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Joseph Lykken

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Lykken.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2009

The PAMELA excess from neutralino annihilation in the NMSSM

We examine whether the cosmic ray positron excess observed by PAMELA can be explained by neutralino annihilation in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). The main dark matter annihilation products are the lightest CP-even scalar h1 plus the lightest CP-odd scalar a1, with the a1 decaying into two muons. The energetic positrons needed to explain PAMELA are thus obtained in the NMSSM simply from kinematics. The required large annihilation cross section is obtained from an s-channel resonance with the heavier CP-odd scalar a2. Various experiments constrain the PAMELA-favored NMSSM parameter space, including collider searches for a light a1. These constraints point to a unique corner of the NMSSM parameter space, having a lightest neutralino mass around 160 GeV and a very light pseudoscalar mass less than a GeV. A simple parameterized formula for the charge-dependent solar modulation effects reconciles the discrepancy between the PAMELA data and the estimated background at lower energies. We also discuss the electron and gamma ray spectra from the Fermi LAT observations, and point out the discrepancy between the NMSSM predictions and Fermi LAT preliminary results and possible resolution. An NMSSM explanation of PAMELA makes three striking and uniquely correlated predictions: the rise in the PAMELA positron spectrum will turn over at around 70 GeV, the dark matter particle mass is less than the top quark mass, and a light sub-GeV pseudoscalar will be discovered at colliders.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2008

Missing energy look-alikes with 100 pb-1 at the LHC

A missing energy discovery is possible at the LHC with the first 100 pb-1 of understood data. We present a realistic strategy to rapidly narrow the list of candidate theories at, or close to, the moment of discovery. The strategy is based on robust ratios of inclusive counts of simple physics objects. We study specific cases showing discrimination of look-alike models in simulated data sets that are at least 10 to 100 times smaller than used in previous studies. We discriminate supersymmetry models from non-supersymmetric look-alikes with only 100 pb-1 of simulated data, using combinations of observables that trace back to differences in spin.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2007

Ultrahigh-energy neutrino flux as a probe of large extra-dimensions

A suppression in the spectrum of ultrahigh-energy (UHE, >= 10^{18} eV) neutrinos will be present in extra-dimensional scenarios, due to enhanced neutrino-antineutrino annihilation processes with the supernova relic neutrinos. In the n>4 scenario, being n the number of extra dimensions, neutrinos can not be responsible for the highest energy events observed in the UHE cosmic ray spectrum. A direct implication of these extra-dimensional interactions would be the absence of UHE neutrinos in ongoing and future neutrino telescopes.

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↗
arXiv2006

Self-accelerating Warped Braneworlds

Braneworld models with induced gravity have the potential to replace dark energy as the explanation for the current accelerating expansion of the Universe. The original model of Dvali, Gabadadze and Porrati (DGP) demonstrated the existence of a ``self--accelerating'' branch of background solutions, but suffered from the presence of ghosts. We present a new large class of braneworld models which generalize the DGP model. Our models have negative curvature in the bulk, allow a second brane, and have general brane tensions and localized curvature terms. We exhibit three different kinds of ghosts, associated to the graviton zero mode, the radion, and the longitudinal components of massive graviton modes. The latter two species occur in the DGP model, for negative and positive brane tension respectively. In our models, we find that the two kinds of DGP ghosts are tightly correlated with each other, but are not always linked to the feature of self--acceleration. Our models are a promising laboratory for understanding the origins and physical meaning of braneworld ghosts, and perhaps for eliminating them altogether.

hep-th↗
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↗
arXiv2005

Randall-Sundrum with AdS(7)

In the same sense that AdS_5 warped geometries arise naturally from Type IIB string theory with stacks of D3 branes, AdS_7 warped geometries arise naturally from M theory with stacks of M5 branes. We compactify two spatial dimensions of AdS_7 to get AdS_5 X Sigma^2, where the metric for Sigma^2 inherits the same warp factor as appears in the AdS_5. We analyze the 5d spectrum in detail for the case of a bulk scalar or a graviton in AdS_5 X T^2, in a setup which mimics the first Randall-Sundrum model. The results display novel features which might be observed in experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. For example, we obtain TeV scale string winding states without lowering the string scale. This is due to the double warping which is a generic feature of winding states along compactified AdS directions. Experimental verification of these signatures of AdS_7 could be interpreted as direct evidence for M theory.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2005

Revamped Braneworld Gravity

Gravity in five-dimensional braneworld backgrounds often exhibits problematic features, including kinetic ghosts, strong coupling, and the vDVZ discontinuity. These problems are an obstacle to producing and analyzing braneworld models with interesting and potentially observable modifications of 4d gravity. We examine these problems in a general AdS_5/AdS_4 setup with two branes and localized curvature from arbitrary brane kinetic terms. We use the interval approach and an explicit ``straight'' gauge-fixing. We compute the complete quadratic gauge-fixed effective 4d action, as well as the leading cubic order corrections. We compute the exact Green's function for gravity as seen on the brane. In the full parameter space, we exhibit the regions which avoid kinetic ghosts and tachyons. We give a general formula for the strong coupling scale, i.e. the energy scale at which the linearized treatment of gravity breaks down, for relevant regions of the parameter space. We show how the vDVZ discontinuity can be naturally but nontrivially avoided by ultralight graviton modes. We present a direct comparison of warping versus localized curvature in terms of their effects on graviton mode couplings. We exhibit the first example of DGP-like crossover behavior in a general warped setup.

hep-th↗
arXiv2005

Twenty-five Questions for String Theorists

In an effort to promote communication between the formal and phenomenological branches of the high-energy theory community, we provide a description of some important issues in supersymmetric and string phenomenology. We describe each within the context of string constructions, illustrating them with specific examples where applicable. Each topic culminates in a set of questions that we believe are amenable to direct consideration by string theorists, and whose answers we think could help connect string theory and phenomenology.

hep-th↗
arXiv2005

The Interval Approach to Braneworld Gravity

Gravity in five-dimensional braneworld backgrounds may exhibit extra scalar degrees of freedom with problematic features, including kinetic ghosts and strong coupling behavior. Analysis of such effects is hampered by the standard heuristic approaches to braneworld gravity, which use the equations of motion as the starting point, supplemented by orbifold projections and junction conditions. Here we develop the interval approach to braneworld gravity, which begins with an action principle. This shows how to implement general covariance, despite allowing metric fluctuations that do not vanish on the boundaries. We reproduce simple Z_2 orbifolds of gravity, even though in this approach we never perform a Z_2 projection. We introduce a family of ``straight gauges'', which are bulk coordinate systems in which both branes appear as straight slices in a single coordinate patch. Straight gauges are extremely useful for analyzing metric fluctations in braneworld models. By explicit gauge fixing, we show that a general AdS_5/AdS_4 setup with two branes has at most a radion, but no physical ``brane-bending'' modes.

hep-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↗
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↗
arXiv2000

Gravity in a Box

We consider a brane-world construction which incorporates a finite region of flat space, ``the box,'' surrounded by a region of anti-de Sitter space. This hybrid construction provides a framework which interpolates between the scenario proposed by Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos and Dvali, and that proposed by Randall and Sundrum. Within this composite framework, we investigate the effects of resonant modes on four-dimensional gravity. We also show that, on a probe brane in the anti-de Sitter region, there is enhanced production of on-shell nonresonant modes. We compare our model to some recent attempts to incorporate the Randall-Sundrum scenario into superstring theory.

hep-th↗
arXiv2000

Asymmetrical large extra dimensions

We study scenarios in which there is a hierarchy of two sets of large compactified extra dimensions. One particularly interesting case has a single millimeter size extra dimension and five TeV^{-1} size dimensions. The Standard Model gauge bosons have Kaluza-Klein excitations with respect to one of the TeV scale dimensions. We discuss astrophysical constraints on this scenario, as well as prospects for signals at future high energy colliders.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1999

The Shape of Gravity

In a nontrivial background geometry with extra dimensions, gravitational effects will depend on the shape of the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the graviton. We investigate a consistent scenario of this type with two positive tension three-branes separated in a five-dimensional Anti-de Sitter geometry. The graviton is localized on the ``Planck'' brane, while a gapless continuum of additional gravity eigenmodes probe the {\it infinitely} large fifth dimension. Despite the background five-dimensional geometry, an observer confined to either brane sees gravity as essentially four-dimensional up to a position-dependent strong coupling scale, no matter where the brane is located. We apply this scenario to generate the TeV scale as a hierarchically suppressed mass scale. Arbitrarily light gravitational modes appear in this scenario, but with suppressed couplings. Real emission of these modes is observable at future colliders; the effects are similar to those produced by {\it six} large toroidal dimensions.

hep-th↗
arXiv1998

Branes with GUTs and supersymmetry breaking

We study Type I string theory compactified on a T^6/Z_3 orientifold. The low-energy dynamics is most conveniently analyzed in terms of D3-branes. We show that a sector of the theory, which corresponds to placing an odd number of D3-branes at orientifold fixed points, can give rise to an SU(5) gauge theory with three generations of chiral matter fields. The resulting model is not fully realistic, but the relative ease with which an adequate gauge group and matter content can be obtained is promising. The model is also of interest from the point of view of supersymmetry breaking. We show that, for fixed values of the closed string modes, the model breaks supersymmetry due to a conflict between a non-perturbatively generated superpotential and an anomalous U(1) D-term potential.

hep-th↗
arXiv1997

Chiral Gauge Theories from D-Branes

We construct brane configurations leading to chiral four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. The brane realizations consist of intersecting Neveu-Schwarz five-branes and Dirichlet four-branes in non-flat spacetime backgrounds. We discuss in some detail the construction in a C^2/Z_M orbifold background. The infrared theory on the four-brane worldvolume is a four dimensional N=1 SU(N)^M gauge theory with chiral matter representations. We discuss various consistency checks and show that the spectral curves describing the Coulomb phase of the theory can be obtained once the orbifold brane construction is embedded in M-theory. We also discuss the addition of extra vectorlike matter and other interesting generalizations.

hep-th↗