times and thereby both scenarios. Further tests are the searches for axions at ADMX and for supersymmetric particles at the LHC.

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arXiv2013

Axions and saxions from the primordial supersymmetric plasma and extra radiation signatures

We calculate the rate for thermal production of axions and saxions via scattering of quarks, gluons, squarks, and gluinos in the primordial supersymmetric plasma. Systematic field theoretical methods such as hard thermal loop resummation are applied to obtain a finite result in a gauge-invariant way that is consistent to leading order in the strong gauge coupling. We calculate the thermally produced yield and the decoupling temperature for both axions and saxions. For the generic case in which saxion decays into axions are possible, the emitted axions can constitute extra radiation already prior to big bang nucleosynthesis and well thereafter. We update associated limits imposed by recent studies of the primordial helium-4 abundance and by precision cosmology of the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure. We show that the trend towards extra radiation seen in those studies can be explained by late decays of thermal saxions into axions and that upcoming Planck results will probe supersymmetric axion models with unprecedented sensitivity.

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arXiv2011

Axinos in Cosmology and at Colliders

The axino, the fermionic superpartner of the axion, is a well-motivated candidate for cold dark matter if it is the lightest supersymmetric particle. Since the axino couples very weakly to the matter multiplets, the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) has a long lifetime, which has important consequences for both cosmology and collider phenomenology. Assuming that a charged slepton is the NLSP, we calculate the complete leading one- and two-loop contributions to its decay. We analyze in detail constraints on the parameters space from cosmology and discuss how this scenario can be probed at colliders. Scenarios in which both the axino and the gravitino are lighter than the long-lived charged slepton are also explored with particular emphasis on cosmological constraints and collider phenomenology.

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arXiv2011

Thermal axion production in the primordial quark-gluon plasma

We calculate the rate for thermal production of axions via scattering of quarks and gluons in the primordial quark-gluon plasma. To obtain a finite result in a gauge-invariant way that is consistent to leading order in the strong gauge coupling, we use systematic field theoretical methods such as hard thermal loop resummation and the Braaten-Yuan prescription. The thermally produced yield, the decoupling temperature, and the density parameter are computed for axions with a mass below 10 meV. In this regime, with a Peccei-Quinn scale above 6x10^8 GeV, the associated axion population can still be relativistic today and can coexist with the axion cold dark matter condensate.

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arXiv2009

Late Energy Injection and Cosmological Constraints in Axino Dark Matter Scenarios

Taking into account effects of late energy injection, we examine big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraints on axino dark matter scenarios with long-lived charged sleptons. We calculate 4-body slepton decays into the axino, a lepton, and a quark-antiquark pair since they govern late hadronic energy injection and associated BBN constraints. For supersymmetric hadronic axion models, we present the obtained hadronic BBN constraints and show that they can be more restrictive than the ones associated with catalyzed BBN via slepton-bound-state formation. From the BBN constraints on hadronic and electromagnetic energy release, we find new upper limits on the Peccei-Quinn scale.

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arXiv2009

Upper Limits on the Peccei-Quinn Scale and on the Reheating Temperature in Axino Dark Matter Scenarios

Considering axino cold dark matter scenarios with a long-lived charged slepton, we study constraints on the Peccei-Quinn scale f_a and on the reheating temperature T_R imposed by the dark matter density and by big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). For an axino mass compatible with large-scale structure, m_axino \gtrsim 100 keV, temperatures above 10^9 GeV become viable for f_a > 3x10^12 GeV. We calculate the slepton lifetime in hadronic axion models. With the dominant decay mode being two-loop suppressed, this lifetime can be sufficiently large to allow for primordial bound states leading to catalyzed BBN of Lithium-6 and Beryllium-9. This implies new upper limits on f_a and on T_R that depend on quantities which will be probed at the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2009

Axino dark matter from thermal production

The axino is a promising candidate for dark matter in the Universe. It is electrically and color neutral, very weakly interacting, and could be - as assumed in this study - the lightest supersymmetric particle, which is stable for unbroken R-parity. In supersymmetric extensions of the standard model, in which the strong CP problem is solved via the Peccei-Quinn mechanism, the axino arises naturally as the fermionic superpartner of the axion. We compute the thermal production rate of axinos in supersymmetric QCD. Using hard thermal loop resummation, we obtain a finite result in a gauge-invariant way, which takes into account Debye screening in the hot quark-gluon-squark-gluino plasma. The relic axino abundance from thermal scatterings after inflation is evaluated. We find that thermally produced axinos could provide the dominant part of cold dark matter, for example, for an axino mass of 100 keV and a reheating temperature of 10^6 GeV.

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arXiv2008

Dark Matter Candidates - Axions, Neutralinos, Gravitinos, and Axinos

The existence of dark matter provides strong evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Extending the Standard Model with the Peccei-Quinn symmetry and/or supersymmetry, compelling dark matter candidates appear. For the axion, the neutralino, the gravitino, and the axino, I review primordial production mechanisms, cosmological and astrophysical constraints, experimental searches, and prospects for experimental identification.

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arXiv2008

Constraints on Supersymmetric Models from Catalytic Primordial Nucleosynthesis of Beryllium

The catalysis of nuclear reactions by negatively charged relics leads to increased outputs of primordial ^6Li and ^9Be. In combination with observational constraints on the primordial fractions of ^6Li and ^9Be, this imposes strong restrictions on the primordial abundance and the lifetime of charged relics. We analyze the constraints from the catalysis of ^9Be on supersymmetric models in which the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric particle and a charged slepton--such as the lighter stau--the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP). Barring the special cases in which the primordial fraction of the slepton NLSP is significantly depleted, we find that the ^9Be data require a slepton NLSP lifetime of less than 6x10^3 seconds. We also address the issue of the catalytic destruction of ^6Li and ^9Be by late forming bound states of protons with negatively charged relics finding that it does not lead to any significant modification of the limit on the slepton lifetime.

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arXiv2008

Thermal relic abundances of long-lived staus

In supersymmetric models with a long-lived stau being the lightest Standard Model superpartner, the stau abundance during primordial nucleosynthesis is tightly constrained. Considering the complete set of stau annihilation channels in the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with real parameters for scenarios in which sparticle coannihilations are negligible, we calculate the decoupling of the lighter stau from the primordial plasma and identify processes which are capable to deplete the resulting stau abundance significantly. We find particularly efficient stau annihilation at the resonance of the heavy CP-even Higgs boson and for a lighter stau with a sizeable left-right mixing due to enhanced stau-Higgs couplings. Even within the constrained MSSM, we encounter both effects leading to exceptionally small values of the resulting stau abundance. Prospects for collider phenomenology are discussed and possible implications of our findings are addressed with emphasis on gravitino dark matter scenarios.

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arXiv2008

Probing the Reheating Temperature at Colliders and with Primordial Nucleosynthesis

Considering gravitino dark matter scenarios with a long-lived charged slepton, we show that collider measurements of the slepton mass and its lifetime can probe not only the gravitino mass but also the post-inflationary reheating temperature TR. In a model independent way, we derive upper limits on TR and discuss them in light of the constraints from the primordial catalysis of lithium-6 through bound-state effects. In the collider-friendly region of slepton masses below 1 TeV, the obtained conservative estimate of the maximum reheating temperature is about TR=3\times 10^9 GeV for the limiting case of a small gluino-slepton mass splitting and about TR=10^8 GeV for the case that is typical for universal soft supersymmetry breaking parameters at the scale of grand unification. We find that a determination of the gluino-slepton mass ratio at the Large Hadron Collider will test the possibility of TR>10^9 GeV and thereby the viability of thermal leptogenesis with hierarchical heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos.

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arXiv2008

Implications of Catalyzed BBN in the CMSSM with Gravitino Dark Matter

We investigate gravitino dark matter scenarios in which the primordial ^6Li production is catalyzed by bound-state formation of long-lived negatively charged particles X^- with ^4He. In the constrained minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) with the stau^- as the X^-, the observationally inferred bound on the primordial ^6Li abundance allows us to derive a rigid lower limit on the gaugino mass parameter for a standard cosmological history. This limit can have severe implications for supersymmetry searches at the Large Hadron Collider and for the reheating temperature after inflation.

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arXiv2007

Supersymmetric Dark Matter Candidates - The Lightest Neutralino, the Gravitino, and the Axino

In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the lightest neutralino, the gravitino, and the axino can appear as the lightest supersymmetric particle and as such provide a compelling explanation of the non-baryonic dark matter in our Universe. For each of these dark matter candidates, I review the present status of primordial production mechanisms, cosmological constraints, and prospects of experimental identification.

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arXiv2007

CBBN in the CMSSM

Catalyzed big bang nucleosynthesis (CBBN) can lead to an overproduction of ^6Li in gravitino dark matter scenarios in which the lighter stau is the lightest Standard Model superpartner. Based on a treatment using the state-of-the-art result for the catalyzed ^6Li production cross section, we update the resulting constraint within the framework of the constrained minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM). We confront our numerical findings with recently derived conservative limits on the gaugino mass parameter and the reheating temperature.

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arXiv2007

Supersymmetric Candidates for Dark Matter (in German)

The identity of dark matter is one of the greatest puzzles of our Universe. Its solution may be associated with supersymmetry which is a fundamental space-time symmetry that has not been verified experimentally so far. In many supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, the lightest supersymmetric particle cannot decay and is hence a promising dark matter candidate. The lightest neutralino, which appears already in the minimal supersymmetric model, can be identified as such a candidate in indirect and direct dark matter searches and at future colliders. As the superpartner of the graviton, the gravitino is another candidate for the lightest superparticle that provides a compelling explanation of dark matter. While it will neither be detected in indirect or direct searches nor be produced directly at accelerators, the analysis of late-decaying charged particles can allow for an experimental identification of the gravitino at future accelerators. In this way, the upcoming experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider may become a key to the understanding of our Universe.

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arXiv2007

Thermal Gravitino Production and Collider Tests of Leptogenesis

Considering gravitino dark matter scenarios, we obtain the full gauge-invariant result for the relic density of thermally produced gravitinos to leading order in the Standard Model gauge couplings. For the temperatures required by thermal leptogenesis, we find gaugino mass bounds which will be probed at future colliders. We show that a conceivable determination of the gravitino mass will allow for a unique test of the viability of thermal leptogenesis in the laboratory.

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arXiv2007

Constraints on the Reheating Temperature in Gravitino Dark Matter Scenarios

Considering gravitino dark matter scenarios, we study constraints on the reheating temperature of inflation. We present the gauge-invariant result for the thermally produced gravitino yield to leading order in the Standard Model gauge couplings. Within the framework of the constrained minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM), we find a maximum reheating temperature of about 10^7 GeV taking into account bound-state effects on the primordial $^6$Li abundance. We show that late-time entropy production can relax this constraint significantly. Only with a substantial entropy release after the decoupling of the lightest Standard Model superpartner, thermal leptogenesis remains a viable explanation of the cosmic baryon asymmetry within the CMSSM.

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arXiv2006

Constraints on Gravitino Dark Matter Scenarios with Long-Lived Charged Sleptons

Considering scenarios in which the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric particle and a charged slepton the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), we discuss cosmological constraints on the masses of the gravitino and the NLSP slepton. The presented mass bounds are crucial for gravitino dark matter studies and potential gravitino signatures at future colliders.

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