arXiv subjects

S. Heinemeyer

Publications and source records attributed to S. Heinemeyer.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Study of Electroweak Interactions at the Energy Frontier

With the discovery of the Higgs boson, the spectrum of particles in the Standard Model (SM) is complete. It is more important than ever to perform precision measurements and to test for deviations from SM predictions in the electroweak sector. In this report, we investigate two themes in the arena of precision electroweak measurements: the electroweak precision observables (EWPOs) that test the particle content and couplings in the SM and the minimal supersymmetric SM, and the measurements involving multiple gauge bosons in the final state which provide unique probes of the basic tenets of electroweak symmetry breaking. Among the important EWPOs we focus our discussion on M_W and sin^2 theta_eff^l, and on anomalous quartic gauge couplings probed by triboson production and vector boson scattering. We investigate the thresholds of precision that need to be achieved in order to be sensitive to new physics. We study the precision that can be achieved at various facilities on these observables. We discuss the calculational tools needed to predict SM rates and distributions in order to perform these measurements at the required precision. This report summarizes the work of the Energy Frontier Precision Study of Electroweak Interactions working group of the 2013 Community Summer Study (Snowmass).

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arXiv2013

MSSM Higgs Boson Searches at the LHC: Benchmark Scenarios after the Discovery of a Higgs-like Particle

A Higgs-like particle with a mass of about 125.5 GeV has been discovered at the LHC. Within the current experimental uncertainties, this new state is compatible with both the predictions for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson and with the Higgs sector in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We propose new low-energy MSSM benchmark scenarios that, over a wide parameter range, are compatible with the mass and production rates of the observed signal. These scenarios also exhibit interesting phenomenology for the MSSM Higgs sector. We propose a slightly updated version of the well-known mh-max scenario, and a modified scenario (mh-mod), where the light CP-even Higgs boson can be interpreted as the LHC signal in large parts of the MA-tan β plane. Furthermore, we define a light stop scenario that leads to a suppression of the lightest CP-even Higgs gluon fusion rate, and a light stau scenario with an enhanced decay rate of h to γγ at large tan β. We also suggest a τ-phobic Higgs scenario in which the lightest Higgs can have suppressed couplings to down-type fermions. We propose to supplement the specified value of the μ parameter in some of these scenarios with additional values of both signs. This has a significant impact on the interpretation of searches for the non SM-like MSSM Higgs bosons. We also discuss the sensitivity of the searches to heavy Higgs decays into light charginos and neutralinos, and to decays of the form H to hh. Finally, in addition to all the other scenarios where the lightest CP-even Higgs is interpreted as the LHC signal, we propose a low-MH scenario, where instead the heavy CP-even Higgs boson corresponds to the new state around 125.5 GeV.

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arXiv2013

Exploring Quantum Physics at the ILC

We review the ILC capabilities to explore the electroweak (EW) sector of the SM at high precision and the prospects of unveiling signals of BSM physics, either through the presence of new particles in higher-order corrections or via direct production of extra EW gauge bosons. This includes electroweak precision observables, global fits to the SM Higgs boson mass as well as triple and quartic gauge boson couplings.

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arXiv2013

New Constraints on General Slepton Flavor Mixing

We explore the phenomenological implications on charged lepton flavor violating (LFV) processes from slepton flavor mixing within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We work under the model-independent hypothesis of general flavor mixing in the slepton sector, being parametrized by a complete set of dimensionless delta^AB_ij (A,B = L,R; i,j = 1, 2, 3) parameters. The present upper bounds on the most relevant LFV processes, together with the requirement of compatibility in the choice of the MSSM parameters with the recent LHC and (g-2) data, lead to updated constraints on all slepton flavor mixing parameters. A comparative discussion of the most effective LFV processes to constrain the various generation mixings is included.

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arXiv2013

The Charged Higgs Boson Mass of the MSSM in the Feynman-Diagrammatic Approach

The interpretation of the Higgs signal at \sim 126 GeV within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) depends crucially on the predicted properties of the other Higgs states of the model, as the mass of the charged Higgs boson, MH+-. This mass is calculated in the Feynman-diagrammatic approach within the MSSM with real parameters. The result includes the complete one-loop contributions and the two-loop contributions of O(alpha_t alpha_s). The one-loop contributions lead to sizable shifts in the MH+- prediction, reaching up to \sim 8 GeV for relatively small values of M_A. Even larger effects can occur depending on the sign and size of the mu parameter that enters the corrections affecting the relation between the bottom-quark mass and the bottom Yukawa coupling. The two-loop O(alpha_t alpha_s) terms can shift MH+- by more than 2 GeV. The two-loop contributions amount to typically about 30% of the one-loop corrections for the examples that we have studied. These effects can be relevant for precision analyses of the charged MSSM Higgs boson.

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arXiv2013

Finite Theories Before and After the Discovery of a Higgs Boson at the LHC

Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are N = 1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) which can be made finite to all-loop orders, based on the principle of reduction of couplings, and therefore are provided with a large predictive power. Confronting the predictions of SU(5) FUTs with the top and bottom quark masses and other low-energy experimental constraints a light Higgs-boson mass in the range M_h \sim 121-126 GeV was predicted, in striking agreement with the recent discovery of a Higgs-like state around \sim 125.5 GeV at ATLAS and CMS. Furthermore the favoured model, a finiteness constrained version of the MSSM, naturally predicts a relatively heavy spectrum with coloured supersymmetric particles above \sim 1.5 TeV, consistent with the non-observation of those particles at the LHC. Restricting further the best FUT's parameter space according to the discovery of a Higgs-like state and B-physics observables we find predictions for the rest of the Higgs masses and the supersymmetric particle spectrum.

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arXiv2013

Phenomenology Tools on Cloud Infrastructures using OpenStack

We present a new environment for computations in particle physics phenomenology employing recent developments in cloud computing. On this environment users can create and manage "virtual" machines on which the phenomenology codes/tools can be deployed easily in an automated way. We analyze the performance of this environment based on "virtual" machines versus the utilization of "real" physical hardware. In this way we provide a qualitative result for the influence of the host operating system on the performance of a representative set of applications for phenomenology calculations.

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arXiv2013

Higgs/Electroweak in the SM and the MSSM

This lecture discusses the Higgs boson sectors of the SM and the MSSM, in particular in view of the recently discovered particle at \sim 125.5 GeV. It also covers their connection to electroweak precision physics and the implications for the consistency tests of the respective model.

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arXiv2012

Finite Theories after the discovery of a Higgs-like boson at the LHC

Finite Unified Theories (FUTs) are N = 1 supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) which can be made finite to all-loop orders, based on the principle of reduction of couplings, and therefore are provided with a large predictive power. Confronting the predictions of SU(5) FUTs with the top and bottom quark masses and other low-energy experimental constraints a light Higgs-boson mass in the range M_h ~ 121-126 GeV was predicted, in striking agreement with the recent discovery of a Higgs-like state around ~ 125.7 GeV at ATLAS and CMS. Furthermore the favoured model, a finiteness constrained version of the MSSM, naturally predicts a relatively heavy spectrum with coloured supersymmetric particles above ~ 1.5 TeV, consistent with the non-observation of those particles at the LHC. Restricting further the best FUT's parameter space according to the discovery of a Higgs-like state and B-physics observables we find predictions for the rest of the Higgs masses and the s-spectrum.

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arXiv2012

MSSM Interpretations of the LHC Discovery: Light or Heavy Higgs?

A Higgs-like particle with a mass of about 126 GeV has been discovered at the LHC. Within the experimental uncertainties, the measured properties of this new state are compatible with those of the Higgs boson in the Standard Model (SM). While not statistically significant at present, the results show some interesting patterns of deviations from the SM predictions, in particular a higher rate in the γγ decay mode observed by ATLAS and CMS, and a somewhat smaller rate in the ττ mode. The LHC discovery is also compatible with the predictions of the Higgs sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), interpreting the new state as either the light or the heavy CP-even MSSM Higgs boson. Within the framework of the MSSM with seven free parameters (pMSSM-7), we fit the various rates of cross section times branching ratio as measured by the LHC and Tevatron experiments under the hypotheses of either the light or the heavy CP-even Higgs boson being the new state around 126 GeV, with and without the inclusion of further low-energy observables. We find an overall good quality of the fits, with the best fit points exhibiting an enhancement of the γγrate, as well as a small suppression of the bb and ττ channels with respect to their SM expectations, depending on the details of the fit. For the fits including the whole data set the light CP-even Higgs interpretation in the MSSM results in a higher relative fit probability than the SM fit. On the other hand, we find that the present data also permit the more exotic interpretation in terms of the heavy CP-even MSSM Higgs, which could give rise to experimental signatures of additional Higgs states in the near future.

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arXiv2012

Heavy Scalar Top Quark Decays in the Complex MSSM: A Full One-Loop Analysis

We evaluate all two-body decay modes of the heavy scalar top quark in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with complex parameters (cMSSM) and no generation mixing. The evaluation is based on a full one-loop calculation of all decay channels, also including hard QED and QCD radiation. The renormalization of the complex parameters is described in detail. The dependence of the heavy scalar top quark decay on the relevant cMSSM parameters is analyzed numerically, including also the decay to Higgs bosons and another scalar quark or to a top quark and the lightest neutralino. We find sizable contributions to many partial decay widths and branching ratios. They are roughly of O(10%) of the tree-level results, but can go up to 30% or higher. These contributions are important for the correct interpretation of scalar top quark decays at the LHC and, if kinematically allowed, at the ILC. The evaluation of the branching ratios of the heavy scalar top quark will be implemented into the Fortran code FeynHiggs.

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arXiv2012

Neutralino Decays in the Complex MSSM at One-Loop: a Comparison of On-Shell Renormalization Schemes

We evaluate two-body decay modes of neutralinos in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with complex parameters (cMSSM). Assuming heavy scalar quarks we take into account all two-body decay channels involving charginos, neutralinos, (scalar) leptons, Higgs bosons and Standard Model gauge bosons. The evaluation of the decay widths is based on a full one-loop calculation including hard and soft QED radiation. Of particular phenomenological interest are decays involving the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle (LSP), i.e. the lightest neutralino, or a neutral or charged Higgs boson. For the chargino/neutralino sector we employ two different renormalization schemes, which differ in the treatment of the complex phases. In the numerical analysis we concentrate on the decay of the heaviest neutralino and show the results in the two different schemes. The higher-order corrections of the heaviest neutralino decay widths involving the LSP can easily reach a level of about 10-15%, while the corrections to the decays to Higgs bosons are up to 20-30%, translating into corrections of similar size in the respective branching ratios. The difference between the two schemes, indicating the size of unknown two-loop corrections, is less than order(0.1%). These corrections are important for the correct interpretation of LSP and Higgs production at the LHC and at a future linear e+e- collider. The results will be implemented into the Fortran code FeynHiggs.

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arXiv2012

The CMSSM and NUHM1 in Light of 7 TeV LHC, B_s to mu+mu- and XENON100 Data

We make a frequentist analysis of the parameter space of the CMSSM and NUHM1, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with 95 (221) million points to sample the CMSSM (NUHM1) parameter spaces. Our analysis includes the ATLAS search for supersymmetric jets + MET signals using ~ 5/fb of LHC data at 7 TeV, which we apply using PYTHIA and a Delphes implementation that we validate in the relevant parameter regions of the CMSSM and NUHM1. Our analysis also includes the constraint imposed by searches for B_s to mu+mu- by LHCb, CMS, ATLAS and CDF, and the limit on spin-independent dark matter scattering from 225 live days of XENON100 data. We assume M_h ~ 125 GeV, and use a full set of electroweak precision and other flavour-physics observables, as well as the cold dark matter density constraint. The ATLAS 5/fb constraint has relatively limited effects on the 68 and 95% CL regions in the (m_0, m_1/2) planes of the CMSSM and NUHM1. The new B_s to mu+mu- constraint has greater impacts on these CL regions, and also impacts significantly the 68 and 95% CL regions in the (M_A, tan beta) planes of both models, reducing the best-fit values of tan beta. The recent XENON100 data eliminate the focus-point region in the CMSSM and affect the 68 and 95% CL regions in the NUHM1. In combination, these new constraints reduce the best-fit values of m_0, m_1/2 in the CMSSM, and increase the global chi^2 from 31.0 to 32.8, reducing the p-value from 12% to 8.5%. In the case of the NUHM1, they have little effect on the best-fit values of m_0, m_1/2, but increase the global chi^2 from 28.9 to 31.3, thereby reducing the p-value from 15% to 9.1%.

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arXiv2012

Confronting the MSSM and the NMSSM with the Discovery of a Signal in the two Photon Channel at the LHC

We confront the discovery of a boson decaying to two photons}, as reported recently by ATLAS and CMS, with the corresponding predictions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). We perform a scan over the relevant regions of parameter space in both models and evaluate the MSSM and NMSSM predictions for the dominant Higgs production channel and the photon photon decay channel. Taking into account the experimental constraints from previous direct searches, flavour physics, electroweak measurements as well as theoretical considerations, we find that a Higgs signal in the two photon channel with a rate equal to, or above, the SM prediction is viable over the full mass range $123\gev \lsim M_H \lsim 127\gev$, both in the MSSM and the NMSSM. We find that besides the interpretation of a possible signal at about $125\gev$ in terms of the lightest $\cp$-even Higgs boson, both the MSSM and the NMSSM permit also a viable interpretation where an observed state at about $125\gev$ would correspond to the second-lightest $\cp$-even Higgs boson in the spectrum, which would be accompanied by another light Higgs with suppressed couplings to $W$ and $Z$ bosons. We find that a significant enhancement of the $\ga\ga$ rate, compatible with the signal strenghts observed by ATLAS and CMS, is possible in both the MSSM and the NMSSM, and we analyse in detail different mechanisms in the two models that can give rise to such an enhancement. We briefly discuss also our predictions in the two models for the production and subsequent decay into two photons of a $\cp$-odd Higgs boson.

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arXiv2012

Higgs and Supersymmetry

Global frequentist fits to the CMSSM and NUHM1 using the MasterCode framework predicted m_h \simeq 119 GeV in fits incorporating the g_mu-2 constraint and \simeq 126 GeV without it. Recent results by ATLAS and CMS could be compatible with a Standard Model-like Higgs boson around m_h \simeq 125 GeV. We use the previous MasterCode analysis to calculate the likelihood for a measurement of any nominal Higgs mass within the range of 115 to 130 GeV. Assuming a Higgs mass measurement at m_h \simeq 125 GeV, we display updated global likelihood contours in the (m_0, m_{1/2}) and other parameter planes of the CMSSM and NUHM1, and present updated likelihood functions for m_gluino, m_squark, B to mu mu, and the spin-independent dark matter cross section σ^si. The implications of dropping g_mu-2 from the fits are also discussed. We furthermore comment on a hypothetical measurement of m_h \simeq 119 GeV.

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arXiv2012

Les Houches 2011: Physics at TeV Colliders New Physics Working Group Report

We present the activities of the "New Physics" working group for the "Physics at TeV Colliders" workshop (Les Houches, France, 30 May-17 June, 2011). Our report includes new agreements on formats for interfaces between computational tools, new tool developments, important signatures for searches at the LHC, recommendations for presentation of LHC search results, as well as additional phenomenological studies.

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arXiv2012

Heavy Scalar Tau Decays in the Complex MSSM: A Full One-Loop Analysis

We evaluate all two-body decay modes of the heavy scalar tau in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with complex parameters (cMSSM) and no generation mixing. The evaluation is based on a full one-loop calculation of all decay channels, also including hard and soft QED radiation. The renormalization of the relevant sectors is briefly reviewed. The dependence of the heavy scalar tau decay on the relevant cMSSM parameters is analyzed numerically, including also the decay to Higgs bosons and another scalar lepton or to a tau and the lightest neutralino. We find sizable contributions to many partial decay widths and branching ratios. They are mostly of O(5-10%) of the tree-level results, but can go up to 20%. These contributions are potentially important for the correct interpretation of scalar tau decays at the LHC and, if kinematically allowed, at the ILC or CLIC. The evaluation of the branching ratios of the heavy scalar tau will be implemented into the Fortran code FeynHiggs.

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arXiv2012

Higgs Boson masses and B-Physics Constraints in Non-Minimal Flavor Violating SUSY scenarios

We present one-loop corrections to the Higgs boson masses in the MSSM with Non-Minimal Flavor Violation. The flavor violation is generated from the hypothesis of general flavor mixing in the squark mass matrices, and these are parameterized by a complete set of delta^XY_ij (X, Y = L,R; i; j = t, c, u or b, s, d). We calculate the corrections to the Higgs masses in terms of these delta^XY_ij taking into account all relevant restrictions from B-physics data. This includes constraints from BR(B -> Xs gamma), BR(Bs -> mu+ mu-) and delta M_B_s . After taking into account these constraints we find sizable corrections to the Higgs boson masses, in the case of the lightest MSSM Higgs boson mass exceeding tens of GeV. These corrections are found mainly for the low tan beta case. In the case of a Higgs boson mass measurement these corrections might be used to set further constraints on delta^XY_ij.

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