Abstract: A recent study of gamma-ray data from the Galactic center motivates the investigation of light (similar to 7-10 GeV) particle dark matter models featuring tau-lepton pairs as dominant annihilation final state. The lepton-specific two-Higgs-doublet model provides a natural framework where light, singlet scalar dark matter can pair-annihilate dominantly into tau leptons. We calculate the nucleon-dark matter cross section for singlet scalar dark matter within the lepton-specific two-Higgs-doublet model framework, and compare with recent results from direct detection experiments. We study how direct dark matter searches can be used to constrain the dark matter interpretation of gamma-ray observations, for different dominant annihilation final states. We show that models exist with the correct thermal relic abundance that could fit the claimed gamma-ray excess from the Galactic center region and have direct detection cross sections of the order of what is needed to interpret recent anomalous events reported by direct detection experiments.

Abstract: We examine the extent to which it is possible to realize the NMSSM “ideal Higgs” models espoused in several papers by Gunion et al. in the context of partially universal GUT scale boundary conditions. To this end we use the powerful methodology of nested sampling. We pay particular attention to whether ideal-Higgs-like points not only pass LEP constraints but are also acceptable in terms of the numerous constraints now available, including those from the Tevatron and B-factory data, (g – 2)(mu) and the relic density Omega h(2). In general for this particular methodology and range of parameters chosen, very few points corresponding to said previous studies were found, and those that were found were at best 2 sigma away from the preferred relic density value. Instead, there exist a class of points, which combine a mostly singlet-like Higgs with a mostly singlino-like neutralino coannihilating with the lightest stau, that are able to effectively pass all implemented constraints in the region 80 < m(h) < 100. It seems that the spin-independent direct detection cross section acts as a key discriminator between ideal Higgs points and the hard to detect singlino-like points.

Abstract: The specific shape of the squark, slepton and gaugino mass spectra, if measured with sufficient accuracy, can provide invaluable information not only about the dynamics underpinning their origin at some very high scale such as the unification scale M(G), but also about the intermediate scale physics encountered throughout their renormalization group equations evolution down to the energy scale accessible for the LHC. In this work, we study general features of the TeV scale soft supersymmetry breaking parameters stemming from a generic mSugra configuration within certain classes of supersymmetry SO(10) GUTs with different intermediate symmetries below M(G). We show that particular combinations of soft masses show characteristic deviations from the mSugra limit in different models and thus, potentially, allow to distinguish between these, even if the new intermediate scales are outside the energy range probed at accelerators. We also compare our results to those obtained for the three minimal seesaw models with mSugra boundary conditions and discuss the main differences between those and our SO(10) based models.

Abstract: We develop a model to evaluate the formation rate of the heavy mesic nuclei in two-nucleon pick-up reactions and apply it to the (6)Li target cases for the formation of heavy meson-alpha bound states, as examples. The existence of the quasideuteron in the target nucleus is assumed in this model. It is found that mesic nuclei formation in recoilless kinematics is possible even for heavier mesons than the nucleon in two-nucleon pick-up reactions. We find the formation rate of the meson-alpha bound states can be around half of the elementary cross sections at the recoilless kinematics with small distortions.

Abstract: We study nuclear medium effects in the weak structure functions F(2)(x, Q(2)) and F(3)(x, Q(2)) in the deep inelastic neutrino and antineutrino induced reactions in nuclei. We use a theoretical model for the nuclear spectral functions which incorporates the conventional nuclear effects, such as Fermi motion, binding, and nucleon correlations. We also consider the pion and rho meson cloud contributions calculated from a microscopic model for meson-nucleus self-energies. The calculations have been performed using relativistic nuclear spectral functions. Our results are compared with the experimental data of the NuTeV and the CERN Dortmund Heidelberg Saclay Warsaw (CDHSW) collaborations.