arXiv subjects

Shrihari Gopalakrishna

Publications and source records attributed to Shrihari Gopalakrishna.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Baryogenesis from a Majorana Fermion Coupled to Quarks

In the theory with a Majorana fermion ($X$) coupled to quark-like fermions ($Q$) via a dimension-six four-fermion vector-vector interaction, we have computed in an earlier work the baryon asymmetry generated in the decay and scattering processes of the $X$ with $Q$. In this work we consider such processes in the expanding early Universe, set up the Boltzmann equations governing the $X$ and net baryon number densities, and numerically solve them in example benchmark points, taking the thermally averaged decay and scattering rates and their temperature dependence from the earlier study. We find that starting from a baryon symmetric Universe at early time, the presently observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) can be explained in this theory over a wide range of mass scales, $M_\chi\in (10^4,10^{16})$ GeV for appropriately chosen couplings. We find that scattering processes play a crucial role in generating the baryon asymmetry in this theory. We present our results in a general manner that should be useful not just in our theory, but also in other related theories that share the essential ingredients. Our results should help guide promising ways to probe such new physics in terrestrial experiments. For instance, in regions of parameter space that yield the observed BAU, we present the rate for neutron-antineutron oscillation and discuss the prospects for observing this in upcoming experiments.

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arXiv2023

Baryon Asymmetry from the Decay and Scattering of a Majorana Fermion Pair Coupled to Quarks

We compute the baryon asymmetry in decay and scattering processes involving the electromagnetically charge-neutral fermion $\chi$ that carries nonzero baryon number and interacts with quark-like fermions $U,D$ via a vector-vector dimension-six effective operator, in the theory we developed in our earlier work. Majorana masses for the $\chi$ break baryon number and split the Dirac fermion $\chi$ into a pair of Majorana fermions $X_n$ with indefinite baryon number. We identify loop amplitudes for $X_n$ decay and scattering processes that are sensitive to the baryon number violation. The phases in the Majorana mass and couplings, in conjunction with the phase from intermediate onshell states, lead to $C$ and $CP$ violation in these processes. For some representative parameter choices, we numerically compute the decay and scattering baryon asymmetries between the process and its conjugate process, and find that the asymmetry generated is very interesting for explaining the baryon asymmetry of the Universe.

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arXiv2023

Effective Theory for Baryogenesis with a Majorana Fermion Pair Coupled to Quarks

With a goal toward explaining the observed baryon asymmetry of the Universe, we extend the standard model (SM) by adding a vector-vector dimension-six effective operator coupling a new Dirac fermion $χ$, uncharged under the SM gauge symmetries but charged under baryon number, to a quark-like up-type fermion and two identical down-type fermions. We introduce baryon number violation by adding Majorana masses to $χ$, which splits the Dirac fermion into two Majorana fermions with unequal masses. We speculate on the origin of the effective operator, the Majorana mass, and the new physics sector connection to the SM, by considering some ultraviolet completion examples. In addition to the baryon number violation, we show that $C$ and $CP$ invariances can be violated in the theory, and the interference between tree and loop amplitudes with on-shell intermediate states can lead to a baryon asymmetry in $χ$ decay and scattering processes. We write down the Boltzmann equation for baryon number in the early Universe incorporating the decay and scattering baryon asymmetries. We provide numerical estimates for the baryon asymmetry generated, and for the neutron-antineutron oscillation rate.

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arXiv2019

Higgs Vacuum Stability with Vector-like Fermions

We present the effects of vector-like fermions (VLF) on the stability of the Higgs electroweak vacuum, using the renormalization group improved Higgs effective potential. We review the calculation of the one-loop beta-functions of the standard model couplings, paying particular attention to the fermion contributions. From this, we derive the VLF contributions to the beta-functions. We also include the significant two-loop contributions to the beta-functions. Using these beta-functions we determine the scale at which the effective Higgs quartic-coupling becomes zero and goes negative, signaling vacuum instability. We find that for certain VLF masses and Yukawa couplings, the Higgs quartic stays positive for field values all the way up to the Planck scale, implying that the meta-stable vacuum of the standard model can be rendered absolutely stable if VLFs are present with certain parameters. For other values of VLF parameters, the Higgs vacuum is metastable as in the standard model. For cases where the vacuum is metastable, we compute the probability of quantum tunneling from the false electroweak vacuum into a deeper true vacuum in our Hubble volume by numerically solving for the bounce configuration in Euclidean space-time and computing the bounce action for it. We compare our numerical solution with the analytical approximation for the bounce action commonly used in the literature and comment on when the latter may be used.

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arXiv2017

Gauge Singlet Vector-like Fermion Dark Matter, LHC Diphoton Rate and Direct Detection

We study a gauge-singlet vector-like fermion hidden-sector dark matter model, in which the communication between the dark matter and the visible standard model sector is via the Higgs-portal scalar-Higgs mixing, and also via a hidden-sector scalar with loop-level couplings to two gluons and also to two hypercharge gauge bosons induced by a vector-like quark. We find that the Higgs-portal possibility is stringently constrained to be small by the recent LHC di-Higgs search limits, and the loop-induced couplings are important to include. In the model parameter space, we present the dark matter relic-density, the dark-matter-nucleon direct-detection scattering cross-section, the LHC diphoton rate from gluon-gluon fusion, and the theoretical upper-bounds on the fermion-scalar couplings from perturbative unitarity.

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arXiv2016

Status and Prospects of the Two-Higgs-Doublet SU(6)/Sp(6) little-Higgs Model and the Alignment Limit

We study in detail the little-Higgs model proposed by Low, Skiba and Smith with an SU(6)/Sp(6) group structure. The effective theory at the TeV scale is a two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM) with additional heavy vector-like fermions and vector-bosons. We identify a set of independent input parameters and develop expressions for masses and couplings in terms of these. We perform a random scan of the parameter space and find points that satisfy constraints, including the recent 8 TeV LHC Higgs measurements, namely, the Higgs mass, Higgs couplings to the top, bottom, $τ$, $W^\pm$ and $Z$, top-quark mass, and collider bounds on colored vector-like fermions ($t'$ and $b'$), and also precision electroweak constraints. The LHC constraints on the $hWW$ and $hZZ$ couplings are satisfied by being close to the "alignment limit". We find how fine-tuned the model is after including these constraints. For the points that satisfy the constraints, we present the 1-loop effective couplings of the CP-even and CP-odd neutral scalars to two gluons including contributions of standard model and heavy vector-like quarks. We also present the branching ratios of the heavy neutral scalars into the $γγ,\, τ\barτ,\, b\bar b,\, t\bar t, WW, ZZ, Zh, hh$ modes, and the heavy charged scalar into $tb,\, τν, cs, W h$ modes. These will aid searches of the heavy scalars at the LHC and other future colliders.

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arXiv2016

The 750 GeV diphoton excess in a two Higgs doublet model and a singlet scalar model, with vector-like fermions, unitarity constraints, and dark matter implications

We explore the possibility of a beyond the standard model scalar ($ϕ$) as a possible explanation of the diphoton resonance at 750~GeV invariant mass reported by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations at the large hadron collider (LHC). We first present in a model-independent way the scalar-gluon-gluon and scalar-photon-photon effective couplings needed for obtaining the required diphoton cross-section at the LHC for different total widths. We investigate here two new-physics possibilities that can generate these effective couplings, namely, (i) the 2-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM) in the alignment limit, and (ii) a singlet scalar, with vector-like fermions added and playing a crucial role in generating the effective couplings. We present the regions of model parameter space which are allowed by direct LHC and perturbative unitarity constraints, and that give the required diphoton cross-section at the LHC for various total widths. In the singlet case, we include the possibility that $ϕ$ decays into a pair of neutral stable vector-like fermions that could be dark matter. We find regions of parameter-space of the singlet model that gives the required diphoton rate, have the correct dark matter relic-density, have dark matter direct-detection rates compatible with current direct-detection experiments, and satisfy LHC bounds and perturbative unitarity constraints.

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arXiv2016

Extra Neutral Scalars with Vector-like Fermions at the LHC

Many theories beyond the standard model (BSM) contain new CP-odd and CP-even neutral scalars $ϕ= \{A,H\}$, and new vector-like fermions ($ψ_{VL}$). The couplings of the CP-odd scalar $A$ to two standard model (SM) gauge bosons cannot occur from renormalizable operators in a CP-conserving sector, but can be induced at the quantum loop level. We compute these effective couplings at the 1-loop level induced by the SM fermions and vector-like fermions, present analytical expressions for them, and plot them numerically. Using the 8~TeV Large Hadron Collider (LHC) $γγ$, $τ^{+} τ^{-}$ and $t \bar t$ channel data, we derive constraints on the effective couplings of the $ϕ$ to standard model gauge bosons and fermions. We present the gluon-fusion channel cross-sections of the $ϕ$ at the 8~and~14~TeV LHC, and its branching-ratios into SM fermion and gauge-boson pairs. We present our results first model-independently, and then also for some simple models containing $ϕ$ and $ψ_{VL}$ in the singlet and doublet representations of $SU(2)$. In the doublet case, we focus on the two-Higgs-doublet (2HDM) Type-II and Type-X models in the alignment limit.

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arXiv2014

Survey of vector-like fermion extensions of the Standard Model and their phenomenological implications

With the renewed interest in vector-like fermion extensions of the Standard Model, we present here a study of multiple vector-like theories and their phenomenological implications. Our focus is mostly on minimal flavor conserving theories that couple the vector-like fermions to the SM gauge fields and mix only weakly with SM fermions so as to avoid flavor problems. We present calculations for precision electroweak and vector-like state decays, which are needed to investigate compatibility with currently known data. We investigate the impact of vector-like fermions on Higgs boson production and decay, including loop contributions, in a wide variety of vector-like extensions and their parameter spaces.

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arXiv2014

LHC Signatures of Warped-space Vectorlike Quarks

We study the LHC signatures of TeV scale vectorlike quarks $b'$, $t'$ and $χ$ with electromagnetic charges -1/3, 2/3 and 5/3 that appear in many beyond the standard model (BSM) extensions. We consider warped extra-dimensional models and analyze the phenomenology of such vectorlike quarks that are the custodial partners of third generation quarks. In addition to the usually studied pair-production channels which depend on the strong coupling, we put equal emphasis on single production channels that depend on electroweak couplings and on electroweak symmetry breaking induced mixing effects between the heavy vectorlike quarks and standard model quarks. We identify new promising $gg$-initiated pair and single production channels and find the luminosity required for discovering these states at the LHC. For these channels, we propose a cut that allows one to extract the relevant electroweak couplings. Although the motivation is from warped models, we present many of our results model-independently.

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arXiv2013

Warped Extra Dimensional Benchmarks for Snowmass 2013

The framework of a warped extra dimension with the Standard Model (SM) fields propagating in it is a very well-motivated extension of the SM since it can address both the Planck-weak and flavor hierarchy problems of the SM. We consider signals at the 14 and 33 TeV large hadron collider (LHC) resulting from the direct production of the new particles in this framework, i.e.,Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations of the SM particles. We focus on spin-1 (gauge boson) and spin-2 (graviton) KK particles and their decays to top/bottom quarks (flavor-conserving) and W/Z and Higgs bosons, in particular. We propose two benchmarks for this purpose, with the right-handed (RH) or LH top quark, respectively, being localized very close to the TeV end of the extra dimension. We present some new results at the 14 TeV (with 300 fb$^-1$ and 3000 fb$^-1$) and 33 TeV LHC. We find that the prospects for discovery of these particles are quite promising, especially at the high-luminosity upgrade.

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arXiv2011

LHC Signatures of a Vector-like b'

Many beyond the standard model extensions predict the existence of heavy vector-like fermions. We study the LHC signatures of one such heavy vector-like fermion, called b', with electromagnetic charge -1/3 like the SM b-quark, but which could generically have different SU(2)_L and U(1)_Y quantum numbers. Our emphasis will be on the phenomenology due to b <-> b' mass-mixing, present after electroweak symmetry breaking. We focus on aspects which distinguish a vector-like b' from a chiral b' and include tree-level decays of the b' into t W, b Z and b h final states. While our analysis is largely model-independent, we take as a motivating example warped-space models in which a vector-like b' appears as the custodial partner of the top-quark.

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arXiv2010

Chiral Couplings of W' and Top Quark Polarization at the LHC

If a TeV-scale charged gauge boson (W') is discovered at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), it will become imperative to determine its chiral couplings to standard model (SM) fermions in order to learn about the underlying theory containing the W'. We describe the reconstruction of the t, b decay mode of the W' at the LHC, and identify various kinematic observables such as the angular distributions of the top quark and the lepton resulting from top decay that can be used to disentangle the chiral couplings of the W' to SM fermions. We demonstrate by presenting analytical expressions, numerical simulations, as well as intuitive illustrations for these observables at the LHC that among the SM fermions, the polarized top quark can most directly probe the chirality of such couplings.

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arXiv2009

Warped 5-Dimensional Models: Phenomenological Status and Experimental Prospects

Warped 5-dimensional models, based on the original Randall-Sundrum geometry, have been extended beyond their initial purpose of resolving the gauge hierarchy problem. Over the past decade, various ingredients have been added to their basic structure in order to provide natural and predictive models of flavor and also to address existing constraints from precision data. In this review, we examine the theoretical and experimental status of realistic models that accommodate current data, while addressing the hierarchy and flavor puzzles of the Standard Model. We also discuss the prospects for future discovery of the TeV-scale Kaluza-Klein states that are predicted to emerge in these models, and outline some of the challenges that the detection of such particles pose for experiments at the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2009

Hidden Sector Dark Matter and LHC Signatures

We discuss the implications of a gauged Abelian hidden-sector communicating with the Standard Model (SM) fields via kinetic mixing with the SM hypercharge gauge field, or via the Higgs quartic interaction. We discuss signatures of the hidden-sector gauge boson at the LHC in the four-lepton channel. We show that a hidden-sector fermion can be a natural dark-matter candidate with the correct relic-density, discuss direct-detection prospects, and show how Higgs signatures may be altered at the LHC.

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arXiv2009

Big Signals of Little Randall-Sundrum Models

We examine signals at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) of Kaluza-Klein modes, in volume-truncated "Little Randall-Sundrum" (LRS) models of flavor, characterized by 5D cutoff scales M_5 that are small compared to the 4D Planck mass M_P ~ 10^{19} GeV. In particular, for the phenomenologically viable choice M_5 ~ 10^4 TeV, the discovery of a 2 (3)-TeV "Little" Z' at the LHC requires about 1 (4) 1/fb at \sqrt{s}=10 (14) TeV, in the clean di-lepton channel. Our results highlight the possibility of probing interesting values of M_5, starting with the early LHC data. With M_5 ~ 10^4 TeV, discovering the second KK mode Z'', at about 4.3 TeV, requires O(100) 1/fb at \sqrt{s}=14 TeV, providing a probe of the warped nature of the bulk that is encoded in the mass ratio of the first two KK modes, at design luminosity. By comparison, discovering a 3-TeV Z' of the Planck-weak hierarchy models (with M_5 ~ M_P), in any channel, would require upwards of O(300) 1/fb at \sqrt{s}=14 TeV. We also point out that discovery prospects markedly improve for Little KK gluons as well, but the challenging reconstruction of their t tbar decay products may not allow an appreciable advantage for early discovery, over the Little Z' case.

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arXiv2009

Dark matter and Higgs boson collider implications of fermions in an abelian-gauged hidden sector

We add fermions to an abelian-gauged hidden sector. We show that the lightest can be the dark matter with the right thermal relic abundance, and discovery is within reach of upcoming dark matter detectors. We also show that these fermions change Higgs boson phenomenology at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), and in particular could induce a large invisible width to the lightest Higgs boson state. Such an invisibly decaying Higgs boson can be discovered with good significance in the vector boson fusion channel at the LHC.

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arXiv2008

LHC Signals for Warped Electroweak Charged Gauge Bosons

We study signals at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations of electroweak charged gauge bosons in the framework of the Standard Model (SM) fields propagating in the bulk of a warped extra dimension. Such a scenario can solve both the Planck-weak and flavor hierarchy problems of the SM. There are two such charged states in this scenario with couplings to light quarks and leptons being suppressed relative to those in the SM, whereas the couplings to top/bottom quarks are enhanced, similar to the case of electroweak neutral gauge bosons previously studied. However, unlike the case of electroweak neutral gauge bosons, there is no irreducible QCD background (including pollution from possibly degenerate KK gluons) for decays to top + bottom final state so that this channel is useful for the discovery of the charged states. Moreover, decays of electroweak charged gauge bosons to longitudinal W, Z and Higgs are enhanced just as for the neutral bosons. However, unlike for the neutral gauge bosons, the purely leptonic (and hence clean) decay mode of the WZ are fully reconstructible so that the ratio of the signal to the SM (electroweak) background can potentially be enhanced by restricting to the resonance region more efficiently. We show that such final states can give sensitivity to 2 (3) TeV masses with an integrated luminosity of 100 (300) inverse fb. We emphasize that improvements in discriminating a QCD-jet from a highly boosted hadronically decaying W, and a highly boosted top-jet from a bottom-jet will enhance the reach for these KK particles, and that the signals we study for the warped extra dimensional model might actually be applicable also to a wider class of non-supersymmetric models of electroweak symmetry breaking.

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