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Philip Tanedo

Publications and source records attributed to Philip Tanedo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

DarkCapPy: Dark Matter Capture and Annihilation

DarkCapPy is a Python 3/Jupyter package for calculating rates associated with dark matter capture in the Earth, annihilation into light mediators, and the subsequent observable decay of the light mediators near the surface of the Earth. The package includes a calculation of the Sommerfeld enhancement at the center of the Earth and the timescale for capture--annihilation equilibrium. The code is open source and can be modified for other compact astronomical objects and mediator spins.

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Just a Taste: Lectures on Flavor Physics

We review the flavor structure of the Standard Model and the ways in which the flavor parameters are measured. This is an extended writeup of the TASI 2016 lectures on flavor physics. Earlier versions of these lectures were presented at pre-SUSY 2015 and Cornell University's Physics 7661 course in 2010.

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Dark Photons from the Center of the Earth: Smoking-Gun Signals of Dark Matter

Dark matter may be charged under dark electromagnetism with a dark photon that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon. In this framework, dark matter will collect at the center of the Earth and annihilate into dark photons, which may reach the surface of the Earth and decay into observable particles. We determine the resulting signal rates, including Sommerfeld enhancements, which play an important role in bringing the Earth's dark matter population to their maximal, equilibrium value. For dark matter masses $m_X \sim$ 100 GeV - 10 TeV, dark photon masses $m_{A'} \sim$ MeV - GeV, and kinetic mixing parameters $\varepsilon \sim 10^{-10} - 10^{-8}$, the resulting electrons, muons, photons, and hadrons that point back to the center of the Earth are a smoking-gun signal of dark matter that may be detected by a variety of experiments, including neutrino telescopes, such as IceCube, and space-based cosmic ray detectors, such as Fermi-LAT and AMS. We determine the signal rates and characteristics, and show that large and striking signals---such as parallel muon tracks---are possible in regions of the $(m_{A'}, \varepsilon)$ plane that are not probed by direct detection, accelerator experiments, or astrophysical observations.

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Dark Sunshine: Detecting Dark Matter through Dark Photons from the Sun

Dark matter may interact with the Standard Model through the kinetic mixing of dark photons, $A'$, with Standard Model photons. Such dark matter will accumulate in the Sun and annihilate into dark photons. The dark photons may then leave the Sun and decay into pairs of charged Standard Model particles that can be detected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The directionality of this "dark sunshine" is distinct from all astrophysical backgrounds, providing an opportunity for unambiguous dark matter discovery by AMS. We perform a complete analysis of this scenario including Sommerfeld enhancements of dark matter annihilation and the effect of the Sun's magnetic field on the signal, and we define a set of cuts to optimize the signal probability. With the three years of data already collected, AMS may discover dark matter with mass 1 TeV $\lesssim m_X \lesssim$ 10 TeV, dark photon masses $m_{A'} \sim \mathcal O(100)$ MeV, and kinetic mixing parameters $10^{-10} \lesssim \varepsilon \lesssim 10^{-8}$. The proposed search extends beyond existing beam dump and supernova bounds, and it is complementary to direct detection, probing the same region of parameter space for elastic dark matter, but potentially far more in the case of inelastic dark matter.

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Dark Photons from Captured Inelastic Dark Matter Annihilation: Charged Particle Signatures

The dark sector may contain a dark photon that kinetically mixes with the Standard Model photon, allowing dark matter to interact weakly with normal matter. In previous work we analyzed the implications of this scenario for dark matter capture by the Sun. Dark matter will gather in the core of the Sun and annihilate to dark photons. These dark photons travel outwards from the center of the Sun and may decay to produce positrons that can be detected by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) on the ISS. We found that the dark photon parameter space accessible to this analysis is largely constrained by strong limits on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section from direct detection experiments. In this paper we build upon previous work by considering the case where the dark sector contains two species of Dirac fermion that are nearly degenerate in mass and couple inelastically to the dark photon. We find that for small values of the mass splitting $Δ\sim 100 ~\text{keV}$, the predicted positron signal at AMS-02 remains largely unchanged from the previously considered elastic case while constraints from direct detection are relaxed, leaving a region of parameter space with dark matter mass $100 ~\text{GeV} \lesssim m_X \lesssim 10 ~\text{TeV}$, dark photon mass $1 ~\text{MeV} \lesssim m_{A'} \lesssim 100 ~\text{MeV}$, and kinetic mixing parameter $10^{-9} \lesssim \varepsilon \lesssim 10^{-8}$ that is untouched by supernova observations and fixed target experiments but where an inelastic dark sector may still be discovered using existing AMS-02 data.

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Neutron stars at the dark matter direct detection frontier

Neutron stars capture dark matter efficiently. The kinetic energy transferred during capture heats old neutron stars in the local galactic halo to temperatures detectable by upcoming infrared telescopes. We derive the sensitivity of this probe in the framework of effective operators. For dark matter heavier than a GeV, we find that neutron star heating can set limits on the effective operator cutoff that are orders of magnitude stronger than possible from terrestrial direct detection experiments in the case of spin-dependent and velocity-suppressed scattering.

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Kaluza-Klein gluons at 100 TeV: NLO corrections

We explore the reach of a 100 TeV proton collider to discover KK gluons in a warped extra dimension. These particles are templates for color adjoint vectors that couple dominantly to the top quark. We examine their production rate at NLO in the six-flavor m-ACOT scheme for a variety of reference models defining their coupling to quarks, largely inspired by the RS model of a warped extra dimension. In agreement with previous calculations aimed at lower energy machines, we find that the NLO corrections are typically negative, resulting in a $K$-factor of around 0.7 (depending on the model) and with a residual scale dependence on the order of $\pm 20\%$, greater than the variation from the scale exhibited by the naïve LO estimate.

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Particle Physics Models for the 17 MeV Anomaly in Beryllium Nuclear Decays

The 6.8$σ$ anomaly in excited 8Be nuclear decays via internal pair creation is fit well by a new particle interpretation. In a previous analysis, we showed that a 17 MeV protophobic gauge boson provides a particle physics explanation of the anomaly consistent with all existing constraints. Here we begin with a review of the physics of internal pair creation in 8Be decays and the characteristics of the observed anomaly. To develop its particle interpretation, we provide an effective operator analysis for excited 8Be decays to particles with a variety of spins and parities and show that these considerations exclude simple models with scalar particles. We discuss the required couplings for a gauge boson to give the observed signal, highlighting the significant dependence on the precise mass of the boson and isospin mixing and breaking effects. We present anomaly-free extensions of the Standard Model that contain protophobic gauge bosons with the desired couplings to explain the 8Be anomaly. In the first model, the new force carrier is a U(1)B gauge boson that kinetically mixes with the photon; in the second model, it is a U(1)(B-L) gauge boson with a similar kinetic mixing. In both cases, the models predict relatively large charged lepton couplings ~ 0.001 that can resolve the discrepancy in the muon anomalous magnetic moment and are amenable to many experimental probes. The models also contain vectorlike leptons at the weak scale that may be accessible to near future LHC searches.

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Beyond the Standard Model

We introduce aspects of physics beyond the Standard Model focusing on supersymmetry, extra dimensions, and a composite Higgs as solutions to the Hierarchy problem. Lectures at the European School of High Energy Physics, Parádfürdő, Hungary, 5-18 June 2013.

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Dark Matter Interpretation of the Fermi-LAT Observation Toward the Galactic Center

The center of the Milky Way is predicted to be the brightest region of gamma-rays generated by self-annihilating dark matter particles. Excess emission about the Galactic center above predictions made for standard astrophysical processes has been observed in gamma-ray data collected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. It is well described by the square of an NFW dark matter density distribution. Although other interpretations for the excess are plausible, the possibility that it arises from annihilating dark matter is valid. In this paper, we characterize the excess emission as annihilating dark matter in the framework of an effective field theory. We consider the possibility that the annihilation process is mediated by either pseudo-scalar or vector interactions and constrain the coupling strength of these interactions by fitting to the Fermi Large Area Telescope data for energies 1-100 GeV in the 15 x 15 degree region about the Galactic center using self-consistently derived interstellar emission models and point source lists for the region. The excess persists and its spectral characteristics favor a dark matter particle with a mass in the range approximately from 50 to 190 (10 to 90) GeV and annihilation cross section approximately from 1E-26 to 4E-25 (6E-27 to 2E-25) cm^3/s for pseudo-scalar (vector) interactions. We map these intervals into the corresponding WIMP-neutron scattering cross sections and find that the allowed range lies well below current and projected direct detection constraints for pseudo-scalar interactions, but are typically ruled out for vector interactions.

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Lepton-Flavor Violating Mediators

We present a framework where dark matter interacts with the Standard Model through a light, spin-0 mediator that couples chirally to pairs of different-flavor leptons. This flavor violating final state weakens bounds on new physics coupled to leptons from terrestrial experiments and cosmic-ray measurements. As an example, we apply this framework to construct a model for the Fermi-LAT excess of GeV $γ$-rays from the galactic center. We comment on the viability of this portal for self-interacting dark matter explanations of small scale structure anomalies and embeddings in flavor models. Models of this type are shown to be compatible with the muon anomalous magnetic moment anomaly. We review current experimental constraints and identify possible future theoretical and experimental directions.

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Protophobic Fifth Force Interpretation of the Observed Anomaly in $^8$Be Nuclear Transitions

Recently a 6.8$σ$ anomaly has been reported in the opening angle and invariant mass distributions of $e^+ e^-$ pairs produced in $^8\text{Be}$ nuclear transitions. The data are explained by a 17 MeV vector gauge boson $X$ that is produced in the decay of an excited state to the ground state, $^8\text{Be}^* \to {}^8\text{Be} \, X$, and then decays through $X \to e^+ e^-$. The $X$ boson mediates a fifth force with a characteristic range of 12 fm and has milli-charged couplings to up and down quarks and electrons, and a proton coupling that is suppressed relative to neutrons. The protophobic $X$ boson may also alleviate the current 3.6$σ$ discrepancy between the predicted and measured values of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment.

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On-Shell Mediators and Top-Charm Dark Matter Models for the Fermi-LAT Galactic Center Excess

An excess in gamma-rays from the galactic center observed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope has been proposed as a possible signal of dark matter annihilation. Recently, the Fermi collaboration showed that systematic errors broaden the range of spectral shapes for this excess. We demonstrate fits to this range for (1) flavor-violating annihilations to top-charm pairs and (2) annihilations to on-shell bosonic mediators which decay to Standard Model quarks in a boosted frame. Annihilation of 40 - 100 GeV DM to pairs of spin-1 mediators provide a good fit to the Fermi-LAT spectrum with a normalization consistent with a thermal relic. Top-charm modes and annihilation to three pseudoscalar mediators can fit the spectral shape but typically require non-thermal annihilation cross sections.

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Hidden On-Shell Mediators for the Galactic Center Gamma-Ray Excess

We present simplified models for the galactic center gamma-ray excess where Dirac dark matter annihilates into pairs or triplets of on-shell bosonic mediators to the Standard Model. These annihilation modes allow the dark matter mass to be heavier than those of conventional effective theories for the gamma-ray excess. Because the annihilation rate is set by the dark matter--mediator coupling, the Standard Model coupling can be made parametrically small to `hide' the dark sector by suppressing direct detection and collider signals. We explore the viability of these models as a thermal relic and on the role of the mediators for controlling the gamma-ray spectral shape. We comment on ultraviolet completions for these simplified models and novel options for Standard Model final states.

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Dynamics of 3D SUSY Gauge Theories with Antisymmetric Matter

We investigate the IR dynamics of N=2 SUSY gauge theories in 3D with antisymmetric matter. The presence of the antisymmetric fields leads to further splitting of the Coulomb branch. Counting zero modes in the instanton background suggests that more than a single direction along the Coulomb branch may remain unlifted. We examine the case of SU(4) with one or two antisymmetric fields and various flavors in detail. Using the results for the corresponding 4D theories, we find the IR dynamics of the 3D cases via compactification and a real mass deformation. We find that for the s-confining case with two antisymmetric fields, a second unlifted Coulomb branch direction indeed appears in the low-energy dynamics. We present several non-trivial consistency checks to establish the validity of these results. We also comment on the expected structure of general s-confining theories in 3D, which might involve several unlifted Coulomb branch directions.

hep-th↗

The Effective Theory of Self-Interacting Dark Matter

We present an effective non-relativistic theory of self-interacting dark matter. We classify the long range interactions and discuss how they can be generated from quantum field theories. Generic dark sectors can generate singular potentials. We show how to consistently renormalize such potentials and apply this to the calculation of the Sommerfeld enhancement of dark matter interactions. We explore further applications of this enhancement to astrophysical probes of dark matter including the core vs. cusp problem.

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The Same-Sign Dilepton Signature of RPV/MFV SUSY

The lack of observation of superpartners at the Large Hadron Collider so far has led to a renewed interest in supersymmetric models with R-parity violation (RPV). In particular, imposing the Minimal Flavor Violation (MFV) hypothesis on a general RPV model leads to a realistic and predictive framework. Naturalness suggests that stops and gluinos should appear at or below the TeV mass scale. We consider a simplified model with these two particles and MFV couplings. The model predicts a significant rate of events with same-sign dileptons and b-jets. We re-analyze a recent CMS search in this channel and show that the current lower bound on the gluino mass is about 800 GeV at 95% confidence level, with only a weak dependence on the stop mass as long as the gluino can decay to an on-shell top-stop pair. We also discuss how this search can be further optimized for the RPV/MFV scenario, using the fact that MFV stop decays often result in jets with large invariant mass. With the proposed improvements, we estimate that gluino masses of up to about 1.4 TeV can be probed at the 14 TeV LHC with a 100 fb^-1 data set.

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The birds and the Bs in RS: the b to s gamma penguin in a warped extra dimension

We calculate contributions to the photon and gluon magnetic dipole operators that mediate b -> s gamma and b -> d gamma transitions in the Randall-Sundrum model of a warped extra dimension with anarchic bulk fermions and a brane localized Higgs. Unlike the Standard Model, there are large contributions to the left-handed b quark decays, parameterized by the Wilson coefficient C'_7, due to the pattern of bulk fermion localization, and sizable contributions from the gluonic penguins, C(')_8, through renormalization group mixing. Further, unlike the Randall-Sundrum result for mu -> e gamma, the unprimed Wilson coefficients receive non-negligible contributions from the misalignment of the bulk fermion spectrum with the Standard Model flavor sector. We compare the size of effects and the constraints imposed by the branching ratios Br(B -> X_s gamma) and X_d gamma)> within the minimal and the custodial model. Within the custodial framework, we study the effect on a number of benchmark observables and find that Br(B -> X_s mu^+ mu^-) and the forward-backward asymmetry in B -> K^* mu^+ mu^- remain close to their Standard Model predictions. On the other hand, there can be large enhancements of the time-dependent CP asymmetry in B -> K^* gamma and the transverse asymmetry A_T^(2).

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