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Arbelaez, C., Romao, J. C., Hirsch, M., & Malinsky, M. (2014). LHC-scale left-right symmetry and unification. Phys. Rev. D, 89(3), 035002–19pp.
Abstract: We construct a comprehensive list of nonsupersymmetric standard model extensions with a low-scale left-right (LR)-symmetric intermediate stage that may be obtained as simple low-energy effective theories within a class of renormalizable SO(10) grand unified theories. Unlike the traditional “minimal” LR models many of our example settings support a perfect gauge coupling unification even if the LR scale is in the LHC domain at a price of only (a few copies of) one or two types of extra fields pulled down to the TeV-scale ballpark. We discuss the main aspects of a potentially realistic model building conforming the basic constraints from the quark and lepton sector flavor structure, proton decay limits, etc. We pay special attention to the theoretical uncertainties related to the limited information about the underlying unified framework in the bottom-up approach, in particular, to their role in the possible extraction of the LR-breaking scale. We observe a general tendency for the models without new colored states in the TeV domain to be on the verge of incompatibility with the proton stability constraints.
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Archidiacono, M., Lopez-Honorez, L., & Mena, O. (2014). Current constraints on early and stressed dark energy models and future 21 cm perspectives. Phys. Rev. D, 90(12), 123016–10pp.
Abstract: Despite the great progress of current cosmological measurements, the nature of the dominant component of the Universe, coined dark energy, is still an open question. Early dark energy is a possible candidate which may also alleviate some fine-tuning issues of the standard paradigm. Using the latest available cosmological data, we find that the 95% C.L. upper bound on the early dark energy density parameter is Tau(eDE) < 0.009. On the other hand, the dark energy component may be a stressed and inhomogeneous fluid. If this is the case, the effective sound speed and the viscosity parameters are unconstrained by current data. Future omniscopelike 21 cm surveys, combined with present cosmic microwave background data, could be able to distinguish between standard quintessence scenarios from other possible models with 2 sigma significance, assuming a non-negligible early dark energy contribution. The precision achieved on the Omega(eDE) parameter from these 21 cm probes could be below O(10%).
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Aristizabal Sierra, D., Tortola, M., Valle, J. W. F., & Vicente, A. (2014). Leptogenesis with a dynamical seesaw scale. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 07(7), 052–20pp.
Abstract: In the simplest type-I seesaw leptogenesis scenario right-handed neutrino annihilation processes are absent. However, in the presence of new interactions these processes are possible and can affect the resulting B – L asymmetry in an important way. A prominent example is provided by models with spontaneous lepton number violation, where the existence of new dynamical degrees of freedom can play a crucial role. In this context, we provide a model-independent discussion of the effects of right-handed neutrino annihilations. We show that in the weak washout regime, as long as the scattering processes remain slow compared with the Hubble expansion rate throughout the relevant temperature range, the efficiency can be largely enhanced, reaching in some cases maximal values. Moreover, the B – L asymmetry yield turns out to be independent upon initial conditions, in contrast to the “standard” case. On the other hand, when the annihilation processes are fast, the right-handed neutrino distribution tends to a thermal one down to low temperatures, implying a drastic suppression of the efficiency which in some cases can render the B – L generation mechanism inoperative.
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Armillis, R., Lazarides, G., & Pallis, C. (2014). Inflation, leptogenesis, and Yukawa quasiunification within a supersymmetric left-right model. Phys. Rev. D, 89(6), 065032–22pp.
Abstract: A simple extension of the minimal left-right symmetric supersymmetric grand unified theory model is constructed by adding two pairs of superfields. This naturally violates the partial Yukawa unification predicted by the minimal model. After including supergravity corrections, we find that this extended model naturally supports hilltop F-term hybrid inflation along its trivial inflationary path with only a very mild tuning of the initial conditions. With a convenient choice of signs of the terms in the Kahler potential, we can reconcile the inflationary scale with the supersymmetric grand unified theory scale. All the current data on the inflationary observables are readily reproduced. Inflation is followed by nonthermal leptogenesis via the decay of the right-handed neutrinos emerging from the decay of the inflaton, and any possible washout of the lepton asymmetry is avoided thanks to the violation of partial Yukawa unification. The extra superfields also assist us in reducing the reheat temperature so as to satisfy the gravitino constraint. The observed baryon asymmetry of the universe is naturally reproduced consistently with the neutrino oscillation parameters.
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ATF2 Collaboration(White, G. R. et al), Blanch, C., Faus-Golfe, A., & Resta-Lopez, J. (2014). Experimental Validation of a Novel Compact Focusing Scheme for Future Energy-Frontier Linear Lepton Colliders. Phys. Rev. Lett., 112(3), 034802–6pp.
Abstract: A novel scheme for the focusing of high-energy leptons in future linear colliders was proposed in 2001 [P. Raimondi and A. Seryi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3779 (2001)]. This scheme has many advantageous properties over previously studied focusing schemes, including being significantly shorter for a given energy and having a significantly better energy bandwidth. Experimental results from the ATF2 accelerator at KEK are presented that validate the operating principle of such a scheme by demonstrating the demagnification of a 1.3 GeV electron beam down to below 65 nm in height using an energy-scaled version of the compact focusing optics designed for the ILC collider.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Bernabeu Verdu, J., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., et al. (2014). Operation and performance of the ATLAS semiconductor tracker. J. Instrum., 9, P08009–73pp.
Abstract: The semiconductor tracker is a silicon microstrip detector forming part of the inner tracking system of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The operation and performance of the semiconductor tracker during the first years of LHC running are described. More than 99% of the detector modules were operational during this period, with an average intrinsic hit efficiency of (99.74 +/- 0.04)%. The evolution of the noise occupancy is discussed, and measurements of the Lorentz angle, delta-ray production and energy loss presented. The alignment of the detector is found to be stable at the few-micron level over long periods of time. Radiation damage measurements, which include the evolution of detector leakage currents, are found to be consistent with predictions and are used in the verification of radiation background simulations.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Search for direct top squark pair production in events with a Z boson, b-jets and missing transverse momentum in root s=8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(6), 2883–25pp.
Abstract: A search is presented for direct top squark pair production using events with at least two leptons including a same-flavour opposite-sign pair with invariant mass consistent with the boson mass, jets tagged as originating from -quarks and missing transverse momentum. The analysis is performed with proton-proton collision data at collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb. No excess beyond the Standard Model expectation is observed. Interpretations of the results are provided in models based on the direct pair production of the heavier top squark state () followed by the decay to the lighter top squark state () via , and for pair production in natural gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking scenarios where the neutralino () is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decays producing a boson and a gravitino () via the process.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Electron reconstruction and identification efficiency measurements with the ATLAS detector using the 2011 LHC proton-proton collision data. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(7), 2941–38pp.
Abstract: Many of the interesting physics processes to be measured at the LHC have a signature involving one or more isolated electrons. The electron reconstruction and identification efficiencies of the ATLAS detector at the LHC have been evaluated using proton-proton collision data collected in 2011 at TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb. Tag-and-probe methods using events with leptonic decays of and bosons and mesons are employed to benchmark these performance parameters. The combination of all measurements results in identification efficiencies determined with an accuracy at the few per mil level for electron transverse energy greater than 30 GeV.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Measurement of the underlying event in jet events from 7 proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(8), 2965–29pp.
Abstract: Distributions sensitive to the underlying event in QCD jet events have been measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, based on of proton-proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 . Charged-particle mean and densities of all-particle and charged-particle multiplicity and have been measured in regions azimuthally transverse to the hardest jet in each event. These are presented both as one-dimensional distributions and with their mean values as functions of the leading-jet transverse momentum from 20 to 800 . The correlation of charged-particle mean with charged-particle multiplicity is also studied, and the densities include the forward rapidity region; these features provide extra data constraints for Monte Carlo modelling of colour reconnection and beam-remnant effects respectively. For the first time, underlying event observables have been computed separately for inclusive jet and exclusive dijet event selections, allowing more detailed study of the interplay of multiple partonic scattering and QCD radiation contributions to the underlying event. Comparisons to the predictions of different Monte Carlo models show a need for further model tuning, but the standard approach is found to generally reproduce the features of the underlying event in both types of event selection.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Light-quark and gluon jet discrimination in collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 74(8), 3023–29pp.
Abstract: A likelihood-based discriminant for the identification of quark- and gluon-initiated jets is built and validated using 4.7 fb of proton-proton collision data at collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data samples with enriched quark or gluon content are used in the construction and validation of templates of jet properties that are the input to the likelihood-based discriminant. The discriminating power of the jet tagger is established in both data and Monte Carlo samples within a systematic uncertainty of 10-20 %. In data, light-quark jets can be tagged with an efficiency of while achieving a gluon-jet mis-tag rate of in a range between and for jets in the acceptance of the tracker. The rejection of gluon-jets found in the data is significantly below what is attainable using a Pythia 6 Monte Carlo simulation, where gluon-jet mis-tag rates of 10 % can be reached for a 50 % selection efficiency of light-quark jets using the same jet properties.
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