arXiv subjects

Kai Schmitz

Publications and source records attributed to Kai Schmitz.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Axion Isocurvature Perturbations in Low-Scale Models of Hybrid Inflation

The QCD axion solves the strong CP problem and represents an attractive particle candidate for cold dark matter (CDM). However, quantum fluctuations of the axion field during inflation easily result in large CDM isocurvature perturbations that are in conflict with observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In this paper, we demonstrate how this problem can be solved in low-scale models of hybrid inflation that may emerge from supersymmetric grand unified theories. We consider both F-term hybrid inflation (FHI) and D-term hybrid inflation (DHI) in supergravity, explicitly taking into account the effect of hidden-sector supersymmetry breaking. We discuss the production of cosmic strings and show how the soft terms in the scalar potential readily allow to achieve the correct scalar spectral index. In both cases, we are able to identify large regions in parameter space that are consistent with all constraints. In particular, we find that evading the CDM isocurvature constraint always requires a small Yukawa or gauge coupling of O(10^-3) or smaller. This translates into upper bounds on the gravitino mass of O(10^5) GeV in FHI and O(10^9) GeV in DHI. Our results point to interesting scenarios in well-motivated parameter regions that will be tested in future axion and CMB experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Low-Scale Leptogenesis in the Scotogenic Neutrino Mass Model

The scotogenic model proposed by Ernest Ma represents an attractive and minimal example for the generation of small Standard Model neutrino masses via radiative corrections in the dark matter sector. In this paper, we demonstrate that, in addition to neutrino masses and dark matter, the scotogenic model also allows to explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe via low-scale leptogenesis. First, we consider the case of two right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) N_{1,2}, for which we provide an analytical argument why it is impossible to push the RHN mass scale below M_1^min ~ 10^10 GeV, which is identical to the value in standard thermal leptogenesis in the type-I seesaw scenario with the same washout strength. Then, we present a detailed study of the three-RHN case based on both an analytical and a numerical analysis. In the case of three RHNs, we obtain a lower bound on the N_1 mass of around 10 TeV. Remarkably enough, successful low-scale leptogenesis can be achieved without any degeneracy in the RHN mass spectrum. The only necessary condition is a suppression in the N_1 Yukawa couplings, which results in suppressed washout and a small active neutrino mass of around 10^-12 eV. This leads to the fascinating realization that low-scale leptogenesis in the scotogenic model can be tested in experiments that aim at measuring the absolute neutrino mass scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Unified Model of D-Term Inflation

Hybrid inflation, driven by a Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) D term, is an intriguing inflationary model. In its usual formulation, it however suffers from several shortcomings. These pertain to the origin of the FI mass scale, the stability of scalar fields during inflation, gravitational corrections in supergravity, as well as to the latest constraints from the cosmic microwave background. We demonstrate that these issues can be remedied if D-term inflation is realized in the context of strongly coupled supersymmetric gauge theories. We suppose that the D term is generated in consequence of dynamical supersymmetry breaking. Moreover, we assume canonical kinetic terms in the Jordan frame as well as an approximate shift symmetry along the inflaton direction. This provides us with a unified picture of D-term inflation and high-scale supersymmetry breaking. The D term may be associated with a gauged U(1)_B-L, so that the end of inflation spontaneously breaks B-L in the visible sector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Inflation from High-Scale Supersymmetry Breaking

Supersymmetry breaking close to the scale of grand unification can explain cosmic inflation. As we demonstrate in this paper, this can be achieved in strongly coupled supersymmetric gauge theories, such that the energy scales of inflation and supersymmetry breaking are generated dynamically. As a consequence, both scales are related to each other and exponentially suppressed compared to the Planck scale. As an example, we consider a dynamical model in which gauging a global flavor symmetry in the supersymmetry-breaking sector gives rise to a Fayet-Iliopoulos D term. This results in successful D-term hybrid inflation in agreement with all theoretical and phenomenological constraints. The gauged flavor symmetry can be identified with U(1)_B-L, where B and L denote baryon and lepton number, respectively. In the end, we arrive at a consistent cosmological scenario that provides a unified picture of high-scale supersymmetry breaking, viable D-term hybrid inflation, spontaneous B-L breaking at the scale of grand unification, baryogenesis via leptogenesis, and standard model neutrino masses due to the type-I seesaw mechanism.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Baryon Asymmetry and Gravitational Waves from Pseudoscalar Inflation

In models of inflation driven by an axion-like pseudoscalar field, the inflaton, a, may couple to the standard model hypercharge via a Chern-Simons-type interaction, $L \subset a/(4Λ) F\tilde{F}$. This coupling results in explosive gauge field production during inflation, especially at its last stage, which has interesting phenomenological consequences: For one thing, the primordial hypermagnetic field is maximally helical. It is thus capable of sourcing the generation of nonzero baryon number, via the standard model chiral anomaly, around the time of electroweak symmetry breaking. For another thing, the gauge field production during inflation feeds back into the primordial tensor power spectrum, leaving an imprint in the stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs). In this paper, we focus on the correlation between these two phenomena. Working in the approximation of instant reheating, we (1) update the investigation of baryogenesis via hypermagnetic fields from pseudoscalar inflation and (2) examine the corresponding implications for the GW spectrum. We find that successful baryogenesis requires a suppression scale Lambda of around Lambda ~ 3 x 10^17 GeV, which corresponds to a relatively weakly coupled axion. The gauge field production at the end of inflation is then typically accompanied by a peak in the GW spectrum at frequencies in the MHz range or above. The detection of such a peak is out of reach of present-day technology; but in the future, it may serve as a smoking-gun signal for baryogenesis from pseudoscalar inflation. Conversely, models that do yield an observable GW signal suffer from the overproduction of baryon number, unless the reheating temperature is lower than the electroweak scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Unified Model of Chaotic Inflation and Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

The large hierarchy between the Planck scale and the weak scale can be explained by the dynamical breaking of supersymmetry in strongly coupled gauge theories. Similarly, the hierarchy between the Planck scale and the energy scale of inflation may also originate from strong dynamics, which dynamically generate the inflaton potential. We present a model of the hidden sector which unifies these two ideas, i.e., in which the scales of inflation and supersymmetry breaking are provided by the dynamics of the same gauge group. The resultant inflation model is chaotic inflation with a fractional power-law potential in accord with the upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio. The supersymmetry breaking scale can be much smaller than the inflation scale, so that the solution to the large hierarchy problem of the weak scale remains intact. As an intrinsic feature of our model, we find that the sgoldstino, which might disturb the inflationary dynamics, is automatically stabilized during inflation by dynamically generated corrections in the strongly coupled sector. This renders our model a field-theoretical realization of what is sometimes referred to as sgoldstino-less inflation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Perturbed Yukawa Textures in the Minimal Seesaw Model

\noindent We revisit the \textit{minimal seesaw model}, i.e., the type-I seesaw mechanism involving only two right-handed neutrinos. % This model represents an important minimal benchmark scenario for future experimental updates on neutrino oscillations. % It features four real parameters that cannot be fixed by the current data: two $CP$-violating phases, $δ$ and $σ$, as well as one complex parameter, $z$, that is experimentally inaccessible at low energies. % The parameter $z$ controls the structure of the neutrino Yukawa matrix at high energies, which is why it may be regarded as a label or index for all UV completions of the minimal seesaw model. % The fact that $z$ encompasses only two real degrees of freedom allows us to systematically scan the minimal seesaw model over all of its possible UV completions. % In doing so, we address the following question: Suppose $δ$ and $σ$ should be measured at particular values in the future---to what extent is one then still able to realize approximate textures in the neutrino Yukawa matrix? % Our analysis, thus, generalizes previous studies of the minimal seesaw model based on the assumption of exact texture zeros. % In particular, our study allows us to assess the theoretical uncertainty inherent to the common texture ansatz. % One of our main results is that a normal light-neutrino mass hierarchy is, in fact, still consistent with a two-zero Yukawa texture, provided that the two texture zeros receive corrections at the level of $\mathcal{O}\left(\textrm{10}\,\%\right)$. % While our numerical results pertain to the minimal seesaw model only, our general procedure appears to be applicable to other neutrino mass models as well.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Leptogenesis after Chaotic Sneutrino Inflation and the Supersymmetry Breaking Scale

We discuss resonant leptogenesis arising from the decays of two nearly-degenerate right-handed neutrinos, identified as the inflaton and stabiliser superfields in a model of chaotic sneutrino inflation. We compare an analytical estimate of the baryon asymmetry $ η_B $ in the Boltzmann approximation to a numerical solution of the full density matrix equations, and find that the analytical result fails to capture the correct physics in certain regions of parameter space. The observed baryon asymmetry can be realised for a breaking of the mass degeneracy as small as $ \mathcal{O}(10^{-8}) $. The origin of such a small mass splitting is explained by considering supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking in supergravity, which requires a constant in the superpotential of the order of the gravitino mass $ m_{3/2} $ to cancel the cosmological constant. This yields additional terms in the (s)neutrino mass matrices, lifting the degeneracy and linking $ η_B $ to the SUSY breaking scale. We find that achieving the correct baryon asymmetry requires a gravitino mass $ m_{3/2} \geq \mathcal{O}(100) $ TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Minimal Seesaw Model with a Discrete Heavy-Neutrino Exchange Symmetry

We present a Froggatt-Nielsen flavor model that yields a minimal realization of the type-I seesaw mechanism. This seesaw model is minimal for three reasons: (i) It features only two rather than three right-handed sterile neutrinos: N_1 and N_2, which form a pair of pseudo-Dirac neutrinos; (ii) the neutrino Yukawa matrix exhibits flavor alignment, i.e., modulo small perturbations, it contains only three independent parameters; and (iii) the N_1,2 coupling to the electron flavor is parametrically suppressed compared to the muon and tau flavors, i.e., the neutrino Yukawa matrix exhibits an approximate two-zero texture. Crucial ingredients of our model are (a) Froggatt-Nielsen flavor charges consistent with the charged-lepton masses as well as (b) an approximate, discrete exchange symmetry that manifests itself as N_1 <--> i N_2 in the heavy-neutrino Yukawa interactions and as N_1 <--> N_2 in the heavy-neutrino mass terms. This model predicts a normal light-neutrino mass hierarchy, a close-to-maximal CP-violating phase in the lepton mixing matrix, δ~3/2π, as well as resonant leptogenesis in accord with arguments from naturalness, vacuum stability, perturbativity and lepton flavor violation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Polonyi Inflation

Spontaneously broken supersymmetry (SUSY) and a vanishingly small cosmological constant imply that R symmetry must be spontaneously broken at low energies. Based on this observation, we suppose that, in the sector responsible for low-energy R symmetry breaking, a discrete R symmetry remains preserved at high energies and only becomes dynamically broken at relatively late times in the cosmological evolution, i.e., after the dynamical breaking of SUSY. Prior to R symmetry breaking, the Universe is then bound to be in a quasi-de Sitter phase---which offers a dynamical explanation for the occurrence of cosmic inflation. This scenario yields a new perspective on the interplay between SUSY breaking and inflation, which neatly fits into the paradigm of high-scale SUSY: inflation is driven by the SUSY-breaking vacuum energy density, while the chiral field responsible for SUSY breaking, the Polonyi field, serves as the inflaton. Because R symmetry is broken only after inflation, slow-roll inflation is not spoiled by otherwise dangerous gravitational corrections in supergravity. We illustrate our idea by means of a concrete example, in which both SUSY and R symmetry are broken by strong gauge dynamics and in which late-time R symmetry breaking is triggered by a small inflaton field value. In this model, the scales of inflation and SUSY breaking are unified; the inflationary predictions are similar to those of F-term hybrid inflation in supergravity; reheating proceeds via gravitino decay at temperatures consistent with thermal leptogenesis; and the sparticle mass spectrum follows from pure gravity mediation. Dark matter consists of thermally produced winos with a mass in the TeV range.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Pure Gravity Mediation and Spontaneous B-L Breaking from Strong Dynamics

In pure gravity mediation (PGM), the most minimal scheme for the mediation of supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking to the visible sector, soft masses for the standard model gauginos are generated at one loop rather than via direct couplings to the SUSY-breaking field. In any concrete implementation of PGM, the SUSY-breaking field is therefore required to carry nonzero charge under some global or local symmetry. As we point out in this note, a prime candidate for such a symmetry might be B-L, the Abelian gauge symmetry associated with the difference between baryon number B and lepton number L. The F-term of the SUSY-breaking field then not only breaks SUSY, but also B-L, which relates the respective spontaneous breaking of SUSY and B-L at a fundamental level. As a particularly interesting consequence, we find that the heavy Majorana neutrino mass scale ends up being tied to the gravitino mass, Lambda_N ~ m_3/2. Assuming nonthermal leptogenesis to be responsible for the generation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe, this connection may then explain why SUSY necessarily needs to be broken at a rather high energy scale, so that m_3/2 >~ 1000 TeV in accord with the concept of PGM. We illustrate our idea by means of a minimal model of dynamical SUSY breaking, in which B-L is identified as a weakly gauged flavor symmetry. We also discuss the effect of the B-L gauge dynamics on the superparticle mass spectrum as well as the resulting constraints on the parameter space of our model. In particular, we comment on the role of the B-L D-term.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Leptogenesis via Axion Oscillations after Inflation

Once a light axionlike scalar field couples to the electroweak gauge bosons, its classical motion during reheating induces an effective chemical potential for the fermion number. In the presence of rapid lepton number (L)-violating processes in the plasma, such a chemical potential provides a favorable opportunity for baryogenesis via leptogenesis. We are able to demonstrate that L violation due to the exchange of heavy Majorana neutrinos is sufficient for a successful realization of this idea. Our mechanism represents a novel and minimal alternative to thermal leptogenesis, which turns out to be insensitive to the masses and CP-violating phases in the heavy neutrino sector. It is consistent with heavy neutrino masses close to the scale of grand unification and, quite complementary to thermal leptogenesis, requires the reheating temperature to be at least of order 10^12 GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Cosmological Selection of Multi-TeV Supersymmetry

We discuss a possible answer to the fundamental question of why nature would actually prefer low-scale supersymmetry, but end up with a supersymmetry scale that is not completely natural. This question is inevitable if we postulate that low-energy supersymmetry is indeed realized in nature, despite the null observation of superparticles below a TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. As we argue in this paper, superparticles masses in the multi-TeV range can, in fact, be reconciled with the concept of naturalness by means of a cosmological selection effect--a selection effect based on the assumption of an exact discrete R-symmetry that is spontaneously broken by gaugino condensation in a pure supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. In such theories, the dynamical scale of the Yang-Mills gauge interactions is required to be higher than the inflationary Hubble scale, in order to avoid the formation of domain walls. This results in a lower limit on the superparticle masses and leads us to conclude that, according to the idea of naturalness, the most probable range of superparticle masses is potentially located at the multi-TeV, if the inflationary Hubble rate is of O(10^{14}) GeV. Our argument can be partially tested by future measurements of the tensor fraction in the Cosmic Microwave Background fluctuations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Peccei-Quinn Symmetry from Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking

The proximity of the Peccei-Quinn scale to the scale of supersymmetry breaking in models of pure gravity mediation hints at a common dynamical origin of these two scales. To demonstrate how to make such a connection manifest, we embed the Peccei-Quinn mechanism into the vector-like model of dynamical supersymmetry breaking a la IYIT. Here, we rely on the anomaly-free discrete Z4R symmetry required in models of pure gravity mediation to solve the mu problem to protect the Peccei-Quinn symmetry from the dangerous effect of higher-dimensional operators. This results in a rich phenomenology featuring a QCD axion with a decay constant of O(10^10) GeV and mixed WIMP/axion dark matter. In addition, exactly five pairs of extra 5 and 5* matter multiplets, directly coupled to the supersymmetry breaking sector and with masses close to the gravitino mass, m3/2 ~ 100 TeV, are needed to cancel the Z4R anomalies.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

A Minimal Supersymmetric Model of Particle Physics and the Early Universe

We consider a minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model, with right-handed neutrinos and local B-L, the difference between baryon and lepton number, a symmetry which is spontaneously broken at the scale of grand unification. To a large extent, the parameters of the model are determined by gauge and Yukawa couplings of quarks and leptons. We show that this minimal model can successfully account for the earliest phases of the cosmological evolution: Inflation is driven by the energy density of a false vacuum of unbroken B-L symmetry, which ends in tachyonic preheating, i.e. the decay of the false vacuum, followed by a matter dominated phase with heavy B-L Higgs bosons. Nonthermal and thermal processes produce an abundance of heavy neutrinos whose decays generate primordial entropy, baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis and dark matter consisting of gravitinos or nonthermal WIMPs. The model predicts relations between neutrino and superparticle masses and a characteristic spectrum of gravitational waves.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Leptogenesis during Axion Relaxation after Inflation

In this talk, I present a novel and minimal alternative to thermal leptogenesis, which builds upon the assumption that the electroweak gauge bosons are coupled to an axion-like scalar field, as it is, for instance, the case in certain string compactifications. The motion of this axion-like field after the end of inflation generates an effective chemical potential for leptons and antileptons, which, in the presence of lepton number-violating scatterings mediated by heavy Majorana neutrinos, provides an opportunity for baryogenesis via leptogenesis. In contrast to thermal leptogenesis, the final baryon asymmetry turns out to be insensitive to the masses and CP-violating phases in the heavy neutrino sector. Moreover, the proposed scenario requires a reheating temperature of at least O(10^12) GeV and it is, in particular, consistent with heavy neutrino masses close the scale of grand unification. This talk was given in February 2015 at HPNP 2015 at Toyama University and is based on recent work (arXiv:1412.2043 [hep-ph]) in collaboration with A. Kusenko and T. T. Yanagida.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Dynamical D-Terms in Supergravity

Most phenomenological models of supersymmetry breaking rely on nonzero F-terms rather than nonzero D-terms. An important reason why D-terms are often neglected is that it turns out to be very challenging to realize D-terms at energies parametrically smaller than the Planck scale in supergravity. As we demonstrate in this paper, all conventional difficulties may, however, be overcome if the generation of the D-term is based on strong dynamics. To illustrate our idea, we focus on a certain class of vector-like SUSY breaking models that enjoy a minimal particle content and which may be easily embedded into more complete scenarios. We are then able to show that, upon gauging a global flavor symmetry, an appropriate choice of Yukawa couplings readily allows to dynamically generate a D-term at an almost arbitrary energy scale. This includes in particular the natural and consistent realization of D-terms around, above and below the scale of grand unification in supergravity, without the need for fine-tuning of any model parameters. Our construction might therefore bear the potential to open up a new direction for model building in supersymmetry and early universe cosmology.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Hybrid Inflation in the Complex Plane

Supersymmetric hybrid inflation is an exquisite framework to connect inflationary cosmology to particle physics at the scale of grand unification. Ending in a phase transition associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking, it can naturally explain the generation of entropy, matter and dark matter. Coupling F-term hybrid inflation to soft supersymmetry breaking distorts the rotational invariance in the complex inflaton plane---an important fact, which has been neglected in all previous studies. Based on the delta-N formalism, we analyze the cosmological perturbations for the first time in the full two-field model, also taking into account the fast-roll dynamics at and after the end of inflation. As a consequence of the two-field nature of hybrid inflation, the predictions for the primordial fluctuations depend not only on the parameters of the Lagrangian, but are eventually fixed by the choice of the inflationary trajectory. Recognizing hybrid inflation as a two-field model resolves two shortcomings often times attributed to it: The fine-tuning problem of the initial conditions is greatly relaxed and a spectral index in accordance with the PLANCK data can be achieved in a large part of the parameter space without the aid of supergravity corrections. Our analysis can be easily generalized to other (including large-field) scenarios of inflation in which soft supersymmetry breaking transforms an initially single-field model into a multi-field model.

hep-ph↗