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Jean-Loic Kneur

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Loic Kneur.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

SuSpect3: A C++ Code for the Supersymmetric and Higgs Particle Spectrum of the MSSM

We present the program SuSpect3 that calculates the masses and couplings of the Higgs and supersymmetric particles predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The model is implemented in both its non-constrained version, the MSSM, and its constrained versions, such as the minimal supergravity and the gauge or anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking models, in which the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters obey certain universal boundary conditions at the high energy scale. The low energy parameters are then obtained using renormalization group equations and electroweak symmetry breaking, and all the dominant radiative corrections have been consistently implemented. SuSpect3 is a major rewrite, in C++ object oriented programming, of the FORTRAN code SuSpect. It includes all the features of the earlier code in an improved and updated manner, and involves new options such as compressed SUSY scenarios, an MSSM-inflation model and the possibility of using the observed Higgs mass as an input. The main features and the use of the program are explained.

hep-ph

The hMSSM with a Light Gaugino/Higgsino Sector: Implications for Collider and Astroparticle Physics

The hMSSM is a special parameterization of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) in which the mass of the lightest Higgs boson is automatically set to the LHC measured value, $M_h\!\!=\!\! 125$\,GeV, by adjusting the supersymmetric particle spectrum such that it provides the required amount of radiative corrections to the Higgs boson masses.\ The latter spectrum was in general assumed to be very heavy, as indicated by the present exclusion limits of the LHC, not to affect the phenomenology of the Higgs sector.\ In this work, we investigate the impact on the hMSSM by a light gaugino and higgsino sector, that is allowed by the present LHC data.\ In particular, we discuss the radiative corrections due to charginos and neutralinos to the Higgs boson masses and couplings and show that an hMSSM can still be realized in this context.\ We first describe how this scenario is implemented in the package SuSpect that generates the MSSM Higgs and supersymmetric spectra.\ We then analyze the possible impact of Higgs boson decays into these new states, as well as the reverse cascade channels with Higgs bosons in the final states, for the constraints on the MSSM Higgs sector at the LHC.\ We further explore the cosmological constraints on the hMSSM with a light gaugino--higgsino spectrum.\ We analyze the relic abundance of the lightest neutralino as a candidate of the dark matter in the Universe and the constraints on its mass and couplings by the present and future astroparticle physics experiments.

hep-ph

The Higgs Boson Mass as Fundamental Parameter of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson is determined by the supersymmetric parameters. In the $m_h$MSSM the precisely measured Higgs boson replaces the trilinear coupling $A_t$ as input parameter. Expressions are derived to extract $A_t$ in a semi-analytical form as a function of the light Higgs boson (pole) mass. An algorithm is developed and implemented at two--loop precision, generalizable to higher orders, to perform this inversion consistently. The result of the algorithm, implemented in the SuSpect spectrum calculator, is illustrated on a parameter set compatible with LHC measurements.

hep-ph

Holographic models of composite Higgs in the Veneziano limit. Part II. Fermionic sector

We continue our study of strongly-coupled, approximately scale-invariant gauge theories with a large number of flavours, which provide a suitable ultraviolet completion of the composite-Higgs scenario. We identify the requisite operators to realise partial compositeness of the Standard-Model fermions. In order to compute the spectrum of composite fermionic states, we extend the bottom-up holographic models, which we previously introduced to capture the main features of the non-perturbative dynamics in the Veneziano limit, by adding fermion fields in the bulk. We identify regions in parameter space where some fermionic bound states become light, depending in particular on the number of flavours, the operator scaling dimensions, and the bulk Yukawa couplings. We also observe a dense spectrum of states, when multi-scale dynamics is induced by a large backreaction of bulk scalars on the geometry. Adapting the formalism of the holographic Wilsonian renormalisation group, we study the linear coupling between the composite and elementary fermions, as a function of energy scale. We find that, in some circumstances, the associated operators are dangerously irrelevant: the renormalisation-group flow gives rise to a large linear coupling in the infrared, even when it is irrelevant from the point of view of the ultraviolet fixed point. We finally compute the partially composite spectrum, correlate it with the analysis of the flow, and assess the potential phenomenological implications, e.g. for the top-quark partners.

hep-ph

Holographic models of composite Higgs in the Veneziano limit. Part I. Bosonic sector

We study strongly-coupled, approximately scale-invariant gauge theories, which develop a mass gap in the infrared. We argue that a large number of fermion flavours is most suitable to provide an ultraviolet completion for the composite Higgs scenario. The holographic approach allows to describe the qualitative features of the non-perturbative dynamics in the Veneziano limit. We introduce new bottom-up holographic models, which incorporate the backreaction of flavour on the geometry, and show that this can correlate the mass gap to the scale of flavour-symmetry breaking. We compute the mass spectrum for the various composite bosonic states, and study its dependence on the scaling dimension of the symmetry-breaking operators, as well as on the number of flavours. The different regions with a light dilaton are critically surveyed. We carefully assess the domain of validity of the holographic approach, and compare it with lattice simulations and the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model.

hep-ph

Chiral Condensate and Spectral Density at full five-loop and partial six-loop orders of Renormalization Group Optimized Perturbation

We reconsider our former determination of the chiral quark condensate $\langle \bar q q \rangle$ from the related QCD spectral density of the Euclidean Dirac operator, using our Renormalization Group Optimized Perturbation (RGOPT) approach. Thanks to the recently available {\em complete} five-loop QCD RG coefficients, and some other related four-loop results, we can extend our calculations exactly to $N^4LO$ (five-loops) RGOPT, and partially to $N^5LO$ (six-loops), the latter within a well-defined approximation accounting for all six-loop contents exactly predictable from five-loops RG properties. The RGOPT results overall show a very good stability and convergence, giving primarily the RG invariant condensate, $\langle \bar q q\rangle^{1/3}_{RGI}(n_f=0) = -(0.840_{-0.016}^{+0.020}) \barΛ_0 $, $\langle\bar q q\rangle^{1/3}_{RGI}(n_f=2) = -(0.781_{-0.009}^{+0.019}) \barΛ_2 $, $\langle\bar q q\rangle^{1/3}_{RGI}(n_f=3) = -(0.751_{-.010}^{+0.019}) \barΛ_3 $, where $\barΛ_{n_f}$ is the basic QCD scale in the \overline{MS} scheme for $n_f$ quark flavors, and the range spanned is our rather conservative estimated theoretical error. This leads {\it e.g.} to $ \langle\bar q q\rangle^{1/3}_{n_f=3}(2\, {\rm GeV}) = -(273^{+7}_{-4}\pm 13)$ MeV, using the latest $\barΛ_3$ values giving the second uncertainties. We compare our results with some other recent determinations. As a by-product of our analysis we also provide complete five-loop and partial six-loop expressions of the perturbative QCD spectral density, that may be useful for other purposes.

hep-ph

Asymptotically Free Theory with Scale Invariant Thermodynamics

A recently developed variational resummation technique, incorporating renormalization group properties consistently, has been shown to solve the scale dependence problem that plagues the evaluation of thermodynamical quantities, e.g., within the framework of approximations such as in the hard-thermal-loop resummed perturbation theory. This method is used in the present work to evaluate thermodynamical quantities within the two-dimensional nonlinear sigma model, which, apart from providing a technically simpler testing ground, shares some common features with Yang-Mills theories, like asymptotic freedom, trace anomaly and the nonperturbative generation of a mass gap. The present application confirms that nonperturbative results can be readily generated solely by considering the lowest-order (quasi-particle) contribution to the thermodynamic effective potential, when this quantity is required to be renormalization group invariant. We also show that when the next-to-leading correction from the method is accounted for, the results indicate convergence, apart from optimally preserving, within the approximations here considered, the sought-after scale invariance.

hep-ph

Phase diagram of the magnetized planar Gross-Neveu model beyond the large-N approximation

The phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of the (2+1)-dimensional Gross-Neveu model are studied in the presence of a constant magnetic field. The optimized perturbation theory (OPT) is used to obtain results going beyond the large-N approximation. The free energy and the complete phase diagram of the model, in terms of temperature, chemical potential and magnetic field are obtained and studied in details. By comparing the results from the OPT and the large-N approximation, we conclude that finite N effects favor the phenomenon of inverse magnetic catalysis when the coupling constant is negative. We show that with the OPT the value of the coexistence chemical potential at vanishing temperature always decreases with the magnetic field. This is opposite to what is seen in the large-N approximation, where for large magnetic fields the coexistence chemical potential starts again to increase. Likewise, at finite temperature, the value of the chemical potential at the tricritical point also decreases with the magnetic field in the OPT case. Consequently, the shape of the phase diagrams predicted by the OPT and by the large-N approximation look very different in the presence of high magnetic fields. Finally, for small values of magnetic field and temperature, we identify the presence of possible intermediate nonchiral phase transitions when varying the chemical potential. We show that these phenomena are not an artifact of the large-N approximation and that they also occur within the OPT framework. These intermediate transitions are interpreted to be a consequence of the de Haas--van Alphen oscillations. We also explain why this type of phenomenon can happen in general for negative couplings but not for positive couplings.

hep-ph

Vector-like contributions from Optimized Perturbation in the Abelian Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model for cold and dense quark matter

Two-loop corrections for the standard Abelian Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model are obtained with the Optimized Perturbation Theory (OPT) method. These contributions improve the usual mean-field and Hartree-Fock results by generating a $1/N_c$ suppressed term, which only contributes at finite chemical potential. We take the zero temperature limit observing that, within the OPT, chiral symmetry is restored at a higher chemical potential $μ$, while the resulting equation of state is stiffer than the one obtained when mean-field is applied to the standard version of the model. In order to understand the physical nature of these finite $N_c$ contributions, we perform a numerical analysis to show that the OPT quantum corrections mimic effective repulsive vector-vector interaction contributions. We also derive a simple analytical approximation for the mass gap, accurate at the percent level, matching the mean-field approximation extended by an extra vector channel to OPT. For $μ\gtrsim μ_c$ the effective vector coupling matching OPT is numerically close (for the Abelian model) to the Fierz-induced Hartree-Fock value $G/(2N_c)$, where $G$ is the scalar coupling, and then increases with $μ$ in a well-determined manner.

nucl-th

Revisiting No-Scale Supergravity Inspired Scenarios: Updated Theoretical and Phenomenological Constraints

We consider no-scale inspired supergravity scenarios, where the gravitino mass and related soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are determined dynamically by radiative corrections to an essentially flat tree-level potential in the supersymmetry breaking hidden sector. We examine the theoretical and phenomenological viability of such a mechanism, when including up-to-date calculations of the low energy sparticle spectrum and taking into account the latest LHC results and other experimental constraints. We (re)emphasize the role of the scale-dependent vacuum energy contribution to the effective potential, in obtaining realistic no-scale electroweak minima, examining carefully the impact of boundary conditions and of variants of the minimization procedure. We also discuss and implement the B_0 (soft breaking Higgs mixing parameter) input boundary condition at high scale, therefore fixing tan beta(B_0) at low scales. For general high scale boundary conditions with non-vanishing B_0, m_0..., our analysis provides theoretical correlations among the supersymmetric, soft and vacuum energy parameters and related phenomenological consequences at the LHC. For instance, a zero vacuum energy at the GUT scale would lead to a decoupled supersymmetric spectrum, together with a light standard model-like Higgs boson at the electroweak scale. Given the experimental exclusion limits, a substantial class of the boundary conditions, and in particular the strict no-scale with m_0=A_0=B_0=0, are only compatible with a stau being the lightest MSSM particle. Then an enlarged allowed parameter space emerges when assuming a gravitino LSP to account for the observed dark matter relic density.

hep-ph

Measuring Unification

If supersymmetry is observed at the LHC its model parameters can be measured at the electroweak scale. We discuss the expected precision on the parameter determination, including a proper treatment of experimental and theoretical errors. Particular attention is paid to degenerate solutions. Using the SFitter framework we perform a bottom-up reconstruction of the unified parameters at the high scale, including a full error propagation.

hep-ph

Thermodynamics and Phase Structure of the Two-Flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model Beyond Large-N_c

The optimized perturbation theory (OPT) method is applied to the $SU(2)$ version of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model both at zero and at finite temperature and/or density. At the first nontrivial order the OPT exhibits a class of 1/N_c corrections which produce nonperturbative results that go beyond the standard large-N_c, or mean-field approximation. The consistency of the OPT method with the Goldstone theorem at this order is established, and appropriate OPT values of the basic NJL (vacuum) parameters are obtained by matching the pion mass and decay constant consistently. Deviations from standard large-N_c relations induced by OPT at this order are derived, for example, for the Gell--Mann-Oakes-Renner relation. Next, the results for the critical quantities and the phase diagram of the model, as well as a number of other thermodynamical quantities of interest, are obtained with OPT and then contrasted with the corresponding results at large N_c.

hep-ph

Critical Dopant Concentration in Polyacetylene and Phase Diagram from a Continuous Four-Fermi Model

The Optimized Perturbation Theory (OPT) method, at finite temperature and finite chemical potential, is applied to the field theory model for polyacetylene. The critical dopant concentration in trans-polyacetylene is evaluated and compared with the available experimental data and with previous calculations. The results obtained within the OPT go beyond the standard mean field (or large-N) approximation (MFA) by explicitly including finite N effects. A critical analysis of the possible theoretical prescriptions to implement and interpret these corrections to the mean field results, given the available data, is given. For typical temperatures probed in the laboratory, our results show that the critical dopant concentration is only weakly affected by thermal effects.

cond-mat.soft

Updating the Phase Diagram of the Gross-Neveu Model in 2+1 Dimensions

The method of optimized perturbation theory (OPT) is used to study the phase diagram of the massless Gross-Neveu model in 2+1 dimensions. In the temperature and chemical potential plane, our results give strong support to the existence of a tricritical point and line of first order phase transition, previously only suspected to exist from extensive lattice Monte Carlo simulations. In addition of presenting these results we discuss how the OPT can be implemented in conjunction with the Landau expansion in order to determine all the relevant critical quantities.

hep-ph

Emergence of Tricritical Point and Liquid-Gas Phase in the Massless 2+1 Dimensional Gross-Neveu Model

A complete thermodynamical analysis of the 2+1 dimensional massless Gross-Neveu model is performed using the optimized perturbation theory. This is a non-perturbative method that allows us to go beyond the known large-N results already at lowest order. Our results, for a finite number of fermion species, N, show the existence of a tricritical point in the temperature and chemical potential phase diagram for discrete chiral phase transition allowing us to precisely to locate it. By studying the phase diagram in the pressure and inverse density plane, we also show the existence of a liquid-gas phase, which, so far, was unknown to exist in this model. Finally, we also derive N dependent analytical expressions for the fermionic mass, critical temperature and critical chemical potential.

hep-th

The 2d Gross-Neveu Model at Finite Temperature and Density with Finite Corrections

We use the linear $δ$ expansion, or optimized perturbation theory, to evaluate the effective potential for the two dimensional Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature and density obtaining analytical equations for the critical temperature, chemical potential and fermionic mass which include finite $N$ corrections. Our results seem to improve over the traditional large-N predictions.

hep-ph

Critical and Tricritical Points for the Massless 2d Gross-Neveu Model Beyond Large N

Using optimized perturbation theory, we evaluate the effective potential for the massless two dimensional Gross-Neveu model at finite temperature and density containing corrections beyond the leading large-N contribution. For large-N, our results exactly reproduce the well known 1/N leading order results for the critical temperature, chemical potential and tricritical points. For finite N, our critical values are smaller than the ones predicted by the large-N approximation and seem to observe Landau's theorem for phase transitions in one space dimension. New analytical results are presented for the tricritical points that include 1/N corrections. The easiness with which the calculations and renormalization are carried out allied to the seemingly convergent optimized results displayed, in this particular application, show the robustness of this method and allows us to obtain neat analytical expressions for the critical as well as tricritical values beyond the results currently known.

hep-th

Updated Constraints on the Minimal Supergravity Model

We provide an up-to-date analysis of the parameter space of the minimal supergravity model (mSUGRA). Novel features include the new central value of the top quark mass, an improved calculation of the masses of the supersymmetric particles and the neutral Higgs bosons, constraints from b to s \ell^+ \ell^- decays, and a careful treatment of the most important experimental and theoretical uncertainties. In addition to the by now traditional plots of the allowed region in the (m_0, m_{1/2}) plane, we show allowed regions in the planes spanned by pairs of {\em physical} sparticle or Higgs boson masses. Moreover, we search for the minimal allowed masses of new particles for various sets of constraints. We find that in many cases the direct experimental limits from collider and Dark Matter searches can be saturated even in this minimal model, and even after including the by now quite restrictive constraint on the Dark Matter relic density.

hep-ph