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Gabriela Barenboim

Publications and source records attributed to Gabriela Barenboim.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
arXiv2009

MINOS and CPT-violating neutrinos

We review the status of CPT violation in the neutrino sector. Apart from LSND, current data favors three flavors of light stable neutrinos and antineutrinos, with both halves of the spectrum having one smaller mass splitting and one larger mass splitting. Oscillation data for the smaller splitting is consistent with CPT. For the larger splitting, current data favor an antineutrino mass-squared splitting that is an order of magnitude larger than the corresponding neutrino splitting, with the corresponding mixing angle less-than-maximal. This CPT-violating spectrum is driven by recent results from MINOS, but is consistent with other experiments if we ignore LSND. We describe an analysis technique which, together with MINOS running optimized for muon antineutrinos, should be able to conclusively confirm the CPT-violating spectrum proposed here, with as little as three times the current data set. If confirmed, the CPT-violating neutrino mass-squared difference would be an order of magnitude less than the current most-stringent upper bound on CPT violation for quarks and charged leptons.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Inflation might be caused by the right

We show that the scalar field that drives inflation can have a dynamical origin, being a strongly coupled right handed neutrino condensate. The resulting model is phenomenologically tightly constrained, and can be experimentally (dis)probed in the near future. The mass of the right handed neutrino obtained this way (a crucial ingredient to obtain the right light neutrino spectrum within the see-saw mechanism in a complete three generation framework) is related to that of the inflaton and both completely determine the inflation features that can be tested by current and planned experiments.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Light charged Higgs at the beginning of the LHC era

The terascale will be explored with the start of the LHC. One of the most fundamental questions which we expect to be answered is the root of electroweak symmetry breaking and whether the Higgs mechanism is realized in nature or not. In this context we pose the question if existing experimental data still allow for a light non-minimal Higgs sector. We tackle this question first in the context of the two Higgs doublet model and then we concentrate in two supersymmetric models, the constrained MSSM and the MSSM with non-universal Higgs masses. In both supersymmetric scearios, light pseudoscalar and light charged-Higgs bosons are still viable provided tan beta is large. In this regime, we emphasize the importance of the constraints provided by the decay B to tau nu mediated by the charged-Higgs at tree-level. In addition we comment on generic predictions for hadronic colliders and indirect searches in such scenarios.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2007

Self-accelerating solutions of scalar-tensor gravity

Scalar-tensor gravity is the simplest and best understood modification of general relativity, consisting of a real scalar field coupled directly to the Ricci scalar curvature. Models of this type have self-accelerating solutions. In an example inspired by string dilaton couplings, scalar-tensor gravity coupled to ordinary matter exhibits a de Sitter type expansion, even in the presence of a {\it negative} cosmological constant whose magnitude exceeds that of the matter density. This unusual behavior does not require phantoms, ghosts or other exotic sources. More generally, we show that any expansion history can be interpreted as arising partly or entirely from scalar-tensor gravity. To distinguish any quintessence or inflation model from its scalar-tensor variants, we use the fact that scalar-tensor models imply deviations of the post-Newtonian parameters of general relativity, and time variation of the Newton's gravitational coupling $G$. We emphasize that next-generation probes of modified GR and the time variation of $G$ are an essential complement to dark energy probes based on luminosity-distance measurements.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2007

Slow roll in simple non-canonical inflation

We consider inflation using a class of non-canonical Lagrangians for which the modification to the kinetic term depends on the field, but not its derivatives. We generalize the standard Hubble slow roll expansion to the non-canonical case and derive expressions for observables in terms of the generalized slow roll parameters. We apply the general results to the illustrative case of ``Slinky'' inflation, which has a simple, exactly solvable, non-canonical representation. However, when transformed into a canonical basis, Slinky inflation consists of a field oscillating on a multi-valued potential. We calculate the power spectrum of curvature perturbations for Slinky inflation directly in the non-canonical basis, and show that the spectrum is approximately a power law on large scales, with a ``blue'' power spectrum. On small scales, the power spectrum exhibits strong oscillatory behavior. This is an example of a model in which the widely used solution of Garriga and Mukhanov gives the wrong answer for the power spectrum.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Colliders as a simultaneous probe of supersymmetric dark matter and Terascale cosmology

Terascale supersymmetry has the potential to provide a natural explanation of the dominant dark matter component of the standard lambda-CDM cosmology. However once we impose the constraints on minimal supersymmetry parameters from current particle physics data, a satisfactory dark matter abundance is no longer prima facie natural. This Neutralino Tuning Problem could be a hint of nonstandard cosmology during and/or after the Terascale era. To quantify this possibility, we introduce an alternative cosmological benchmark based upon a simple model of quintessential inflation. This benchmark has no free parameters, so for a given supersymmetry model it allows an unambiguous prediction of the dark matter relic density. As a example, we scan over the parameter space of the CMSSM, comparing the neutralino relic density predictions with the bounds from WMAP. We find that the WMAP--allowed regions of the CMSSM are an order of magnitude larger if we use the alternative cosmological benchmark, as opposed to lambda-CDM. Initial results from the CERN Large Hadron Collider will distinguish between the two allowed regions.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

The dark(er) side of inflation

We present a new approach to quintessential inflation, in which both dark energy and inflation are explained by the evolution of a single scalar field. We start from a simple scalar potential with both oscillatory and exponential behavior.We employ the conventional reheating mechanism of new inflation, in which the scalar decays to light fermions with a decay width that is proportional to the scalar mass. Because our scalar mass is proportional to the Hubble rate, this gives adequate reheating at early times while shutting off at late times to preserve quintessence and satisfy nucleosynthesis constraints.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2006

Minimal Noncanonical Cosmologies

We demonstrate how much it is possible to deviate from the standard cosmological paradigm of inflation-assisted LambdaCDM, keeping within current observational constraints, and without adding to or modifying any theoretical assumptions. We show that within a minimal framework there are many new possibilities, some of them wildly different from the standard picture. We present three illustrative examples of new models, described phenomenologically by a noncanonical scalar field coupled to radiation and matter. These models have interesting implications for inflation, quintessence, reheating, electroweak baryogenesis, and the relic densities of WIMPs and other exotics.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Neutrino Coannihilation on Dark-Matter Relics?

High-energy neutrinos may resonate with relic background neutralinos to form short-lived sneutrinos. In some circumstances, the decay chain that leads back to the lightest supersymmetric particle would yield few-GeV gamma rays or charged-particle signals. Although resonant coannihilation would occur at an appreciable rate in our galaxy, the signal in any foreseeable detector is unobservably small.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

Observational Constraints on Undulant Cosmologies

In an undulant universe, cosmic expansion is characterized by alternating periods of acceleration and deceleration. We examine cosmologies in which the dark-energy equation of state varies periodically with the number of e-foldings of the scale factor of the universe, and use observations to constrain the frequency of oscillation. We find a tension between a forceful response to the cosmic coincidence problem and the standard treatment of structure formation.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

Slinky Inflation

We present a new approach to quintessential inflation, in which both dark energy and inflation are explained by the evolution of a single scalar field. We start from a simple scalar potential with both oscillatory and exponential behavior. We employ the conventional reheating mechanism of new inflation, in which the scalar decays to light fermions with a decay width that is proportional to the scalar mass. Because our scalar mass is proportional to the Hubble rate, this gives adequate reheating at early times while shutting off at late times to preserve quintessence and satisfy nucleosynthesis constraints. We discuss a simple model which solves the horizon, flatness, and "why now" problems. Without any additional tuning of parameters, this model satisfies all constraints from CMB, large scale structure, and nucleosynthesis. The predictions for the inflationary spectral indices are n_S = n_T = 1. In this model we are currently beginning the third cosmic epoch of accelerated expansion.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

CPT Violating Decoherence and LSND: a possible window to Planck scale Physics

Decoherence has the potential to explain all existing neutrino data including LSND results, without enlarging the neutrino sector. This particular form of CPT violation can preserve the equality of masses and mixing angles between particle and antiparticle sectors, and still provide seizable differences in the oscillation patterns. A simplified minimal model of decoherence is sufficient to explain the existing neutrino data quite neatly, while making dramatic predictions for the upcoming experiments. Some comments on the order of the decoherence parameters in connection with theoretically expected values from some models of quantum-gravity are given. In particular, the quantum gravity decoherence as a primary origin of the neutrino mass differences scenario is explored, and even a speculative link between the neutrino mass-difference scale to the dark energy density component of the Universe today is drawn.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2004

Diagnostic Potential of Cosmic-Neutrino Absorption Spectroscopy

Annihilation of extremely energetic cosmic neutrinos on the relic-neutrino background can give rise to absorption lines at energies corresponding to formation of the electroweak gauge boson $Z^{0}$. The positions of the absorption dips are set by the masses of the relic neutrinos. Suitably intense sources of extremely energetic ($10^{21}$ -- $10^{25}$-eV) cosmic neutrinos might therefore enable the determination of the absolute neutrino masses and the flavor composition of the mass eigenstates. Several factors--other than neutrino mass and composition--distort the absorption lines, however. We analyze the influence of the time-evolution of the relic-neutrino density and the consequences of neutrino decay. We consider the sensitivity of the lineshape to the age and character of extremely energetic neutrino sources, and to the thermal history of the Universe, reflected in the expansion rate. We take into account Fermi motion arising from the thermal distribution of the relic-neutrino gas. We also note the implications of Dirac vs. Majorana relics, and briefly consider unconventional neutrino histories. We ask what kinds of external information would enhance the potential of cosmic-neutrino absorption spectroscopy, and estimate the sensitivity required to make the technique a reality.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2004

Undulant Universe

If the equation of state for "dark energy" varies periodically, the expansion of the Universe may have undergone alternating eras of acceleration and deceleration. We examine a specific form that survives existing observational tests, does not single out the present state of the Universe as exceptional, and suggests a future much like the matter-dominated past: a smooth expansion without a final inflationary epoch.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2004

Decoherent Neutrino Mixing, Dark Energy and Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry

A CPT violating decoherence scenario can easily account for all the experimental evidence in the neutrino sector including LSND. In this work it is argued that this framework can also accommodate the Dark Energy content of the Universe, as well as the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2003

Homeotic Supersymmetry

It is commonly believed that unbroken supersymmetry (SUSY) implies that all members of a supermultiplet have the same mass. We demonstrate that this is not true, by exhibiting a simple counterexample. We employ the formalism of homeotic fermions, in a simple model where CPT conjugate fermions have different masses. This model can be supersymmetrized to a hypermultiplet of fields which form a representation of the conventional N=2 SUSY algebra. Nevertheless, CPT conjugate states in this hypermultiplet have different masses. These surprising results do not violate either the CPT theorem nor the Haag-Lopuszanski-Sohnius theorem.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2003

Neutrino Observatories Can Characterize Cosmic Sources and Neutrino Properties

Neutrino telescopes that measure relative fluxes of ultrahigh-energy $ν_{e}, ν_μ, ν_τ$ can give information about the location and characteristics of sources, about neutrino mixing, and can test for neutrino instability and for departures from CPT invariance in the neutrino sector. We investigate consequences of neutrino mixing for the neutrino flux arriving at Earth, and consider how terrestrial measurements can characterize distant sources. We contrast mixtures that arise from neutrino oscillations with those signaling neutrino decays. We stress the importance of measuring $ν_{e}, ν_μ, ν_τ$ fluxes in neutrino observatories.

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