arXiv subjects

Michael Klasen

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Klasen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Towards a precision calculation of $N_{\rm eff}$ in the Standard Model III: Improved estimate of NLO contributions to the collision integral

We compute the dominant QED correction to the neutrino-electron interaction rate in the vicinity of neutrino decoupling in the early universe, and estimate its impact on the effective number of neutrino species $N_{\rm eff}$ in cosmic microwave background anisotropy observations. We find that the correction to the interaction rate is at the sub-percent level, consistent with a recent estimate by Jackson and Laine. Relative to that work we include the electron mass in our computations, but restrict our analysis to the enhanced $t$-channel contributions. The fractional change in $N_{\rm eff}^{\rm SM}$ due to the rate correction is of order $10^{-5}$ or below, i.e., about a factor of 30 smaller than that recently claimed by Cielo {\it et al.}, and below the nominal computational uncertainties of the current benchmark value of $N_{\rm eff}^{\rm SM} = 3.0440 \pm 0.0002$. We therefore conclude that aforementioned number remains to be the state-of-the-art benchmark for $N_{\rm eff}^{\rm SM}$ in the standard model of particle physics.

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arXiv2024

Precision predictions for dark matter with DM@NLO in the MSSM

We present DM@NLO, a Fortran 77 based program with a C++ interface dedicated to precision calculations of dark matter (DM) (co)annihilation cross-sections and elastic dark matter-nucleon scattering amplitudes in the Minimal Supersymmetric (SUSY) Standard Model (MSSM) at next-to-leading order (NLO) in perturbative (SUSY) QCD. If the annihilating initial particles carry an electric or colour charge, the Sommerfeld enhanced cross section is included as well and can be matched to the NLO cross section. We review these calculations including technical details relevant for using the code. We illustrate their impact by applying DM@NLO to an example scenario in the constrained MSSM.

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arXiv2024

Di-electron production at the LHC: Unravelling virtual-photon and heavy-flavour contributions

The production of virtual photons is a very sensitive probe of the properties of the quark-gluon plasma. As they are experimentally detected by lepton pairs, they suffer from a large background arising from hadron decays. Light-flavour hadrons dominate at low invariant masses below $m_{ee}\sim0.5$ GeV and heavy flavours above. These contributions must therefore also be taken into account in experimental analyses at the LHC. In this paper, we calculate the direct contribution from virtual photons produced in the Drell-Yan process with an additional jet in POWHEG and find that it is significant at low invariant masses. We also simulate the background contributions from $c\bar c$ and $b \bar b$ production with POWHEG and quantify the theoretical uncertainties due to variations of the perturbative scales and parton distribution functions. We find larger relative and absolute uncertainties for the lighter $c$ quarks than for heavier $b$ quarks.

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arXiv2023

Forbidden dark matter annihilation into leptons with full collision terms

The standard approach of calculating the relic density of thermally produced dark matter based on the assumption of kinetic equilibrium is known to fail for forbidden dark matter models since only the high momentum tail of the dark matter phase space distribution function contributes significantly to dark matter annihilations. Furthermore, it is known that the computationally less expensive Fokker-Planck approximation for the collision term describing elastic scattering processes between non-relativistic dark matter particles and the Standard Model thermal bath breaks down if both scattering partners are close in mass. This, however, is the defining feature of the forbidden dark matter paradigm. In this paper, we therefore include the full elastic collision term in the full momentum-dependent Boltzmann equation as well as in a set of fluid equations that couple the evolution of the number density and dark matter temperature for a simplified model featuring forbidden dark matter annihilations into muon or tau leptons through a scalar mediator. On the technical side, we perform all angular integrals in the full collision term analytically and take into account the effect of dark matter self-interactions on the relic density. The overall phenomenological outcome is that the updated relic density calculation results in a significant reduction of the experimentally allowed parameter space compared to the traditional approach, which solves only for the abundance. In addition, almost the entire currently viable parameter space can be probed with CMB-S4, next-generation beam-dump experiments or at a future high-luminosity electron-position collider, except for the resonant region where the mediator corresponds to approximately twice the muon or tau mass.

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arXiv2023

Exclusive $J/Ψ$ plus jet associated production in ultraperipheral $PbPb$ collisions

The study of exclusive processes in ultraperipheral collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has allowed us to test several aspects of the Standard Model and to search for New Physics. In this letter, we investigate the possibility of using these processes to improve our understanding of the quarkonium production mechanism through the study of the exclusive $J/Ψ$ plus jet associate production in ultraperipheral $PbPb$ collisions. We estimate the transverse - momentum and rapidity distributions considering that the $γγ\rightarrow J/Ψ+ X$ ($X = γ, \, g$) subprocess is described by the Non - Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) formalism and present predictions for the rapidity ranges covered by central and forward detectors. The experimental separation of these events is discussed and the results indicate that a future experimental analysis is, in principle, feasible in future runs of the LHC and the Future Circular Collider (FCC).

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arXiv2023

The dipole formalism for massive initial-state particles and its application to dark matter calculations

The dark matter abundance plays a crucial role in the determination of the valid parameter space of models both in the case of a discovery of dark matter and in the context of exclusion limits. Reliable theoretical predictions of the dark matter relic density require technically demanding precision calculations, which were so far limited in their automation due to challenges in the treatment of infrared divergences appearing in higher order calculations. In particular, massive initial states need to be considered in early Universe computations, so that the known dipole subtraction methods could not be directly exploited. We therefore provide a full generalization of the dipole subtraction method by Catani and Seymour to supersymmetric (SUSY) QCD with massive initial states. All dipole splitting functions and their integrated counterparts are given explicitly for four different dimensional schemes. To showcase their application, we apply our results to dark matter (co)annihilation processes in the context of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model. We also demonstrate the accuracy of the dipole method by comparing our numerical results with those obtained with the phase space slicing method. Our analytical results will facilitate future automation of dark matter abundance calculations at next-to-leading order for both SUSY and non-SUSY models.

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arXiv2023

Combined constraints on dark photons and discovery prospects at the LHC and the Forward Physics Facility

Hidden sectors are ubiquitous in supergravity theories, in strings and in branes. Well motivated models such as the Stueckelberg hidden sector model could provide a candidate for dark matter. In such models, the hidden sector communicates with the visible sector via the exchange of a dark photon (dark $Z'$) while dark matter is constituted of Dirac fermions in the hidden sector. Using data from collider searches and precision measurements of SM processes as well as the most recent limits from dark matter direct and indirect detection experiments, we perform a comprehensive scan over a wide range of the $Z'$ mass and set exclusion bounds on the parameter space from sub-GeV to several TeV. We then discuss the discovery potential of an $\mathcal{O}$(TeV) scale $Z'$ at HL-LHC and the ability of future forward detectors to probe very weakly interacting sub-GeV $Z'$ bosons. Our analysis shows that the parameter space in which a $Z'$ can decay to hidden sector dark matter is severely constrained whereas limits become much weaker for a $Z'$ with no dark decays. The analysis also favors a self-thermalized dark sector which is necessary to satisfy the dark matter relic density.

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arXiv2023

Radiative corrections to stop-antistop annihilation into gluons and light quarks

We present the full one-loop SUSY-QCD corrections to stop-antistop annihilation into gluons and light quarks within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model including Sommerfeld enhancement effects from the exchange of multiple gluons between the incoming particles. These corrections are important as stop (co)annihilation becomes the dominant contribution to the relic density for scenarios with a small mass difference between the neutralino and the stop which are less constrained by current LHC searches and consistent with the observation of a 125 GeV SM-like Higgs boson. We discuss important technical details of our one-loop, real emission, and resummation calculations where we pay particular attention to the cancellation of infrared divergences and the associated application of the dipole formalism for massive initial scalars. The corrections have been implemented in the dark matter precision tool DM@NLO which allows us to study numerically the impact of these corrections on the annihilation cross section. We find that for the chosen reference scenario the dominant correction comes from the Sommerfeld effect and that the pure NLO correction is below 3%. The inclusion of these radiative corrections is still large enough to decrease the relic density by more than 10% and shift the cosmologically preferred parameter region by a few GeV relative to the standard MicrOMEGAs result. Therefore, the inclusion of these corrections is mandatory if the experimental errors are taken as upper and lower bounds of the theory value.

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arXiv2022

Report of the Topical Group on Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics for for Snowmass 2021

Cosmic Probes of Fundamental Physics take two primary forms: Very high energy particles (cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gamma rays) and gravitational waves. Already today, these probes give access to fundamental physics not available by any other means, helping elucidate the underlying theory that completes the Standard Model. The last decade has witnessed a revolution of exciting discoveries such as the detection of high-energy neutrinos and gravitational waves. The scope for major developments in the next decades is dramatic, as we detail in this report.

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arXiv2022

Annual modulation of event rate and electron recoil energy in inelastic scattering direct detection experiments

In 2020 the XENON1T experiment observed an excess of events with an electron recoil energy $E_R$ in the range of $2\,$--$\,3\,$keV. Such an excess can arise from a variety of sources such as solar axions or a neutrino magnetic moment, but also from inelastic scattering of dark matter off the xenon atoms. The recoil energy of the electron then depends on the mass difference of the dark particles. In this paper we show that the annual modulation of both the event rate and the electron recoil energy provide important additional information that allows to distinguish among different theoretical explanations of the signal. To this end, we first extend the formalism of annual modulation to electronic recoils, inelastic dark matter scattering and the electron recoil energy. We then study a concrete theoretical model with two Dirac fermions and a dark photon. We take into account all relevant cosmological and experimental constraints on this model and apply it to the XENON1T and and XENONnT experiments with realistic detection thresholds, efficiencies and energy resolutions, fitting the main physical parameters of the model, i.e. the mass splitting and the electron scattering cross section. The discriminatory power of the additional information from the annual modulation of both the signal rate and the electron recoil energy is then demonstrated for XENONnT with a simplified model based on these main physical parameters. This more sensitive procedure compared to time-only modulation analyses can also serve as a template for other theoretical models with different dark matter candidates, mediators and cosmology. For the $U(1)$ model with two Dirac fermions fitting the XENON1T excess and the experimental conditions of XENONnT, taking into account the annual variation of the signal rate and recoil energy allows for a faster and more precise determination of the free model parameters.

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arXiv2022

Associated squark-electroweakino production with NLO+NLL precision

Motivated by the increased precision expected from LHC Run 3, equally accurate theory predictions are mandatory. As supersymmetry mass limits increase, predictions can be improved by threshold resummation. We examine the effects of including next-to-leading logarithms on associated squark-electroweakino production at the LHC and find a significant reduction in the uncertainty of factorisation and renormalisation scale dependence and a modest increase in the total cross section.

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arXiv2022

Cosmology Intertwined: A Review of the Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Associated with the Cosmological Tensions and Anomalies

In this paper we will list a few important goals that need to be addressed in the next decade, also taking into account the current discordances between the different cosmological probes, such as the disagreement in the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$, the $σ_8$--$S_8$ tension, and other less statistically significant anomalies. While these discordances can still be in part the result of systematic errors, their persistence after several years of accurate analysis strongly hints at cracks in the standard cosmological scenario and the necessity for new physics or generalisations beyond the standard model. In this paper, we focus on the $5.0\,σ$ tension between the {\it Planck} CMB estimate of the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the SH0ES collaboration measurements. After showing the $H_0$ evaluations made from different teams using different methods and geometric calibrations, we list a few interesting new physics models that could alleviate this tension and discuss how the next decade's experiments will be crucial. Moreover, we focus on the tension of the {\it Planck} CMB data with weak lensing measurements and redshift surveys, about the value of the matter energy density $Ω_m$, and the amplitude or rate of the growth of structure ($σ_8,fσ_8$). We list a few interesting models proposed for alleviating this tension, and we discuss the importance of trying to fit a full array of data with a single model and not just one parameter at a time. Additionally, we present a wide range of other less discussed anomalies at a statistical significance level lower than the $H_0$--$S_8$ tensions which may also constitute hints towards new physics, and we discuss possible generic theoretical approaches that can collectively explain the non-standard nature of these signals.[Abridged]

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arXiv2022

Analyzing the Hubble tension through hidden sector dynamics in the early universe

The recent analysis from the SH0ES Collaboration has confirmed the existence of a Hubble tension between measurements at high redshift ($z> 1000$) and at low redshift ($z<1$) at the $5σ$ level with the low redshift measurement giving a higher value. In this work we propose a particle physics model that can help alleviate the Hubble tension via an out-of-equilibrium hidden sector coupled to the visible sector. The particles that populate the dark sector consist of a dark fermion, which acts as dark matter, a dark photon, a massive scalar and a massless pseudo-scalar. Assuming no initial population of particles in the dark sector, feeble couplings between the visible and the hidden sectors via kinetic mixing populate the dark sector even though the number densities of hidden sector particles never reach their equilibrium distribution and the two sectors remain at different temperatures. A cosmologically consistent analysis is presented where a correlated evolution of the visible and the hidden sectors with coupled Boltzmann equations involving two temperatures, one for the visible sector and the other for the hidden sector, is carried out. The relic density of the dark matter constituted of dark fermions is computed in this two-temperature formalism. As a consequence, BBN predictions are upheld with a minimal contribution to $ΔN_{\rm eff}$. However, the out-of-equilibrium decay of the massive scalar to the massless pseudo-scalar close to the recombination time causes an increase in $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ that can help weaken the Hubble tension.

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arXiv2022

White Paper on Forward Physics, BFKL, Saturation Physics and Diffraction

The goal of this whitepaper is to give a comprehensive overview of the rich field of forward physics. We discuss the occurrences of BFKL resummation effects in special final states, such as Mueller-Navelet jets, jet gap jets, and heavy quarkonium production. It further addresses TMD factorization at low x and the manifestation of a semi-hard saturation scale in (generalized) TMD PDFs. More theoretical aspects of low x physics, probes of the quark gluon plasma, as well as the possibility to use photon-hadron collisions at the LHC to constrain hadronic structure at low x, and the resulting complementarity between LHC and the EIC are also presented. We also briefly discuss diffraction at colliders as well as the possibility to explore further the electroweak theory in central exclusive events using the LHC as a photon-photon collider.

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arXiv2021

Tests of gluino-driven radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry at the LHC

The recent muon $g-2$ result from Fermilab combined with the Brookhaven result, strongly points to new physics beyond the Standard Model which can be well described by the electroweak sector of supersymmetry if the masses of the sleptons and some of the electroweak gauginos are in the few hundred GeV range. However, the Higgs boson mass measurement at 125 GeV indicates a mass scale for squarks which lies in the few TeV region indicating a split mass spectrum between squarks and sleptons. This apparent puzzle is resolved in a natural way in gluino-driven radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry where radiative breaking is driven by a large gluino mass and the gluino color interactions lead to a large splitting between the squarks and the sleptons. We show that an analysis without prejudice using an artificial neural network also leads to the gluino-driven radiative breaking. We use a set of benchmarks and a deep neural network analysis to test the model for the discovery of light sleptons and sneutrinos at HL-LHC and HE-LHC.

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arXiv2021

Future searches for SUSY at the LHC post Fermilab $(g-2)_μ$

We assess the future directions for the search for supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider in view of the new precision results on the muon anomaly by the Fermilab Collaboration. The existence of a deviation of size 4.1$σ$ from the Standard Model prediction points to light sleptons and light weakinos in the mass range of few hundred GeV while the observation of the Higgs boson mass at $\sim 125$ GeV points to squark masses lying in the few TeV range. Thus a split sparticle spectrum is indicated. We discuss the possibility of such a split sparticle spectrum in the supergravity unified model and show that a splitting of the sfermion spectrum into light sleptons and heavy squarks naturally arises within radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry driven by heavy gluinos ($\tilde g$SUGRA). We discuss the possible avenues for the discovery of supersymmetry at the LHC within this framework under the further constraint of the recent muon anomaly result from the Fermilab Collaboration. We show that the most likely candidates for early discovery of a sparticle at the LHC are the chargino, the stau, the smuon and the selectron. We present a set of benchmarks and discuss future directions for further work. Specifically, we point to the most promising channels for SUSY discovery and estimate the integrated luminosity needed for the discovery of these benchmarks at the High Luminosity LHC and also at the High Energy LHC.

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arXiv2021

What Fermilab $(g-2)_μ$ experiment tells us about discovering SUSY at HL-LHC and HE-LHC

Using an artificial neutral network we explore the parameter space of supergravity grand unified models consistent with the combined Fermilab E989 and Brookhaven E821 data on $(g-2)_μ$. The analysis indicates that the region favored by the data is the one generated by gluino-driven radiative breaking of the electroweak symmetry. This region naturally leads to a split sparticle spectrum with light sleptons and weakinos but heavy squarks, with the stau and the chargino as the lightest charged particles. We show that if the entire deviation from the standard model $(g-2)_μ$ arises from supersymmetry, then supersymmetry is discoverable at HL-LHC and HE-LHC via production and decay of sleptons within the optimal integrated luminosity of HL-LHC and with a smaller integrated luminosity at HE-LHC.

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arXiv2021

Neutrino constraints to scotogenic dark matter interacting in the Sun

Radiative seesaw models have the attractive property of providing dark matter candidates in addition to generation of neutrino masses. Here we present a study of neutrino signals from the annihilation of dark matter particles which have been gravitationally captured in the Sun, in the framework of the scotogenic model. We compute expected event rates in the IceCube detector in its 86-string configuration. As fermionic dark matter does not accumulate in the Sun, we study the case of scalar dark matter, with a scan over the parameter space. Due to a naturally small mass splitting between the two neutral scalar components, inelastic scattering processes with nucleons can occur. We find that for small mass splittings, the model yields very high event rates. If a detailed analysis at IceCube can exclude these parameter points, our findings can be translated into a lower limit on one of the scalar couplings in the model. For larger mass splittings only the elastic case needs to be considered. We find that in this scenario the XENON1T limits exclude all points with sufficiently large event rates.

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