Abstract: In hidden sector models, dark matter does not directly couple to the particle content of the Standard Model, strongly suppressing rates at direct detection experiments, while still allowing for large signals from annihilation. In this paper, we conduct an extensive study of hidden sector dark matter, covering a wide range of dark matter spins, mediator spins, interaction diagrams, and annihilation final states, in each case determining whether the annihilations are s-wave (thus enabling efficient annihilation in the universe today). We then go on to consider a variety of portal interactions that allow the hidden sector annihilation products to decay into the Standard Model. We broadly classify constraints from relic density requirements and dwarf spheroidal galaxy observations. In the scenario that the hidden sector was in equilibrium with the Standard Model in the early universe, we place a lower bound on the portal coupling, as well as on the dark matter's elastic scattering cross section with nuclei. We apply our hidden sector results to the observed Galactic Center gamma-ray excess and the cosmic-ray antiproton excess. We find that both of these excesses can be simultaneously explained by a variety of hidden sector models, without any tension with constraints from observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

Abstract: We examine the impact of Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) in measuring the octant of theta(23) and CP phases in the context of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). We consider the CPT-violating LIV parameters involving e-mu(a(e mu)) and e-tau (a(e tau)) flavors, which induce an additional interference term in neutrino and antineutrino appearance probabilities. This newinterference term depends on both the standard CP phase delta and the new dynamical CP phase phi(e mu)/phi(e tau), giving rise to new degeneracies among (theta(23), delta, phi). Taking one LIV parameter at-a-time and considering a small value of vertical bar a(e mu)vertical bar = vertical bar a(e tau)vertical bar = 5 x 10(-24) GeV, we find that the octant discovery potential of DUNE gets substantially deteriorated for unfavorable combinations of delta and phi(e mu)/phi(e tau). The octant of theta(23) can only be resolved at 3 sigma if the true value of sin(2) theta(23) less than or similar to 0.42 or >= 0.62 for any choices of delta and phi. Interestingly, we also observe that when both the LIV parameters a(e mu) and a(e tau) are present together, they cancel out the impact of each other to a significant extent, allowing DUNE to largely regain its octant resolution capability. We also reconstruct the CP phases delta and phi(e mu)/phi(e tau). The typical 1 sigma uncertainty on delta is 10-15 degrees. and the same on phi(e mu)/phi(e tau) is 25-30 degrees depending on the choices of their true values.

Abstract: Using lattice configurations for quantum chromodynamics (QCD) generated with three domain-wall fermions at a physical pion mass, we obtain a parameter-free prediction of QCD 's renormalisation-group-invariant process-independent effective charge, (alpha) over cap (k(2)). Owing to the dynamical breaking of scale invariance, evident in the emergence of a gluon mass-scale, m(0) = 0.43(1) GeV, this coupling saturates at infrared momenta: (alpha) over cap/pi = 0.97(4). Amongst other things: (alpha) over cap (k(2)) is almost identical to the process-dependent (PD) effective charge defined via the Bjorken sum rule; and also that PD charge which, employed in the one-loop evolution equations, delivers agreement between pion parton distribution functions computed at the hadronic scale and experiment. The diversity of unifying roles played by (alpha) over cap (k(2)) suggests that it is a strong candidate for that object which represents the interaction strength in QCD at any given momentum scale; and its properties support a conclusion that QCD is a mathematically well-defined quantum field theory in four dimensions.

Abstract: The LHC has confirmed the existence of a mass gap between the known particles and possible new states. Effective field theory is then the appropriate tool to search for low-energy signals of physics beyond the Standard Model. We adopt the general formalism of the electroweak effective theory, with a nonlinear realization of the electroweak symmetry breaking, where the Higgs is a singlet with independent couplings. At higher energies we consider a generic resonance Lagrangian which follows the above-mentioned nonlinear realization and couples the light particles to bosonic heavy resonances with J(P) = 0(+/-) and J(P) = 1(+/-). Integrating out the resonances and assuming a proper short-distance behavior, it is possible to determine or to constrain most of the bosonic low-energy constants in terms of resonance masses. Therefore, the current experimental bounds on these bosonic low-energy constants allow us to constrain the resonance masses above the TeV scale, by following a typical bottom-up approach, i.e., the fit of the low-energy constants to precise experimental data enables us to learn about the high-energy scales, the underlying theory behind the Standard Model.

Abstract: A search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with one or two b-quarks and decaying to b-quark pairs is presented using 27.8 fb(-1) of root s=13 TeV proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during 2015 and 2016. No evidence of a signal is found. Upper limits on the heavy neutral Higgs boson production cross section times its branching ratio to b (b) over bar are set, ranging from 4.0 to 0.6 pb at 95% confidence level over a Higgs boson mass range of 450 to 1400 GeV. Results are interpreted within the two-Higgs-doublet model and the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model.