Abstract: The ionization signals in the liquid argon of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter are studied in detail using cosmic muons. In particular, the drift time of the ionization electrons is measured and used to assess the intrinsic uniformity of the calorimeter gaps and estimate its impact on the constant term of the energy resolution. The drift times of electrons in the cells of the second layer of the calorimeter are uniform at the level of 1.3% in the barrel and 2.8% in the endcaps. This leads to an estimated contribution to the constant term of (0.29(-0.04)(+0.05))% in the barrel and (0.54(-0.04)(+0.06))% in the endcaps. The same data are used to measure the drift velocity of ionization electrons in liquid argon, which is found to be 4.61 +/- 0.07 mm/mu s at 88.5 K and 1 kV/mm.

Abstract: The μnu SSM is a supersymmetric standard model that accounts for light neutrino masses and solves the μproblem of the MSSM by simply using right-handed neutrino superfields. Since this mechanism breaks R-parity, a peculiar structure for the mass matrices is generated. The neutral Higgses are mixed with the right- and left-handed sneutrinos producing 8x8 neutral scalar mass matrices. We analyse the Higgs sector of the μnu SSM in detail, with special emphasis in possible signals at colliders. After studying in general the decays of the Higges, we focus on those processes that are genuine of the μnu SSM, and could serve to distinguish it form other supersymmetric models. In particular, we present viable benchmark points for LHC searches. For example, we find decays of a MSSM-like Higgs into two lightest neutralinos, with the latter decaying inside the detector leading to displaced vertices, and producing final states with 4 and 8 b-jets plus missing energy. Final states with leptons and missing energy are also found.

Abstract: We prove that the present experimental constraints are already enough to rule out the possibility of the similar to 125 GeV Higgs found at LHC being the second lightest Higgs in a general MSSM context, even with explicit CP violation in the Higgs potential. Contrary to previous studies, we are able to eliminate this possibility analytically, using simple expressions for a relatively small number of observables. We show that the present LHC constraints on the diphoton signal strength, tau tau production through Higgs and BR(B -> X-s gamma) are enough to preclude the possibility of H-2 being the observed Higgs with m(H) similar or equal to 125 GeV within an MSSM context, without leaving room for finely tuned cancellations. As a by-product, we also comment on the difficulties of an MSSM interpretation of the excess in the gamma gamma production cross section recently found at CMS that could correspond to a second Higgs resonance at m(H) similar or equal to 136 GeV.

Abstract: In this work we show that modifying the thermal history of the Universe by including an early period of matter domination can lead to the formation of astronomical objects. However, the survival of these objects can only be possible if the dominating matter decays to a daughter particle which is not only almost degenerate with the parent particle but also has an open annihilation channel. This requirement translates in an upper bound for the coupling of such a channel and makes the early structure formation viable.

Abstract: In this paper we study the nonperturbative structure of the SU(3) four-gluon vertex in the Landau gauge, concentrating on contributions quadratic in the metric. We employ an approximation scheme where “one-loop” diagrams are computed using fully dressed gluon and ghost propagators, and tree-level vertices. When a suitable kinematical configuration depending on a single momentum scale p is chosen, only two structures emerge: the tree-level four-gluon vertex, and a tensor orthogonal to it. A detailed numerical analysis reveals that the form factor associated with this latter tensor displays a change of sign (zero-crossing) in the deep infrared, and finally diverges logarithmically. The origin of this characteristic behavior is proven to be entirely due to the masslessness of the ghost propagators forming the corresponding ghost-loop diagram, in close analogy to a similar effect established for the three-gluon vertex. However, in the case at hand, and under the approximations employed, this particular divergence does not affect the form factor proportional to the tree-level tensor, which remains finite in the entire range of momenta, and deviates moderately from its naive tree-level value. It turns out that the kinematic configuration chosen is ideal for carrying out lattice simulations, because it eliminates from the connected Green's function all one-particle reducible contributions, projecting out the genuine one-particle irreducible vertex. Motivated by this possibility, we discuss in detail how a hypothetical lattice measurement of this quantity would compare to the results presented here, and the potential interference from an additional tensorial structure, allowed by Bose symmetry, but not encountered within our scheme.