arXiv subjects

Ian Low

Publications and source records attributed to Ian Low.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

The dark side of the Higgs boson

Current limits from the Large Hadron Collider exclude a standard model-like Higgs mass above 150 GeV, by placing an upper bound on the Higgs production rate. We emphasize that, alternatively, the limit could be interpreted as a lower bound on the total decay width of the Higgs boson. If the invisible decay width of the Higgs is of the same order as the visible decay width, a heavy Higgs boson could be consistent with null results from current searches. We propose a method to infer the invisible decay of the Higgs by using the width of the measured h to ZZ to 4l lineshape, and study the effect on the width extraction due to a reduced signal strength. Assuming the invisible decay product is the dark matter, we show that minimal models are tightly constrained by limits from Higgs searches at the LHC and direct detection experiments of dark matter, unless the relic density constraint is relaxed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Improving the sensitivity of Higgs boson searches in the golden channel

Leptonic decays of the Higgs boson in the ZZ* channel yield what is known as the golden channel due to its clean signature and good total invariant mass resolution. In addition, the full kinematic distribution of the decay products can be reconstructed, which, nonetheless, is not taken into account in traditional search strategy relying only on measurements of the total invariant mass. In this work we implement a type of multivariate analysis known as the matrix element method, which exploits differences in the full production and decay matrix elements between the Higgs boson and the dominant irreducible background from q bar{q} -> ZZ*. Analytic expressions of the differential distributions for both the signal and the background are also presented. We perform a study for the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt{s}=7 TeV for Higgs masses between 175 and 350 GeV. We find that, with an integrated luminosity of 2.5 fb^-1 or higher, improvements in the order of 10 - 20 % could be obtained for both discovery significance and exclusion limits in the high mass region, where the differences in the angular correlations between signal and background are most pronounced.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

On the production of a composite Higgs boson

We present a prescription for computing the gluon fusion production rate of a composite Higgs boson, which arises as a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson, using effective lagrangians. The calculation incorporates three different effects due to the composite nature of the Higgs, some of which were neglected previously. We apply the prescription to models with and without the collective breaking mechanism. In sharp contrast with the case of a fundamental Higgs scalar, the rate only depends on the decay constant "f" and is not sensitive to masses of new particles. After including electroweak constraints, there is a substantial reduction in the rate, in the range of 10 -- 30 % or greater.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Singlet scalars as Higgs imposters at the Large Hadron Collider

An electroweak singlet scalar can couple to pairs of vector bosons through loop-induced dimension five operators. Compared to a Standard Model Higgs boson, the singlet decay widths in the diphotons and Z gamma channels are generically enhanced, while decays into massive final states like WW and ZZ are kinematically disfavored. The overall event rates into gamma gamma and Z gamma can exceed the Standard Model expectations by orders of magnitude. Such a singlet may appear as a resonant signal in the gamma gamma and Z gamma channels, even with a mass above the WW kinematic threshold.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Goldstini as the decaying dark matter

We consider a new scenario for supersymmetric decaying dark matter without R-parity violation in theories with goldstini, which arise if supersymmetry is broken independently by multiple sequestered sectors. The uneaten goldstino naturally has a long lifetime and decays into three-body final states including the gravitino, which escapes detection, and two visible particles. The goldstini low-energy effective interactions are derived, which can be non-universal and allow the dark matter to be leptophilic, in contrast to the case of a single sector supersymmetry breaking. In addition, the three-body decay with a missing particle gives a softer spectrum. Consequently, it is possible to fit both the positron excess observed by the PAMELA and the total e+ + e- measurements by the Fermi-LAT using universal couplings to all three lepton flavors or 100% branching fraction into electrons/positrons, both of which are disfavored in the conventional scenario of dark matter decays into two or four visible particles without missing energy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

When CoGeNT met PAMELA

If the excess events from the CoGeNT experiment arise from elastic scatterings of a light dark matter off the nuclei, crossing symmetry implies non-vanishing annihilation cross-sections of the light dark matter into hadronic final states inside the galactic halo, which we confront with the anti-proton spectrum measured by the PAMELA collaboration. We consider two types of effective interactions between the dark matter and the quarks: 1) contact interactions from integrating out heavy particles and 2) long-range interactions due to the electromagnetic properties of the dark matter. The lack of excess in the anti-proton spectrum results in tensions for a scalar and, to a less extent, a vector dark matter interacting with the quarks through the Higgs portal.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Revealing the electroweak properties of a new scalar resonance

One or more new heavy resonances may be discovered in experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In order to determine if such a resonance is the long-awaited Higgs boson, it is essential to pin down its spin, CP, and electroweak quantum numbers. Here we describe how to determine what role a newly-discovered neutral CP-even scalar plays in electroweak symmetry breaking, by measuring its relative decay rates into pairs of electroweak vector bosons: WW, ZZ, γγ, and Zγ. With the data-driven assumption that electroweak symmetry breaking respects a remnant custodial symmetry, we perform a general analysis with operators up to dimension five. Remarkably, only three pure cases and one nontrivial mixed case need to be disambiguated, which can always be done if all four decay modes to electroweak vector bosons can be observed or constrained. We exhibit interesting special cases of Higgs look-alikes with nonstandard decay patterns, including a very suppressed branching to WW or very enhanced branchings to γγand Zγ. Even if two vector boson branching fractions conform to Standard Model expectations for a Higgs doublet, measurements of the other two decay modes could unmask a Higgs imposter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

From Pamela to CDMS and Back

We take the recent result from the CDMS collaboration as a hint that the dark matter has an elastic scattering cross section with the nucleon in the vicinity of 10^-7 pb. By crossing symmetry such a cross section implies annihilation of dark matter into hadrons inside the halo, resulting in an anti-proton flux that could be constrained by data from the PAMELA collaboration if one includes a large boost factor necessary to explain the PAMELA excess in the positron fraction. As an illustration, we present a model-independent analysis for a fermionic dark matter and study the upper bound on the boost factor using the PAMELA anti-proton flux.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Theoretical Constraints on the Higgs Effective Couplings

We derive constraints on the sign of couplings in an effective Higgs Lagrangian using prime principles such as the naturalness principle, global symmetries, and unitarity. Specifically, we study four dimension-six operators, O_H, O_y, O_g, and O_gamma, which contribute to the production and decay of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), among other things. Assuming the Higgs is a fundamental scalar, we find: 1) the coefficient of O_H is positive except when there are triplet scalars, resulting in a reduction in the Higgs on-shell coupling from their standard model (SM) expectations if no other operators contribute, 2) the linear combination of O_H and O_y controlling the overall Higgs coupling to fermion is always reduced, 3) the sign of O_g induced by a new colored fermion is such that it interferes destructively with the SM top contribution in the gluon fusion production of the Higgs, if the new fermion cancels the top quadratic divergence in the Higgs mass, and 4) the correlation between naturalness and the sign of O_gamma is similar to that of O_g, when there is a new set of heavy electroweak gauge bosons. Next considering a composite scalar for the Higgs, we find the reduction in the on-shell Higgs couplings persists. If further assuming a collective breaking mechanism as in little Higgs theories, the coefficient of O_H remains positive even in the presence of triplet scalars. In the end, we conclude that the gluon fusion production of the Higgs boson is reduced from the SM rate in all composite Higgs models. Our study suggests a wealth of information could be revealed by precise measurements of the Higgs couplings, providing strong motivations for both improving on measurements at the LHC and building a precision machine such as the linear collider.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

The Higgs Mechanism and Loop-induced Decays of a Scalar into Two Z Bosons

We discuss general on-shell couplings of a scalar with two Z bosons using an operator analysis. In addition to the operator originated from the Higgs mechanism, two dimension-five operators, one CP-even and one CP-odd, are generated only at the loop-level. Simple formulas are derived for the differential decay distributions when the Z pair subsequently decay into four leptons by computing the helicity amplitudes, from which it is shown the CP-odd operator merely induces a phase shift in the azimuthal angular distribution between the two decay planes of the Z bosons. We also investigate new physics scenarios giving rise to loop-induced decays of a scalar into ZZ pair, and argue that the total decay width of such a scalar would be order-of-magnitude smaller than that of a Higgs boson, should such decays be observed in the early running of the LHC. Therefore, the total decay width alone is a strong indicator of the Higgs nature, or the lack thereof, of a scalar resonance in ZZ final states. In addition, we study the possibility of using the azimuthal angular distribution to disentangle effects among all three operators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Model Independent Constraints Among the Wtb, Zbb, and Ztt Couplings

Using an effective Lagrangian approach, we perform a model-independent analysis of the interactions among electroweak gauge bosons and the third generation quarks, i.e. the Wtb, Ztt and Zbb couplings. After one imposes the known experimental constraint on the Z b_L b_L coupling, we show that the electroweak symmetry of the standard model specifies the pattern of deviations of the Z t_L t_L and W t_L b_L couplings, independent of underlying new physics scenarios. We study implications of the predicted pattern with data on the single top quark and Ztt associated production processes at the Large Hadron Collider. Such an analysis could in principle allow for a determination of the Wtb coupling without prior knowledge of |V_{tb}|, which is otherwise difficult to achieve.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Implications of the Higgs Discovery in the MSSM Golden Region

If the lightest CP-even Higgs boson in the MSSM is discovered at the LHC, two measurements could be made simultaneously: the Higgs mass m_h and the event rate Bs(gg -> h -> gamma gamma). We study to what extent the combination of these two measurements would allow us to extract parameters in the stop mass matrix, including the off-diagonal mixing term, with a focus on the MSSM golden region where the stops are light and the mixing is large. Even though both the production cross-section and the decay amplitude are not sensitive to supersymmetric parameters outside of the stop sector, the branching ratio depends on the total decay width, which is dominated by the Higgs decay to b quarks and sensitive to both the pseudo-scalar mass m_A and the supersymmetric Higgs mass μ. In the end we find m_A is an important input in extracting the stop mass parameters, while a fair estimate of the off-diagonal mixing term could be obtained without prior knowledge of μ.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Landau-Yang Theorem and Decays of a Z' Boson into Two Z Bosons

We study the decay of a Z' boson into two Z bosons by extending the Landau-Yang theorem to a parent particle decaying into two Z bosons. For a spin-1 parent the theorem predicts: 1) there are only two possible couplings and 2) the normalized differential cross-section depends on kinematics only through a phase shift in the azimuthal angle between the two decay planes of the Z boson. When the parent is a Z' the two possible couplings are anomaly-induced and CP-violating, respectively. At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) effects of the two couplings could be disentangled when both Z bosons decay leptonically.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2008

Probing the Stop Sector of the MSSM with the Higgs Boson at the LHC

We propose using the lightest CP-even Higgs boson in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) to probe the stop sector. Unlike measuring stop masses in production/decay processes which requires knowledge of masses and mixing angles of other superparticles, the strategy depends little on supersymmetric parameters other than those in the stop sector in a large region of parameter space. We show that measurements of the Higgs mass and the production rate in the gluon fusion channel, the dominant channel at the LHC, allow for determination of two parameters in the stop mass-squared matrix, including the off-diagonal mixing term. This proposal is very effective when stops are light and their mixing is large, which coincides with the region where the electroweak symmetry breaking is minimally fine tuned. We also argue that a lightest CP-even Higgs mass in the upper range of allowed values and a production rate significantly smaller than in the standard model would be difficult to reconcile within the MSSM, except in extreme corners of the parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

KK Parity in Warped Extra Dimension

We construct models with a Kaluza-Klein (KK) parity in a five- dimensional warped geometry, in an attempt to address the little hierarchy problem present in setups with bulk Standard Model fields. The lightest KK particle (LKP) is stable and can play the role of dark matter. We consider the possibilities of gluing two identical slices of 5D AdS in either the UV (IR-UV-IR model) or the IR region (UV-IR-UV model) and discuss the model-building issues as well as phenomenological properties in both cases. In particular, we find that the UV-IR-UV model is not gravitationally stable and that additional mechanisms might be required in the IR-UV-IR model in order to address flavor issues. Collider signals of the warped KK parity are different from either the conventional warped extra dimension without KK parity, in which the new particles are not necessarily pair-produced, or the KK parity in flat universal extra dimensions, where each KK level is nearly degenerate in mass. Dark matter and collider properties of a TeV mass KK Z gauge boson as the LKP are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Measuring the Shape of the Extra Dimension

We study the possibility of extracting geometric information on the shape of the extra dimension from four-dimensional data such as the mass of the Kaluza-Klein (KK) mode. Assuming one compact extra dimension whose geometry can be considered as perturbations in the flat background, we show that if there is a Z2 symmetry in the extra dimension, for example the KK parity in models with Universal Extra Dimensions, then the warp factor in the metric is completely determined by the KK mass alone. Without KK parity, additional information depending on the boundary conditions is needed to fully reconstruct the metric, even though such information may be experimentally challenging to obtain. The case in a general background geometry is also considered.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Emerging Holography

We rederive AdS/CFT predictions for infrared two-point functions by an entirely four dimensional approach, without reference to holography. This approach, originally due to Migdal in the context of QCD, utilizes an extrapolation from the ultraviolet to the infrared using a Pade approximation of the two-point function. We show that the Pade approximation and AdS/CFT give the same leading order predictions, and discuss including power corrections such as those due to condensates of gluons and quarks in QCD. At finite order the Pade approximation provides a gauge invariant regularization of a higher dimensional gauge theory in the spirit of deconstructed extra dimensions. The radial direction of anti-de Sitter space emerges naturally in this approach.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Top Partners in Little Higgs Theories with T-parity

We consider a class of little Higgs theories with T-parity where ALL new particles responsible for canceling the standard model contributions to the one-loop quadratic divergences in the Higgs potential are odd under T-parity, including the heavy top partner which was previously taken to be T-even. The new construction significantly simplifies the spectrum in the top sector and completely changes the phenomenology of the top partner. At hadron colliders the signals of this class of T-invariant models appear to be even more similar to supersymmetry. We initiate a study on the collider phenomenology and discuss the challenge of distinguishing this class of models from supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider.

hep-ph↗