|
|
NOMAD Collaboration(Kullenberg, C. T. et al), Cervera-Villanueva, A., & Gomez-Cadenas, J. J. (2012). A search for single photon events in neutrino interactions. Phys. Lett. B, 706(4-5), 268–275.
Abstract: We present a search for neutrino induced events containing a single, exclusive photon using data from the NOMAD experiment at the CERN SPS where the average energy of the neutrino flux is similar or equal to 25 GeV. The search is motivated by an excess of electron-like events in the 200-475 MeV energy region as reported by the MiniBooNE experiment. In NOMAD, photons are identified via their conversion to e(+)e(-) in an active target embedded in a magnetic field. The background to the single photon signal is dominated by the asymmetric decay of neutral pions produced either in a coherent neutrino-nucleus interaction, or in a neutrino-nucleon neutral current deep inelastic scattering, or in an interaction occurring outside the fiducial volume. All three backgrounds are determined in situ using control data samples prior to opening the 'signal-box'. In the signal region, we observe 155 events with a predicted background of 129.2 +/- 8.5 +/- 3.3. We interpret this as null evidence for excess of single photon events, and set a limit. Assuming that the hypothetical single photon has a momentum distribution similar to that of a photon from the coherent pi(0) decay, the measurement yields an upper limit on single photon events, < 4.0 x 10(-4) per nu(mu) charged current event. Narrowing the search to events where the photon is approximately collinear with the incident neutrino, we observe 78 events with a predicted background of 76.6 +/- 4.9 +/- 1.9 yielding a more stringent upper limit, < 1.6 x 10(-4) per nu(mu) charged current event.
|
|
|
|
de Adelhart Toorop, R., Bazzocchi, F., & Morisi, S. (2012). Quark mixing in the discrete dark matter model. Nucl. Phys. B, 856(3), 670–681.
Abstract: We consider a model in which dark matter is stable as it is charged under a Z(2) symmetry that is residual after an A(4) flavour symmetry is broken. We consider the possibility to generate the quark masses by charging the quarks appropriately under A(4). We find that it is possible to generate the CKM mixing matrix by an interplay of renormalisable and dimension-six operators. In this set-up, we predict the third neutrino mixing angle to be large and the dark matter relic density to be in the correct range. Low energy observables – in particular meson-antimeson oscillations – are hard to facilitate. We find that only in a situation where there is a strong cancellation between the Standard Model contribution and the contribution of the new Higgs fields, B meson oscillations are under control.
|
|
|
|
ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Escobar, C., et al. (2012). Measurement of the W -> tau nu(tau) cross section in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment. Phys. Lett. B, 706(4-5), 276–294.
Abstract: The cross section for the production of W bosons with subsequent decay W -> tau nu(tau) is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The analysis is based on a data sample that was recorded in 2010 at a proton-proton center-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb(-1). The cross section is measured in a region of high detector acceptance and then extrapolated to the full phase space. The product of the total W production cross section and the W -> tau nu(tau) branching ratio is measured to be sigma(tot)(W -> tau nu tau) = 11.1 +/- 0.3 (stat) +/- 1.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (lumi) nb. (C) 2011 CERN.
|
|
|
|
ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Escobar, C., et al. (2012). Measurement of the cross-section for b-jets produced in association with a Z boson at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector ATLAS Collaboration. Phys. Lett. B, 706(4-5), 295–313.
Abstract: A measurement is presented of the inclusive cross-section for b-jet production in association with a Z boson in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV. The analysis uses the data sample collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 36 pb(-1). The event selection requires a Z boson decaying into high P-T electrons or muons, and at least one b-jet, identified by its displaced vertex, with transverse momentum p(T) > 25 GeV and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.1. After subtraction of background processes, the yield is extracted from the vertex mass distribution of the candidate b-jets. The ratio of this cross-section to the inclusive Z cross-section (the average number of b-jets per Z event) is also measured. Both results are found to be in good agreement with perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order.
|
|
|
|
Pilaftsis, A. (2012). On the classification of accidental symmetries of the two Higgs doublet model potential. Phys. Lett. B, 706(4-5), 465–469.
Abstract: Recently, it has been shown Battye et al. (2011) that the two Higgs doublet model potential may exhibit a maximum of 13 distinct accidental symmetries. Such a classification is based on a six-dimensional bilinear scalar field formalism realizing the SO(1.5) symmetry group. This Letter presents the transformation relations for each of the 13 symmetries in the original scalar field space and their one-to-one correspondence to the space of scalar bilinears, thereby providing firm support for the completeness of the classification.
|
|
|
|
Norena, J., Verde, L., Jimenez, R., Pena-Garay, C., & Gomez, C. (2012). Cancelling out systematic uncertainties. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 419(2), 1040–1050.
Abstract: We present a method to minimize, or even cancel out, the nuisance parameters affecting a measurement. Our approach is general and can be applied to any experiment or observation where systematic errors are a concern e.g. are larger than statistical errors. We compare it with the Bayesian technique used to deal with nuisance parameters: marginalization, and show how the method compares and improves by avoiding biases. We illustrate the method with several examples taken from the astrophysics and cosmology world: baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs), cosmic clocks, Type Ia supernova (SNIa) luminosity distance, neutrino oscillations and dark matter detection. By applying the method we not only recover some known results but also find some interesting new ones. For BAO experiments we show how to combine radial and angular BAO measurements in order to completely eliminate the dependence on the sound horizon at radiation drag. In the case of exploiting SNIa as standard candles we show how the uncertainty in the luminosity distance by a second parameter modelled as a metallicity dependence can be eliminated or greatly reduced. When using cosmic clocks to measure the expansion rate of the universe, we demonstrate how a particular combination of observables nearly removes the metallicity dependence of the galaxy on determining differential ages, thus removing the agemetallicity degeneracy in stellar populations. We hope that these findings will be useful in future surveys to obtain robust constraints on the dark energy equation of state.
|
|
|
|
Kittel, O., & Pilaftsis, A. (2012). CP violation in correlated production and decay of unstable particles. Nucl. Phys. B, 856(3), 682–697.
Abstract: We study resonant CP-violating Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations that may take place in the production and decay of unstable scalar particles at high-energy colliders. We show that as a consequence of unitarity and CPT invariance of the S-matrix, in 2 -> 2 scatterings mediated by mixed scalar particles, at least three linearly independent decay matrices associated with the unstable scalar states are needed to obtain non-zero CP-odd observables that are also odd under C-conjugation. Instead, for the correlated production and decay of two unstable particle systems in 2 -> 4 processes, we find that only two independent decay matrices are sufficient to induce a net non-vanishing CP-violating phenomenon. As an application of this theorem, we present numerical estimates of CP asymmetries for the correlated production and decay of supersymmetric scalar top anti-top pairs at the LHC, and demonstrate that these could reach values of order one. As a byproduct of our analysis, we develop a novel spinorial trace technique, which enables us to efficiently evaluate lengthy expressions of squared amplitudes describing the resonant scalar transitions.
|
|
|
|
Casas, F., Oteo, J. A., & Ros, J. (2012). Unitary transformations depending on a small parameter. Proc. R. Soc. A, 468(2139), 685–700.
Abstract: We formulate a unitary perturbation theory for quantum mechanics inspired by the Lie-Deprit formulation of canonical transformations. The original Hamiltonian is converted into a solvable one by a transformation obtained through a Magnus expansion. This ensures unitarity at every order in a small parameter. A comparison with the standard perturbation theory is provided. We work out the scheme up to order ten with some simple examples.
|
|
|
|
Ledwig, T., Martin-Camalich, J., Pascalutsa, V., & Vanderhaeghen, M. (2012). Nucleon and Delta(1232) form factors at low momentum transfer and small pion masses. Phys. Rev. D, 85(3), 034013–25pp.
Abstract: An expansion of the electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon and Delta(1232) in small momentum transfer and pion mass is performed in a manifestly covariant EFT framework consistent with chiral symmetry and analyticity. We present the expressions for the nucleon and Delta(1232) electromagnetic form factors, charge radii, and electromagnetic moments in the framework of SU(2) baryon chiral perturbation theory, with nucleon and Delta-isobar degrees of freedom, to next-to-leading order. Motivated by the results for the proton electric radius obtained from the muonic-hydrogen atom and electron-scattering process, we extract values for the second derivative of the electric form factor which is a genuine prediction of the p(3) B chi PT. The chiral behavior of radii and moments is studied and compared to that obtained in the heavy-baryon framework and lattice QCD. The chiral behavior of Delta(1232)-isobar properties exhibits cusps and singularities at the threshold of Delta -> pi N decay, and their physical significance is discussed.
|
|
|
|
Iocco, F., Taoso, M., Leclercq, F., & Meynet, G. (2012). Main Sequence Stars with Asymmetric Dark Matter. Phys. Rev. Lett., 108(6), 061301–5pp.
Abstract: We study the effects of feebly or nonannihilating weakly interacting dark matter (DM) particles on stars that live in DM environments denser than that of our Sun. We find that the energy transport mechanism induced by DM particles can produce unusual conditions in the cores of main sequence stars, with effects which can potentially be used to probe DM properties. We find that solar mass stars placed in DM densities of rho(chi) >= 10(2) GeV/cm(3) are sensitive to spin-dependent scattering cross section sigma(SD) >= 10(-37) cm(2) and a DM particle mass as low as m(chi) = 5 GeV, accessing a parameter range weakly constrained by current direct detection experiments.
|
|
