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Katz, Andrey

Publications and source records attributed to Katz, Andrey.

11 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Anomalous Z' and diboson resonances at the LHC

We introduce novel collider searches which can significantly improve the LHC reach to new gauge bosons Z' with mixed anomalies with the electroweak (EW) gauge group. Such a Z' necessarily acquires a Chern-Simons coupling to the EW gauge bosons and these couplings can drive both exotic Z decays into Z'γ if the new gauge boson is sufficiently light, as well as Z' decays into EW gauge bosons. While the exotic decay rate of the heavy Z into Z'γ is too small to be observed at the LHC, for a light Z', we demonstrate the potential of a lepton jet search in association with a photon to probe the rare decay Z → Z'γ.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

On dark matter interactions with the Standard Model through an anomalous Z'

We report on electroweak scale Dark Matter (DM) whose interactions with baryonic matter are mediated by a heavy anomalous Z'. We emphasize that when the DM is a Majorana particle, its low-velocity annihilations are dominated by loop suppressed annihilations into the gauge bosons, rather than by p-wave or chirally suppressed annihilations into the SM fermions. Because the Z' is anomalous, these kinds of DM models can be realized only as effective field theories (EFTs) with a well-defined cutoff, where heavy spectator fermions restore gauge invariance at high energies. We formulate these EFTs, estimate their cutoff and properly take into account the effect of the Chern-Simons terms one obtains after the spectator fermions are integrated out. We find that, while for light DM collider and direct detection experiments usually provide the strongest bounds, the bounds at higher masses are heavily dominated by indirect detection experiments, due to strong annihilation into W + W -, ZZ, Zγ and possibly into gg and γγ. We reiterate that these annihilation channels are generically significant because of the structure of the EFT, and therefore these models are prone to strong indirect detection constraints. Although we focus on selected Z' models for illustrative purposes, our setup is completely generic and can be used for analyzing the predictions of any anomalous Z'-mediated DM model with arbitrary charges.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Baryogenesis and gravitational waves from runaway bubble collisions

We propose a novel mechanism for production of baryonic asymmetry in the early Universe. The mechanism takes advantage of the strong first order phase transition that produces runaway bubbles in the hidden sector that propagate almost without friction with ultra-relativistic velocities. Collisions of such bubbles can non-thermally produce heavy particles that further decay out-of-equilibrium into the SM and produce the observed baryonic asymmetry. This process can proceed at the very low temperatures, providing a new mechanism of post-sphaleron baryogenesis. In this paper we present a fully calculable model which produces the baryonic asymmetry along these lines as well as evades all the existing cosmological constraints. We emphasize that the Gravitational Waves signal from the first order phase transition is completely generic and can potentially be detected by the future eLISA interferometer. We also discuss other potential signals, which are more model dependent, and point out the unresolved theoretical questions related to our proposal.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

The fraternal WIMP miracle

We identify and analyze thermal dark matter candidates in the fraternal twin Higgs model and its generalizations. The relic abundance of fraternal twin dark matter is set by twin weak interactions, with a scale tightly tied to the weak scale of the Standard Model by naturalness considerations. As such, the dark matter candidates benefit from a “fraternal WIMP miracle”, reproducing the observed dark matter abundance for dark matter masses between 50 and 150 GeV. However, the couplings dominantly responsible for dark matter annihilation do not lead to interactions with the visible sector. The direct detection rate is instead set via fermionic Higgs portal interactions, which are likewise constrained by naturalness considerations but parametrically weaker than those leading to dark matter annihilation. The predicted direct detection cross section is close to current LUX bounds and presents an opportunity for the next generation of direct detection experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Exotic decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson

We perform an extensive survey of nonstandard Higgs decays that are consistent with the 125 GeV Higgs-like resonance. Our aim is to motivate a large set of new experimental analyses on the existing and forthcoming data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The explicit search for exotic Higgs decays presents a largely untapped discovery opportunity for the LHC collaborations, as such decays may be easily missed by other searches. We emphasize that the Higgs is uniquely sensitive to the potential existence of new weakly coupled particles and provide a unified discussion of a large class of both simplified and complete models that give rise to characteristic patterns of exotic Higgs decays. We assess the status of exotic Higgs decays after LHC run I. In many cases we are able to set new nontrivial constraints by reinterpreting existing experimental analyses. We point out that improvements are possible with dedicated analyses and perform some preliminary collider studies. As a result, we prioritize the analyses according to their theoretical motivation and their experimental feasibility.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Unbroken SU(2) at a 100 TeV collider

A future 100 TeV pp collider will explore energies much higher than the scale of electroweak (EW) symmetry breaking. In this paper we study some of the phenomenological consequences of this fact, concentrating on enhanced bremsstrahlung of EW gauge bosons. We survey a handful of possible new physics experimental searches one can pursue at a 100 TeV collider using this phenomenon. The most dramatic effect is the non-negligible radiation of EW gauge bosons from neutrinos, making them partly visible objects. The presence of collinear EW radiation allows for the full reconstruction of neutrinos under certain circumstances. We also show that the presence of EW radiation allows one to distinguish the SU(2) quantum numbers of various new physics particles. We consider examples of two completely different new physics paradigms, additional gauge groups and SUSY, where the bremsstrahlung radiation of W and Z from W's, Z's or stops allows one to determine the couplings and the mixing angles of the new particles (respectively). Finally, we show how the emission of W s and Zs from high p T Higgs bosons can be used to test the couplings of new physics to the Higgs boson.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Direct and indirect detection of dissipative dark matter

We study the constraints from direct detection and solar capture on dark matter scenarios with a subdominant dissipative component. This dissipative dark matter component in general has both a symmetric and asymmetric relic abundance. Dissipative dynamics allow this subdominant dark matter component to cool, resulting in its partial or total collapse into a smaller volume inside the halo (e.g., a dark disk) as well as a reduced thermal velocity dispersion compared to that of normal cold dark matter. We first show that these features considerably relax the limits from direct detection experiments on the couplings between standard model (SM) particles and dissipative dark matter. On the other hand, indirect detection of the annihilation of the symmetric dissipative dark matter component inside the Sun sets stringent and robust constraints on the properties of the dissipative dark matter. In particular, IceCube observations force dissipative dark matter particles with mass above 50 GeV to either have a small coupling to the SM or a low local density in the solar system, or to have a nearly asymmetric relic abundance. Possible helioseismology signals associated with purely asymmetric dissipative dark matter are discussed, with no present constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Direct Gaugino Mediation

We describe renormalizable supersymmetric four-dimensional theories which lead to gaugino mediation and various generalizations thereof. Even though these models are strongly coupled, we can demonstrate the parametric suppression of soft scalar masses via Seiberg duality. We show that our models have a parameter which continuously interpolates between suppressed soft scalar masses and their conventional gauge mediated contribution. The main physical effect which we utilize is the general relation between massive deformations in one frame and the Higgs mechanism in the dual frame. Some compelling and relatively unexplored phenomenological scenarios arise naturally in this framework. We offer preliminary comments on various aspects of the phenomenology and outline several of the outstanding open problems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗