arXiv subjects

Simon Knapen

Publications and source records attributed to Simon Knapen.

72 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Gauge Mediation at LHC: status and prospects

We show that the predictivity of general gauge mediation (GGM) with TeV-scale stops is greatly increased once the Higgs mass constraint is imposed. The most notable results are a strong lower bound on the mass of the gluino and right-handed squarks, and an upper bound on the Higgsino mass. If the mu-parameter is positive, the wino mass is also bounded from above. These constraints relax significantly for high messenger scales and as such long-lived NLSPs are favored in GGM. We identify a small set of most promising topologies for the neutralino/sneutrino NLSP scenarios and estimate the impact of the current bounds and the sensitivity of the high luminosity LHC. The stau, stop and sbottom NLSP scenarios can be robustly excluded at the high luminosity LHC.

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arXiv2016

Triggering Soft Bombs at the LHC

Very high multiplicity, spherically-symmetric distributions of soft particles, with $p_T$ ~ few hundred MeV, may be a signature of strongly-coupled hidden valleys that exhibit long, efficient showering windows. With traditional triggers, such "soft bomb" events closely resemble pile-up and are therefore only recorded with minimum bias triggers at a very low efficiency. We demonstrate a proof-of-concept for a high-level triggering strategy that efficiently separates soft bombs from pile-up by searching for a "belt of fire": A high density band of hits on the innermost layer of the tracker. Seeding our proposed high-level trigger with existing jet, missing transverse energy or lepton hardware-level triggers, we show that net trigger efficiencies of order 10% are possible for bombs of mass several hundred GeV. We also consider the special case that soft bombs are the result of an exotic decay of the 125 GeV Higgs. The fiducial rate for "Higgs bombs" triggered in this manner is marginally higher than the rate achievable by triggering directly on a hard muon from associated Higgs production.

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arXiv2016

Light Dark Matter in Superfluid Helium: Detection with Multi-excitation Production

We examine in depth a recent proposal to utilize superfluid helium for direct detection of sub-MeV mass dark matter. For sub-keV recoil energies, nuclear scattering events in liquid helium primarily deposit energy into long-lived phonon and roton quasiparticle excitations. If the energy thresholds of the detector can be reduced to the meV scale, then dark matter as light as ~MeV can be reached with ordinary nuclear recoils. If, on the other hand, two or more quasiparticle excitations are directly produced in the dark matter interaction, the kinematics of the scattering allows sensitivity to dark matter as light as ~keV at the same energy resolution. We present in detail the theoretical framework for describing excitations in superfluid helium, using it to calculate the rate for the leading dark matter scattering interaction, where an off-shell phonon splits into two or more higher-momentum excitations. We validate our analytic results against the measured and simulated dynamic response of superfluid helium. Finally, we apply this formalism to the case of a kinetically mixed hidden photon in the superfluid, both with and without an external electric field to catalyze the processes.

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arXiv2016

Gamma-rays from Dark Showers with Twin Higgs Models

We consider a twin WIMP scenario whose twin sector contains a full dark copy of the SM hadrons, where the lightest twin particles are twin pions. By analogy to the standard WIMP paradigm, the dark matter (DM) freezes out through twin electroweak interactions, and annihilates into a dark shower of light twin hadrons. These are either stable or decay predominantly to standard model (SM) photons. We show that this 'hadrosymmetric' scenario can be consistent with all applicable astrophysical, cosmological and collider constraints. In order to decay the twin hadrons before the big-bang nucleosynthesis epoch, an additional portal between the SM and twin sector is required. In most cases we find this additional mediator is within reach of either the LHC or future intensity frontier experiments. Furthermore, we conduct simulations of the dark shower and consequent photon spectra. We find that fits of these spectra to the claimed galactic center gamma-ray excess seen by Fermi-LAT non-trivially coincide with regions of parameter space that both successfully generate the observed DM abundance and exhibit minimal fine-tuning.

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arXiv2016

Diphotons from an Electroweak Triplet-Singlet

The neutral component of a real pseudoscalar electroweak (EW) triplet can produce a diphoton excess at 750 GeV, if it is somewhat mixed with an EW singlet pseudoscalar. This triplet-singlet mixing allows for greater freedom in the diboson branching ratios than the singlet-only case, but it is still possible to probe the parameter space extensively with 300 fb$^{-1}$. The charged component of the triplet is pair-produced at the LHC, which results in a striking signal in the form of a pair of $Wγ$ resonances with an irreducible rate of 0.27 fb. Other signatures include multiboson final states from cascade decays of the triplet-singlet neutral states. A large class of composite models feature both EW singlet and triplet pseudo-Nambu Goldstone bosons in their spectrum, with the diboson couplings generated by axial anomalies.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Gauge Mediated Mini-Split

We propose a simple model of split supersymmetry from gauge mediation. This model features gauginos that are parametrically a loop factor lighter than scalars, accommodates a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, and incorporates a simple solution to the $μ-b_μ$ problem. The gaugino mass suppression can be understood as resulting from collective symmetry breaking. Imposing collider bounds on $μ$ and requiring viable electroweak symmetry breaking implies small $a$-terms and small $\tan β$ -- the stop mass ranges from $10^5$ to $10^8 \mbox{ GeV}$. In contrast with models with anomaly + gravity mediation (which also predict a one-loop loop suppression for gaugino masses), our gauge mediated scenario predicts aligned squark masses and a gravitino LSP. Gluinos, electroweakinos and Higgsinos can be accessible at the LHC and/or future colliders for a wide region of the allowed parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Rays of light from the LHC

We consider models for the di-photon resonance observed at ATLAS (with 3.6 fb^{-1}) and CMS (with 2.6 fb^{-1}). We find there is no conflict between the signal reported at 13 TeV, and the constraints from both experiments at 8 TeV with 20.3 fb^{-1}. We make a simple argument for why adding only one new resonance to the standard model (SM) is not sufficient to explain the observation. We explore four viable options: (i): resonance production and decay through loops of messenger fermions or scalars; (ii): a resonant messenger which decays to the di-photon resonance + X; (iii): an edge configuration where A -> B gamma -> C gamma gamma, and (iv): Hidden Valley-like models where the resonance decays to a pair of very light (sub-GeV) states, each of which in turn decays to a pair of collimated photons that cannot be distinguished from a single photon. Since in each case multiple new states have been introduced, a wealth of signatures is expected to ensue at Run-2 of LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Disentangling Mass and Mixing Hierarchies

We present a fully perturbative mechanism that naturally generates mass hierarchies for the Standard Model (SM) fermions in a flavor-blind sector. The dynamics generating the mass hierarchies can therefore be independent from the source of flavor violation, and hence this dynamics may operate at a much lower scale. This mechanism works by dynamically enforcing simultaneous diagonalization - alignment - among a set of flavor-breaking spurions, as well as generating highly singular spectra for them. It also has general applications in model building beyond the SM, wherever alignment between exotic and SM sources of flavor violation is desired.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

General Gauge Mediation at the Weak Scale

We completely characterize General Gauge Mediation (GGM) at the weak scale by solving all IR constraints over the full parameter space. This is made possible through a combination of numerical and analytical methods, based on a set of algebraic relations among the IR soft masses derived from the GGM boundary conditions in the UV. We show how tensions between just a few constraints determine the boundaries of the parameter space: electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB), the Higgs mass, slepton tachyons, and left-handed stop/sbottom tachyons. While these constraints allow the left-handed squarks to be arbitrarily light, they place strong lower bounds on all of the right-handed squarks. Meanwhile, light EW superpartners are generic throughout much of the parameter space. This is especially the case at lower messenger scales, where a positive threshold correction to $m_h$ coming from light Higgsinos and winos is essential in order to satisfy the Higgs mass constraint.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

The Orbifold Higgs

We introduce and systematically study an expansive class of "orbifold Higgs" theories in which the weak scale is protected by accidental symmetries arising from the orbifold reduction of continuous symmetries. The protection mechanism eliminates quadratic sensitivity of the Higgs mass to higher scales at one loop (or more) and does not involve any new states charged under the Standard Model. The structures of the Higgs and top sectors are universal and determined exclusively by group theoretical considerations. The twin Higgs model fits within our framework as the simplest example of an orbifold Higgs. Our models admit UV completions as geometric orbifolds in higher dimensions, and fit naturally within frameworks of low scale gauge coupling unification.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

125 GeV Higgs from Tree-Level $A$-terms

We present a new mechanism to generate large $A$-terms at tree-level in the MSSM through the use of superpotential operators. The mechanism trivially resolves the $A/m^2$ problem which plagues models with conventional, loop-induced $A$-terms. We study both MFV and non-MFV models; in the former, naturalness motivates us to construct a UV completion using Seiberg duality. Finally, we study the phenomenology of these models when they are coupled to minimal gauge mediation. We find that after imposing the Higgs mass constraint, they are largely out of reach of LHC Run I, but they will be probed at Run II. Their fine tuning is basically the minimum possible in the MSSM.

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arXiv2014

Neutral Naturalness from the Orbifold Higgs

We present a general class of natural theories in which the Higgs is a pseudo-goldstone boson in an orbifolded gauge theory. The symmetry protecting the Higgs at low energies is an accidental global symmetry of the quadratic action, rather than a full continuous symmetry. The lightest degrees of freedom protecting the weak scale carry no Standard Model (SM) quantum numbers and interact with visible matter principally through the Higgs portal. We find that the twin Higgs is the simplest example of an orbifold Higgs. This opens the door to the systematic study of "neutral naturalness": natural theories with SM-neutral states that are as yet untested by the LHC.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Higgs Mediation with Strong Hidden Sector Dynamics

We present a simple model that achieves $m_h\approx 126$ GeV in the MSSM with large $A$-terms and TeV-scale stops through a combination of gauge mediation and Higgs-messenger interactions. The $μ$/$B_μ$ and $A$/$m_H^2$ problems are both solved by a common mechanism -- partial sequestering from strong hidden sector dynamics. Using the framework of General Messenger Higgs Mediation, we explicitly calculate the soft masses in terms of the vacuum expectation values, operator dimensions and OPE coefficients of the strongly-coupled hidden sector. Along the way, we also present a general analysis of the various constraints on sequestered Higgs mediation models. The phenomenology of such models is similar to gaugino mediation, but with large $A$-terms. The NLSP is always long-lived and is either the lightest stau or the Higgsino. The colored states are typically out of reach of the 8 TeV LHC, but may be accessible at 14 TeV, especially if the NLSP is the lightest stau.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

General Messenger Higgs Mediation

We present a general formalism for analyzing supersymmetric models where the Higgs sector directly couples to the messengers of supersymmetry breaking. Such Higgs-messenger interactions are strongly motivated by the discovery of a Higgs boson near 125 GeV, but they also raise the specter of the mu/B_mu and A/m_H^2 problems. Using our formalism, we identify new avenues to solving these problems through strong dynamics in the messenger sector or hidden sector. Although our formalism is entirely general, we show how it reproduces familiar results in two simplifying limits: one where the hidden sector consists of a single spurion, and the other where it is approximately superconformal. In the latter limit, our formalism generalizes and clarifies the scenario of hidden sector sequestering, which we show can solve both the mu/B_mu and A/m_H^2 problems uniformly.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

A Complete Model of Low-Scale Gauge Mediation

Recent signs of a Standard Model-like Higgs at 125 GeV point towards large A-terms in the MSSM. This presents special challenges for gauge mediation, which by itself predicts vanishing A-terms at the messenger scale. In this paper, we review the general problems that arise when extending gauge mediation to achieve large A-terms, and the mechanisms that exist to overcome them. Using these mechanisms, we construct weakly-coupled models of low-scale gauge mediation with extended Higgs-messenger couplings that generate large A-terms at the messenger scale and viable mu/B_mu-terms. Our models are simple, economical, and complete realizations of supersymmetry at the weak scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Diagnosing the top-quark angular asymmetry using LHC intrinsic charge asymmetries

Flavor-violating interactions involving new heavy particles are among proposed explanations for the $t\bar t$ forward-backward asymmetry observed at the Tevatron. Many of these models generate a $t\bar t$-plus-jet signal at the LHC. In this paper we identify several new charge asymmetric variables in $t\bar tj$ events that can contribute to the discovery of such models at the LHC. We propose a data-driven method for the background, largely eliminating the need for a Monte Carlo prediction of $t\bar t$-plus-jets, and thus reducing systematic errors. With a fast detector simulation, we estimate the statistical sensitivity of our variables for one of these models, finding that charge-asymmetric variables could materially assist in the exclusion of the Standard Model across much of the mass and coupling range, given 5 inverse fb of data. Should any signal appear, our variables will be useful in distinguishing classes of models from one another.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Bounds from LEP on unparticle interactions with electroweak bosons

A conformally invariant hidden sector is considered, with a scalar operator $O$ of low dimension that couples to the electro-weak gauge bosons of the Standard Model, via terms such as $O F^{μν}F_{μν}$. By examining single photon production at LEP, we bound the strength of these interactions. We apply our results, along with those of Delgado and Strassler and of Caracciolo and Rychkov, to improve the bound on four-photon production through "unparticle self-interactions", as proposed by Feng et al. We find the maximum allowable cross-section is of order a few tens of femtobarns at the 14 TeV LHC, and lies well below 1 fb for a wide range of parameters.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Field Representations of Vector Supersymmetry

We study some field representations of vector supersymmetry with superspin Y=0 and Y=1/2 and nonvanishing central charges. For Y=0, we present two multiplets composed of four spinor fields, two even and two odd, and we provide a free action for them. The main differences between these two multiplets are the way the central charge operators act and the compatibility with the Majorana reality condition on the spinors. One of the two is related to a previously studied spinning particle model. For Y=1/2, we present a multiplet composed of one even scalar, one odd vector and one even selfdual two-form, which is a truncation of a known representation of the tensor supersymmetry algebra in Euclidean spacetime. We discuss its rotation to Minkowski spacetime and provide a set of dynamical equations for it, which are however not derived from a Lagrangian. We develop a superspace formalism for vector supersymmetry with central charges and we derive our multiplets by superspace techniques. Finally, we discuss some representations with vanishing central charges.

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