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Ellis, John

Publications and source records attributed to Ellis, John.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Non-universal SUSY models, $g_\mu -2$, $m_H$ and dark matter

We study the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, g μ – 2 ≡ 2a μ , in the context of supersymmetric models beyond the CMSSM, where the unification of either the gaugino masses M 1,2,3 or sfermion and Higgs masses is relaxed, taking into account the measured mass of the Higgs boson, m H , the cosmological dark matter density and the direct detection rate. We find that the model with non-unified gaugino masses can make a contribution Δa μ ~ 20 x 10 –10 to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, for example if M 1,2 ~ 600 GeV and M 3 ~ 8 TeV. The model with non-universal sfermion and Higgs masses can provide even larger Δa μ ~ 24 x 10 –10 if the sfermion masses for the first and the second generations are ~400 GeV and that of the third is ~8 TeV. We discuss the prospects for collider searches for supersymmetric particles in specific benchmark scenarios illustrating these possibilities, focusing in particular on the prospects for detecting the lighter smuon and the lightest neutralino.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Do we owe our existence to gravitational waves?

Two heavy elements essential to human biology are thought to have been produced by the astrophysical r-process, which occurs in neutron-rich environments: iodine is a constituent of thyroid hormones that affect many physiological processes including growth and development, body temperature and heart rate, and bromine is essential for tissue development and architecture. Collisions of neutron stars (kilonovae) have been identified as sources of r-process elements including tellurium, which is adjacent to iodine in the periodic table, and lanthanides. Neutron-star collisions arise from energy loss due to gravitational-wave emission from binary systems, leading us to suggest that gravitational waves have played a key role in enabling human life by producing iodine and bromine. We propose probing this proposal by searching in lunar material for live 129 I deposited by a recent nearby kilonova explosion.

Human biochemistry↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electroweak loop contributions to the direct detection of wino dark matter

Electroweak loop corrections to the matrix elements for the spin-independent scattering of cold dark matter particles on nuclei are generally small, typically below the uncertainty in the local density of cold dark matter. However, as shown in this paper, there are instances in which the electroweak loop corrections are relatively large, and change significantly the spin-independent dark matter scattering rate. An important example occurs when the dark matter particle is a wino, e.g., in anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking (AMSB) and pure gravity mediation (PGM) models. We find that the one-loop electroweak corrections to the spin-independent wino LSP scattering cross section generally interfere constructively with the tree-level contribution for AMSB models with negative Higgsino mixing, μ < 0, and in PGM-like models for both signs of μ, lifting the cross section out of the neutrino fog and into a range that is potentially detectable in the next generation of direct searches for cold dark matter scattering.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry: Workshop Summary

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

The CMSSM survives Planck , the LHC, LUX-ZEPLIN, Fermi -LAT, H.E.S.S. and IceCube

We revisit the viability of the CMSSM, searching for regions of parameter space that yield a neutralino dark matter density compatible with Planck measurements, as well as LHC constraints including sparticle searches and the mass of the Higgs boson, recent direct limits on spin-independent and -dependent dark matter scattering from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, the indirect constraints from Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. on dark matter annihilations to photons in dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the Galactic Centre, and the IceCube limits on muons from annihilations to neutrinos in the Sun. For representative values of tan β and A 0 we map in detail the Planck-compatible strips in CMSSM parameter planes, which exhibit multiple distinctive features for large tan β, A 0 = 0 and μ > 0, and identify portions of the strips that survive all the phenomenological constraints. We find that the most powerful constraint is that from m h , followed by the LZ limit on spin-independent scattering, whereas sparticle searches at the LHC and indirect dark matter searches are less restrictive. Most of the surviving CMSSM parameter space features a Higgsino-like dark matter particle with a mass ~ 1000–1100 GeV, which could best be probed with future direct searches for dark matter scattering.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Simple and statistically sound recommendations for analysing physical theories

Physical theories that depend on many parameters or are tested against data from many different experiments pose unique challenges to statistical inference. Many models in particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology fall into one or both of these categories. These issues are often sidestepped with statistically unsound ad hoc methods, involving intersection of parameter intervals estimated by multiple experiments, and random or grid sampling of model parameters. Whilst these methods are easy to apply, they exhibit pathologies even in low-dimensional parameter spaces, and quickly become problematic to use and interpret in higher dimensions. In this article we give clear guidance for going beyond these procedures, suggesting where possible simple methods for performing statistically sound inference, and recommendations of readily-available software tools and standards that can assist in doing so. Our aim is to provide any physicists lacking comprehensive statistical training with recommendations for reaching correct scientific conclusions, with only a modest increase in analysis burden. Furthermore, our examples can be reproduced with the code publicly available at Zenodo.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

r-Process Radioisotopes from Near-Earth Supernovae and Kilonovae

The astrophysical sites where r-process elements are synthesized remain mysterious: it is clear that neutron star mergers (kilonovae (KNe)) contribute, and some classes of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) are also possible sources of at least the lighter r-process species. The discovery of 60Fe on the Earth and Moon implies that one or more astrophysical explosions have occurred near the Earth within the last few million years, probably SNe. Intriguingly, 244 Pu has now been detected, mostly overlapping with 60 Fe pulses. However, the 244 Pu flux may extend to before 12 Myr ago, pointing to a different origin. Here, motivated by these observations and difficulties for r-process nucleosynthesis in SN models, we propose that ejecta from a KN enriched the giant molecular cloud that gave rise to the Local Bubble, where the Sun resides. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements of 244 Pu and searches for other live isotopes could probe the origins of the r-process and the history of the solar neighborhood, including triggers for mass extinctions, e.g., that at the end of the Devonian epoch, motivating the calculations of the abundances of live r-process radioisotopes produced in SNe and KNe that we present here. Given the presence of 244 Pu, other r-process species such as 93 Zr, 107 Pd, 129 I, 135 Cs, 182 Hf, 236 U, 237 Np, and 247 Cm should be present. Their abundances and well-resolved time histories could distinguish between the SN and KN scenarios, and we discuss prospects for their detection in deep-ocean deposits and the lunar regolith. We show that AMS 129 I measurements in Fe–Mn crusts already constrain a possible nearby KN scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flipped SU(5) GUT phenomenology: proton decay and $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$

We consider proton decay and $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ in flipped SU(5) GUT models. We first study scenarios in which the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are constrained to be universal at some high scale M in above the standard GUT scale where the QCD and electroweak SU(2) couplings unify. In this case the proton lifetime is typically > rsim10 36 years, too long to be detected in the foreseeable future, and the supersymmetric contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is too small to contribute significantly to resolving the discrepancy between the experimental measurement and data-driven calculations within the Standard Model. However, we identify a region of the constrained flipped SU(5) parameter space with large couplings between the 10- and 5-dimensional GUT Higgs representations where p → e + π 0 decay may be detectable in the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment now under construction, though the contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is still small. A substantial contribution to $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ is possible, however, if the universality constraints on the soft supersymmetry-breaking masses are relaxed. We find a ‘quadrifecta’ region where observable proton decay co-exists with a (partial) supersymmetric resolution of the $\mathbf {g_\mu - 2}$ discrepancy and acceptable values of m h and the relic LSP density.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flipped $\mathbf{g_\mu - 2}$

We analyze the possible magnitude of the supersymmetric contribution to $g_\mu - 2$ in a flipped SU(5) GUT model. Unlike other GUT models which are severely constrained by universality relations, in flipped SU(5) the U(1) gaugino mass and the soft supersymmetry-breaking masses of right-handed sleptons are unrelated to the other gaugino, slepton and squark masses. Consequently, the lightest neutralino and the right-handed smuon may be light enough to mitigate the discrepancy between the experimental measurement of $g_\mu - 2$ and the Standard Model calculation, in which case they may be detectable at the LHC and/or a 250 GeV $e^+ e^-$ collider, whereas the other gauginos and sfermions are heavy enough to escape detection at the LHC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A minimal supersymmetric SU(5) missing-partner model

We explore a missing-partner model based on the minimal SU(5) gauge group with 75, 50 and 50¯ Higgs representations, assuming a super-GUT CMSSM scenario in which soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are universal at some high scale Min above the GUT scale MGUT. We identify regions of parameter space that are consistent with the cosmological dark matter density, the measured Higgs mass and the experimental lower limit on τ(p → K + ν). These constraints can be satisfied simultaneously along stop coannihilation strips in the super-GUT CMSSM with tanβ ~ 3.5–5 where the input gaugino mass m 1/2 ~15–25 TeV, corresponding after strong renormalization by the large GUT Higgs representations between M in and M GUT to m LSP ,m t ~ 1 ~ 2.5–5 TeV and m g ~ ~ 13–20 TeV, with the light-flavor squarks significantly heavier. We find that τ(p → K + ν) ≲ 3 × 10 34 years throughout the allowed range of parameter space, within the range of the next generation of searches with the JUNO, DUNE and Hyper-Kamiokande experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Non-oscillatory no-scale inflation

We propose a non-oscillatory no-scale supergravity model of inflation (NO-NO inflation) in which the inflaton does not oscillate at the end of the inflationary era. Instead, the Universe is then dominated by the inflaton kinetic energy density (kination). During the transition from inflation to kination, the Universe preheats instantly through a coupling to Higgs-like fields. These rapidly annihilate and scatter into ultra-relativistic matter particles, which subsequently dominate the energy density, and reheating occurs at a temperature far above that of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. After the electroweak transition, the inflaton enters a tracking phase as in some models of quintessential inflation. The model predictions for cosmic microwave background observables are consistent with Planck 2018 data, and the density of gravitational waves is below the upper bound from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Furthermore, we also find that the density of supersymmetric cold dark matter produced by gravitino decay is consistent with Planck 2018 data over the expected range of supersymmetric particle masses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Low-energy probes of no-scale SU(5) super-GUTs

We explore the possible values of the μ → eγ branching ratio, BR(μ → eγ), and the electron dipole moment (eEDM), d e , in no-scale SU(5) super-GUT models with the boundary conditions that soft supersymmetry-breaking matter scalar masses vanish at some high input scale, M in , above the GUT scale, M GUT . We take into account the constraints from the cosmological cold dark matter density, Ω CDM h 2 , the Higgs mass, M h , and the experimental lower limit on the lifetime for p → K + ν¯, the dominant proton decay mode in these super-GUT models. Reconciling this limit with Ω CDM h 2 and M h requires the Higgs field responsible for the charge-2/3 quark masses to be twisted, and possibly also that responsible for the charge-1/3 and charged-lepton masses, with model-dependent soft supersymmetry-breaking masses. We consider six possible models for the super-GUT initial conditions, and two possible choices for quark flavor mixing, contrasting their predictions for proton decay with versions of the models in which mixing effects are neglected. We find that τ(p → K + ν¯) may be accessible to the upcoming Hyper-Kamiokande experiment, whereas all the models predict BR(μ → eγ) and d e below the current and prospective future experimental sensitivities or both flavor choices, when the dark matter density, Higgs mass and current proton decay constraints are taken into account. However, there are limited regions with one of the flavor choices in two of the models where μ → e conversion on a heavy nucleus may be observable in the future. Our results indicate that there is no supersymmetric flavor problem in the class of no-scale models we consider.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Building models of inflation in no-scale supergravity

After reviewing the motivations for cosmological inflation formulated in the formalism of supersymmetry, we argue that the appropriate framework is that of no-scale supergravity. We then show how to construct within this framework inflationary models whose predictions for the tilt in the spectrum of scalar perturbations, n s , and the ratio, r, of tensor and scalar perturbations coincide with those of the R+R 2 model of inflation proposed by Starobinsky. Here, a more detailed study of no-scale supergravity reveals a structure that is closely related to that of R 2 modifications of the minimal Einstein–Hilbert action for general relativity, opening avenues for constructing no-scale de Sitter and anti-de Sitter models by combining pairs of Minkowski models, as well as generalizations of the original no-scale Starobinsky models of inflation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reinterpretation of LHC Results for New Physics: Status and recommendations after Run 2

We report on the status of efforts to improve the reinterpretation of searches and measurements at the LHC in terms of models for new physics, in the context of the LHC Reinterpretation Forum. We detail current experimental offerings in direct searches for new particles, measurements, technical implementations and Open Data, and provide a set of recommendations for further improving the presentation of LHC results in order to better enable reinterpretation in the future. We also provide a brief description of existing software reinterpretation frameworks and recent global analyses of new physics that make use of the current data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Phenomenology and cosmology of no-scale attractor models of inflation

We have recently proposed attractor models for modulus fixing, inflation, supersymmetry breaking and dark energy based on no-scale supergravity. In this paper we develop phenomenological and cosmological aspects of these no-scale attractor models that underpin their physical applications. We consider models in which inflation is driven by a modulus field (T-type) with supersymmetry broken by a Polonyi field, or a matter field (φ-type) with supersymmetry broken by the modulus field. We derive the possible patterns of soft supersymmetry-breaking terms, which depend in T-type models whether the Polonyi and/or matter fields are twisted or not, and in φ-type models on whether the inflaton and/or other matter fields are twisted or not. In φ-type models, we are able to directly relate the scale of supersymmetry breaking to the inflaton mass. We also discuss cosmological constraints from entropy considerations and the density of dark matter on the mechanism for stabilizing the modulus field via higher-order terms in the no-scale K¨ahler potential.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗