arXiv subjects

Lian-Tao Wang

Publications and source records attributed to Lian-Tao Wang.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Probing the Cosmological Constant and Phase Transitions with Dark Matter

The Standard Model and its extensions predict multiple phase transitions in the early universe. In addition to the electroweak phase transition, one or several of these could occur at energies close to the weak scale. Such phase transitions can leave their imprint on the relic abundance of TeV-scale dark matter. In this paper, we enumerate several physical features of a generic phase transition and parameterize the effect of each on the relic abundance. In particular, we include among these effects the presence of the scalar field vacuum energy and the cosmological constant, which is sensitive to UV physics. Within the context of the Standard Model Higgs sector, we find that the relic abundance of generic TeV-scale dark matter is affected by the vacuum energy at the order of a fraction of a percent. For scalar field sectors with strong first order phase transitions, an order one percent apparent tuning of coupling constants may allow corrections induced by the vacuum energy to be of order unity.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

W plus two jets from a quasi-inert Higgs doublet

We show that, the result recently reported by the CDF collaboration showing an excess in the invariant mass distribution of jet pairs produced in association with a W-boson can be explained by a simple extension of the Standard Model (SM) with an additional quasi-inert Higgs doublet. The two additional neutral Higgs states H^0 and A^0 have a mass of about 150 GeV and decay into a pair of jets. W^\pm H^0/A^0 pairs are produced from the decay of the heavier charged Higgs boson H^\pm. Depending on the precise masses of the neutral and charged Higgs bosons, the model is shown to be in agreement with constraints from electroweak precision tests and from flavor physics for a broad range of the Standard Model-like Higgs mass from 100 GeV to several hundreds of GeV. Other possible signals of this model at the Tevatron and the LHC are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Heavy Squarks at the LHC

The LHC, with its seven-fold increase in energy over the Tevatron, is capable of probing regions of SUSY parameter space exhibiting qualitatively new collider phenomenology. Here we investigate one such region in which first generation squarks are very heavy compared to the other superpartners. We find that the production of these squarks, which is dominantly associative, only becomes rate-limited at mSquark > 4(5) TeV for L~10(100) fb-1. However, discovery of this scenario is complicated because heavy squarks decay primarily into a jet and boosted gluino, yielding a dijet-like topology with missing energy (MET) pointing along the direction of the second hardest jet. The result is that many signal events are removed by standard jet/MET anti-alignment cuts designed to guard against jet mismeasurement errors. We suggest replacing these anti-alignment cuts with a measurement of jet substructure that can significantly extend the reach of this channel while still removing much of the background. We study a selection of benchmark points in detail, demonstrating that mSquark= 4(5) TeV first generation squarks can be discovered at the LHC with L~10(100)fb-1.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Top Channel for Early SUSY Discovery at the LHC

In recent years many models of supersymmetry have implied a large production rate for events including a high multiplicity of third generation quarks, such as four top quarks. It is arguably the best-motivated channel for early LHC discovery. A particular example is generic string theories compactified to four dimensions with stabilized moduli which typically have multi-TeV squarks and lighter gluinos (below a TeV) with a large pair production rate and large branching ratios to four tops. We update and sharpen the analysis 4-top signals and background to 7 TeV LHC energy. For 1 fb-1 integrated luminosity, gluinos up to about 650 GeV in mass can be detected, with larger masses accessible for higher luminosities or at higher energies. More than one signature is likely to be accessible, with one charged lepton plus two or more b-jets, and/or same-sign dileptons plus b-jets being the best channels. A non-Standard Model signal from counting is robust, and provides information on the gluino mass, cross section, and spin.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

On the Feasibility and Utility of ISR Tagging

The production of new particles at a hadron collider like the LHC is always accompanied by QCD radiation attributable to the initial state (i.e. ISR). This tends to complicate analyses, so ISR is normally regarded as a nuisance. Nevertheless, we show that ISR can also be valuable, yielding information that can help in the discovery and interpretation of physics beyond the Standard Model. To access this information we will introduce new techniques designed to identify ISR jets on an event-by-event basis, a process we term ISR tagging. As a demonstration of their utility, we will apply these techniques to SUSY di-squark (di-gluino) production to show that they can be used to identify ISR jets in roughly 40% (15%) of the events, with a mistag rate of around 10% (15%). We then show that, through the application of a new method which we will introduce, knowledge of an ISR jet allows us to infer the squark (gluino) mass to within roughly 20% of its true value.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter direct detection

Dark matter direct detection searches for signals coming from dark matter scattering against nuclei at a very low recoil energy scale ~ 10 keV. In this paper, a simple non-relativistic effective theory is constructed to describe interactions between dark matter and nuclei without referring to any underlying high energy models. It contains the minimal set of operators that will be tested by direct detection. The effective theory approach highlights the set of distinguishable recoil spectra that could arise from different theoretical models. If dark matter is discovered in the near future in direct detection experiments, a measurement of the shape of the recoil spectrum will provide valuable information on the underlying dynamics. We bound the coefficients of the operators in our non-relativistic effective theory by the null results of current dark matter direct detection experiments. We also discuss the mapping between the non-relativistic effective theory and field theory models or operators, including aspects of the matching of quark and gluon operators to nuclear form factors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Missing Momentum Reconstruction and Spin Measurements at Hadron Colliders

We study methods for reconstructing the momenta of invisible particles in cascade decay chains at hadron colliders. We focus on scenarios, such as SUSY and UED, in which new physics particles are pair produced. Their subsequent decays lead to two decay chains ending with neutral stable particles escaping detection. Assuming that the masses of the decaying particles are already measured, we obtain the momenta by imposing the mass-shell constraints. Using this information, we develop techniques of determining spins of particles in theories beyond the standard model. Unlike the methods relying on Lorentz invariant variables, this method can be used to determine the spin of the particle which initiates the decay chain. We present two complementary ways of applying our method by using more inclusive variables relying on kinematic information from one decay chain, as well as constructing correlation variables based on the kinematics of both decay chains in the same event.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Randall-Sundrum and Strings

We investigate stringy excitations in Randall-Sundrum effective theories for electroweak symmetry breaking arising from embedding in string theory. RS is dual to a confining gauge theory, which we expect to have "QCD strings," or color flux tubes. Stringy constructions of RS-like theories allow us to investigate the mass of these string states, which typically grows with a small fractional power of the number of colors N of the dual gauge theory. There are two known strong constraints on N for RS-like theories. The first arises from demanding that the Standard Model gauge couplings do not have a Landau pole at low scales. The second arises from demanding that the first-order confining phase transition in the early universe is able to proceed without leaving an empty universe, i.e. that the rate of bubble nucleation is not too small. We find that these constraints on N imply that string states are generically at most a factor of a few heavier than the lightest KK states, and we cannot self-consistently remain in the limit N, lambda >> 1. We examine various string constructions of AdS or RS-like backgrounds, including orbifolds, theories on M5-branes, theories on D4-branes, and the recent F-theory construction of Polchinski and Silverstein. In every case we find that there are strong bounds on the mass of new stringy states. We briefly discuss important phenomenological implications due to the presence of such light stringy excitations, such as precision electroweak and flavor observables, as well as collider signals.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Measuring the Polarization of Boosted Hadronic Tops

We propose a new technique for measuring the polarization of hadronically decaying boosted top quarks. In particular, we apply a subjet-based technique to events where the decay products of the top are clustered within a single jet. The technique requires neither b-tagging nor W-reconstruction, and does not rely on assumptions about either the top production mechanism or the sources of missing energy in the event. We include results for various new physics scenarios made with different Monte Carlo generators to demonstrate the robustness of the technique.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Unburied Higgs

Many models of physics beyond the Standard Model yield exotic Higgs decays. Some of these, particularly those in which the Higgs decays to light quarks or gluons, can be very difficult to discover experimentally. Here we introduce a new set of jet substructure techniques designed to search for such a Higgs when its dominant decay is into gluons via light, uncolored resonances. We study this scenario in both V+h and tt+h production channels, and find both channels lead to discovery at the LHC with more than 5 sigma significance at 100 inverse femtobarn.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Semielastic Dark Matter

Many models have recently been proposed in which dark matter (DM) couples to Standard Model fields via a GeV-scale dark sector. We consider scenarios of this type where the DM mass, at the electroweak/TeV scale, is generated by the VEV of a singlet which also couples to the Higgs. Such a setup results in a distinct recoil spectrum with both elastic and inelastic components. We construct an explicit NMSSM-like realization of this setup, discuss constraints coming from the relic density, and include benchmark points which are consistent with current limits, yet visible at upcoming direct detection experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Lepton Jets in (Supersymmetric) Electroweak Processes

We consider some of the recent proposals in which weak-scale dark matter is accompanied by a GeV scale dark sector that could produce spectacular lepton-rich events at the LHC. Since much of the collider phenomenology is only weakly model dependent it is possible to arrive at generic predictions for the discovery potential of future experimental searches. We concentrate on the production of dark states through $Z^0$ bosons and electroweak-inos at the Tevatron or LHC, which are the cleanest channels for probing the dark sector. We properly take into account the effects of dark radiation and dark cascades on the formation of lepton jets. Finally, we present a concrete definition of a lepton jet and suggest several approaches for inclusive experimental searches.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Nearly Degenerate Gauginos and Dark Matter at the LHC

Motivated by dark-matter considerations in supersymmetric theories, we investigate in a fairly model-independent way the detection at the LHC of nearly degenerate gauginos with mass differences between a few GeV and about 30 GeV. Due to the degeneracy of gaugino states, the conventional leptonic signals are likely lost. We first consider the leading signal from gluino production and decay. We find that it is quite conceivable to reach a large statistical significance for the multi-jet plus missing energy signal with an integrated luminosity about 50 pb^-1 (50 fb^-1) for a gluino mass of 500 GeV (1 TeV). If gluinos are not too heavy, less than about 1.5 TeV, this channel can typically probe gaugino masses up to about 100 GeV below the gluino mass. We then study the Drell-Yan type of gaugino pair production in association with a hard QCD jet, for gaugino masses in the range of 100-150 GeV. The signal observation may be statistically feasible with about 10 fb^-1, but systematically challenging due to the lack of distinctive features for the signal distributions. By exploiting gaugino pair production through weak boson fusion, signals of large missing energy plus two forward-backward jets may be observable at a 4-6σlevel above the large SM backgrounds with an integrated luminosity of 100-300 fb^-1. Finally, we point out that searching for additional isolated soft muons in the range p_T ~3-10 GeV in the data samples discussed above may help to enrich the signal and to control the systematics. Significant efforts are made to explore the connection between the signal kinematics and the relevant masses for the gluino and gauginos, to probe the mass scales of the superpartners, in particular the LSP dark matter.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Dark matter from dynamical SUSY breaking

We consider explicit models of dynamical supersymmetry breaking where dark matter is a 10 -- 100 TeV strongly-interacting composite state carrying no standard model quantum numbers. These constructions are simple variants of well-known supersymmetry breaking mechanisms, augmented to allow for a large "flavor" symmetry. Dark matter is the lightest composite modulus charged under this symmetry and is a viable cold dark matter candidate with a thermal relic abundance. This is an attractive possibility in low-scale gauge-mediated scenarios where the gravitino is the lightest superparticle. A light R-axion associated with supersymmetry breaking is present in these hidden sectors and serves as the portal between dark matter and the standard model. Such scenarios are relevant for present and future indirect detection experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Searching for the light dark gauge boson in GeV-scale experiments

We study current constraints and search prospects for a GeV scale vector boson at a range of low energy experiments. It couples to the Standard Model charged particles with a strength <= 10^-3 to 10^-4 of that of the photon. The possibility of such a particle mediating dark matter self-interactions has received much attention recently. We consider searches at low energy high luminosity colliders, meson decays, and fixed target experiments. Based on available data, searches both at colliders and in meson decays can discover or exclude such a scenario if the coupling strength is on the larger side. We emphasize that a dedicated fixed target experiment has a much better potential in searching for such a gauge boson, and outline the desired properties of such an experiment. Two different optimal designs should be implemented to cover the range of coupling strength 10^-3 to 10^-5, and < 10^-5 of the photon, respectively. We also briefly comment on other possible ways of searching for such a gauge boson.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Jet Trimming

Initial state radiation, multiple interactions, and event pileup can contaminate jets and degrade event reconstruction. Here we introduce a procedure, jet trimming, designed to mitigate these sources of contamination in jets initiated by light partons. This procedure is complimentary to existing methods developed for boosted heavy particles. We find that jet trimming can achieve significant improvements in event reconstruction, especially at high energy/luminosity hadron colliders like the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Combining Anomaly and Z' Mediation of Supersymmetry Breaking

We propose a scenario in which the supersymmetry breaking effect mediated by an additional U(1)' is comparable with that of anomaly mediation. We argue that such a scenario can be naturally realized in a large class of models. Combining anomaly with Z' mediation allows us to solve the tachyonic slepton problem of the former and avoid significant fine tuning in the latter. We focus on an NMSSM-like scenario where U(1)' gauge invariance is used to forbid a tree-level mu term, and present concrete models, which admit successful dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking. Gaugino masses are somewhat lighter than the scalar masses, and the third generation squarks are lighter than the first two. In the specific class of models under consideration, the gluino is light since it only receives a contribution from 2-loop anomaly mediation, and it decays dominantly into third generation quarks. Gluino production leads to distinct LHC signals and prospects of early discovery. In addition, there is a relatively light Z', with mass in the range of several TeV. Discovering and studying its properties can reveal important clues about the underlying model.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

New Physics Signals in Longitudinal Gauge Boson Scattering at the LHC

We introduce a novel technique designed to look for signatures of new physics in vector boson fusion processes at the TeV scale. This functions by measuring the polarization of the vector bosons to determine the relative longitudinal to transverse production. In studying this ratio we can directly probe the high energy E^2-growth of longitudinal vector boson scattering amplitudes characteristic of models with non-Standard Model (SM) interactions. We will focus on studying models parameterized by an effective Lagrangian that include a light Higgs with non-SM couplings arising from TeV scale new physics associated with the electroweak symmetry breaking, although our technique can be used in more general scenarios. We will show that this technique is stable against the large uncertainties that can result from variations in the factorization scale, improving upon previous studies that measure cross section alone.

hep-ph↗