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Olive, K. A.

Publications and source records attributed to Olive, K. A..

At least 19 records

Global analysis of dark matter simplified models with leptophobic spin-one mediators using MasterCode

Abstract We report the results of a global analysis of dark matter simplified models (DMSMs) with leptophobic mediator particles of spin one, considering the cases of both vector and axial-vector interactions with dark matter (DM) particles and quarks. We require the DMSMs to provide all the cosmological DM density indicated by Planck and other observations, and we impose the upper limits on spin-independent and -dependent scattering from direct DM search experiments. We also impose all relevant LHC constraints from searches for monojet events and measurements of the dijet mass spectrum. We model the likelihood functions for all the constraints and combine them within the framework, and probe the full DMSM parameter spaces by scanning over the mediator and DM masses and couplings, not fixing any of the model parameters. We find, in general, two allowed regions of the parameter spaces: one in which the mediator couplings to Standard Model (SM) and DM particles may be comparable to those in the SM and the cosmological DM density is reached via resonant annihilation, and one in which the mediator couplings to quarks are $$\lesssim \, 10^{-3}$$ ≲ 10 - 3 and DM annihilation is non-resonant. We find that the DM and mediator masses may well lie within the ranges accessible to LHC experiments. We also present predictions for spin-independent and -dependent DM scattering, and present specific results for ranges of the DM couplings that may be favoured in ultraviolet completions of the DMSMs.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Supersymmetric models in light of improved Higgs mass calculations

We discuss the parameter spaces of supersymmetry (SUSY) scenarios taking into account the improved Higgs-mass prediction provided by FeynHiggs 2.14.1. Among other improvements, this prediction incorporates three-loop renormalization-group effects and two-loop threshold corrections, and can accommodate three separate mass scales: $m_{\tilde{q}}$ (for squarks), $m_{\tilde{g}}$(for gluinos) and $m_{\tilde{\chi }}$ (for electroweakinos). Furthermore, it contains an improved treatment of the $\overline{\mathrm {DR}}$ scalar top parameters avoiding problems with the conversion to on-shell parameters, that yields more accurate results for large SUSY-breaking scales. We first consider the CMSSM, in which the soft SUSY-breaking parameters $m_0$ and $m_{1/2}$ are universal at the GUT scale, and then sub-GUT models in which universality is imposed at some lower scale. In both cases, we consider the constraints from the Higgs-boson mass $M_h$ in the bulk of the $(m_0, m_{1/2})$ plane and also along stop coannihilation strips where sparticle masses may extend into the multi-TeV range. We then consider the minimal anomaly-mediated SUSY-breaking scenario, in which large sparticle masses are generic. In all these scenarios the substantial improvements between the calculations of $M_h$ in FeynHiggs 2.14.1 and FeynHiggs 2.10.0, which was used in an earlier study, change significantly the preferred portions of the models’ parameter spaces. Finally, we consider the pMSSM11, in which sparticle masses may be significantly smaller and we find only small changes in the preferred regions of parameter space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Likelihood analysis of the sub-GUT MSSM in light of LHC 13-TeV data

We describe a likelihood analysis using MasterCode of variants of the MSSM in which the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters are assumed to have universal values at some scale M in below the supersymmet-ric grand unification scale M GUT , as can occur in mirage mediation and other models. In addition to M in , such ‘sub-GUT’ models have the 4 parameters of the CMSSM, namely a common gaugino mass m 1/2 , a common soft supersymmetry-breaking scalar mass m 0 , a common trilinear mixing parameter A and the ratio of MSSM Higgs vevs tan β, assuming that the Higgs mixing parameter μ> 0. We take into account constraints on strongly- and electroweakly-interacting sparticles from ~ 36/fb of LHC data at 13 TeV and the LUX and 2017 PICO, XENON1T and PandaX-II searches for dark matter scattering, in addition to the previous LHC and dark matter constraints as well as full sets of flavour and electroweak constraints. We find a preference for Min ~ 10 5 to 10 9 GeV, with M in ~ M GUT disfavoured by Δχ 2 ~ 3 due to the BR(B s,d → μ + μ - ) constraint. The lower limits on strongly-interacting sparticles are largely determined by LHC searches, and similar to those in the CMSSM. We find a preference for the LSP to be a Bino or Higgsino with m$\mathbb -0\atop{X1} $ ~ 1 TeV, with annihilation via heavy Higgs bosons H/A and stop coannihilation, or chargino coannihilation, bringing the cold dark matter density into the cosmological range. We find that spin-independent dark matter scattering is likely to be within reach of the planned LUX-Zeplin and XENONnT experiments. We probe the impact of the (g - 2) μ constraint, finding similar results whether or not it is included.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Supersymmetric Dark Matter after LHC Run 1

Different mechanisms operate in various regions of the MSSM parameter space to bring the relic density of the lightest neutralino, χ ~0 1 , assumed here to be the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) and thus the dark matter (DM) particle, into the range allowed by astrophysics and cosmology. These mechanisms include coannihilation with some nearly degenerate next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle such as the lighter stau τ ~ 1 , stop t ~ 1 or chargino χ ~± 1 , resonant annihilation via direct-channel heavy Higgs bosons H / A, the light Higgs boson h or the Z boson, and enhanced annihilation via a larger Higgsino component of the LSP in the focus-point region. These mechanisms typically select lower-dimensional subspaces in MSSM scenarios such as the CMSSM, NUHM1, NUHM2, and pMSSM10. We analyze how future LHC and direct DM searches can complement each other in the exploration of the different DM mechanisms within these scenarios. We find that the τ~1 coannihilation regions of the CMSSM, NUHM1, NUHM2 can largely be explored at the LHC via searches for /E T events and long-lived charged particles, whereas theirH / A funnel, focus-point and χ ~± 1 coannihilation regions can largely be explored by the LZ and Darwin DM direct detection experiments. Furthermore, we find that the dominant DM mechanism in our pMSSM10 analysis is χ ~ ±1 coannihilation: parts of its parameter space can be explored by the LHC, and a larger portion by future direct DM searches.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Collider Interplay for Supersymmetry, Higgs and Dark Matter

Here, we discuss the potential impacts on the CMSSM of future LHC runs and possible e + e – and higher-energy proton–proton colliders, considering searches for supersymmetry via /E T events, precision electroweak physics, Higgs measurements and dark matter searches. We validate and present estimates of the physics reach for exclusion or discovery of supersymmetry via /E T searches at the LHC, which should cover the low-mass regions of the CMSSM parameter space favoured in a recent global analysis. As we illustrate with a low-mass benchmark point, a discovery would make possible accurate LHC measurements of sparticle masses using the MT2 variable, which could be combined with cross-section and other measurements to constrain the gluino, squark and stop masses and hence the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters m 0 ,m 1/2 and A 0 of the CMSSM. Slepton measurements at CLIC would enable m 0 and m 1/2 to be determined with high precision. If supersymmetry is indeed discovered in the low-mass region, precision electroweak and Higgs measurements with a future circular e + e – collider (FCC-ee, also known as TLEP) combined with LHC measurements would provide tests of the CMSSM at the loop level. If supersymmetry is not discovered at the LHC, it is likely to lie somewhere along a focus-point, stop-coannihilation strip or direct-channel A / H resonance funnel. We discuss the prospects for discovering supersymmetry along these strips at a future circular proton–proton collider such as FCC-hh. Illustrative benchmark points on these strips indicate that also in this case FCC-ee could provide tests of the CMSSM at the loop level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The pMSSM10 after LHC run 1

We present a frequentist analysis of the parameter space of the pMSSM10, in which the following ten soft SUSY-breaking parameters are specified independently at the mean scalar top mass scale M SUSY ≡ √m $\tilde{t}$ 1 m $\tilde{t}$ 2 : the gaugino masses M 1,2,3 , the first-and second-generation squark masses m $\tilde{q}$ 1 = m $\tilde{q}$ 2 , the third-generation squark mass m $\tilde{q}$ 3 , a common slepton mass m $\tilde{ℓ}$ and a common trilinear mixing parameter A , as well as the Higgs mixing parameter μ , the pseudoscalar Higgs mass M A and tanβ , the ratio of the two Higgs vacuum expectation values. We use the MultiNest sampling algorithm with ~ 1.2 ×10 9 points to sample the pMSSM10 parameter space. A dedicated study shows that the sensitivities to strongly interacting sparticle masses of ATLAS and CMS searches for jets, leptons + E-slash T signals depend only weakly on many of the other pMSSM10 parameters. With the aid of the Atom and Scorpion codes, we also implement the LHC searches for electroweakly interacting sparticles and light stops, so as to confront the pMSSM10 parameter space with all relevant SUSY searches. In addition, our analysis includes Higgs mass and rate measurements using the HiggsSignals code, SUSY Higgs exclusion bounds, the measurements of BR(B s →μ + μ - ) by LHCb and CMS, other B -physics observables, electroweak precision observables, the cold dark matter density and the XENON100 and LUX searches for spin-independent dark matter scattering, assuming that the cold dark matter is mainly provided by the lightest neutralino χ-tilde 1 0 . We show that the pMSSM10 is able to provide a supersymmetric interpretation of (g-2) μ , unlike the CMSSM, NUHM1 and NUHM2. As a result, we find (omitting Higgs rates) that the minimum χ2=20.5 with 18 degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) in the pMSSM10, corresponding to a χ2 probability of 30.8 %, to be compared with χ2/d.o.f.=32.8/24(31.1/23)(30.3/22) in the CMSSM (NUHM1) (NUHM2). We display the one-dimensional likelihood functions for sparticle masses, and we show that they may be significantly lighter in the pMSSM10 than in the other models, e.g., the gluino may be as light as ~ 1250 GeV at the 68 % CL, and squarks, stops, electroweak gauginos and sleptons may be much lighter than in the CMSSM, NUHM1 and NUHM2. We discuss the discovery potential of future LHC runs, e + e - colliders and direct detection experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The NUHM2 after LHC Run 1

We make a frequentist analysis of the parameter space of the NUHM2, in which the soft supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking contributions to the masses of the two Higgs multiplets, m 2 H u,d , vary independently from the universal soft SUSY-breaking contributions m 2 0 to the masses of squarks and sleptons. Our analysis uses the MultiNest sampling algorithm with over 4 × 10⁸ points to sample the NUHM2 parameter space. It includes the ATLAS and CMS Higgs mass measurements as well as the ATLAS search for supersymmetric jets + /E T signals using the full LHC Run 1 data, the measurements of BR(B s →μ⁺μ⁻) by LHCb and CMS together with other B-physics observables, electroweak precision observables and the XENON100 and LUX searches for spin-independent dark-matter scattering. We find that the preferred regions of the NUHM2 parameter space have negative SUSY-breaking scalar masses squared at the GUT scale for squarks and sleptons, m 2 0 < 0, as well as m 2 H u < m 2 H d < 0. The tension present in the CMSSM and NUHM1 between the supersymmetric interpretation of (g – 2)μ and the absence to date of SUSY at the LHC is not significantly alleviated in the NUHM2. We find that the minimum χ 2 = 32.5 with 21 degrees of freedom (dof) in the NUHM2, to be compared with χ 2 /dof = 35.0/23 in the CMSSM, and χ 2 /dof = 32.7/22 in the NUHM1. We find that the one-dimensional likelihood functions for sparticle masses and other observables are similar to those found previously in the CMSSM and NUHM1.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Review of Particle Physics

This article has been submitted for inclusion in the 2014 edition of the Review of Particle Physics to be published in Phys. Rev. D.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Particle Physics Booklet 2014

This Booklet is extracted from the Review of Particle Physics, Chinese Physics C, 38, 090001 (2014). The full Review lists all the data, with references, used in obtaining the values given in the Particle Summary Tables. It also contains much additional information. Some of the material that does appear in this Booklet is only an abbreviated version of what appears in the full Review.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The CMSSM and NUHM1 after LHC Run 1

We analyze the impact of data from the full Run 1 of the LHC at 7 and 8 TeV on the CMSSM with μ > 0 and < 0 and the NUHM1 with μ > 0, incorporating the constraints imposed by other experiments such as precision electroweak measurements, flavour measurements, the cosmological density of cold dark matter and the direct search for the scattering of dark matter particles in the LUX experiment. We use the following results from the LHC experiments: ATLAS searches for events with E/ T accompanied by jets with the full 7 and 8 TeV data, the ATLAS and CMS measurements of the mass of the Higgs boson, the CMS searches for heavy neutral Higgs bosons and a combination of the LHCb and CMS measurements of BR(B s → μ + μ – ) and BR(B d → μ + μ – ). Our results are based on samplings of the parameter spaces of the CMSSM for both μ > 0 and μ < 0 and of the NUHM1 for μ > 0 with 6.8×10 6 , 6.2×10 6 and 1.6×10 7 points, respectively, obtained using the MultiNest tool. The impact of the Higgs-mass constraint is assessed using FeynHiggs 2.10.0, which provides an improved prediction for the masses of the MSSM Higgs bosons in the region of heavy squark masses. It yields in general larger values of M h than previous versions of FeynHiggs, reducing the pressure on the CMSSM and NUHM1. We find that the global χ 2 functions for the supersymmetric models vary slowly over most of the parameter spaces allowed by the Higgs-mass and the E/ T searches, with best-fit values that are comparable to the χ 2 /dof for the best Standard Model fit. As a result, we provide 95% CL lower limits on the masses of various sparticles and assess the prospects for observing them during Run 2 of the LHC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The boron-to-beryllium ratio in halo stars - A signature of cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis in the early Galaxy

We discuss Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) spallation production of Li, Be, and B in the early Galaxy with particular attention to the uncertainties in the predictions of this model. The observed correlation between the Be abundance and the metallicity in metal-poor Population II stars requires that Be was synthesized in the early Galaxy. We show that the observations and such Population II GCR synthesis of Be are quantitatively consistent with the big bang nucleosynthesis production of Li-7. We find that there is a nearly model independent lower bound to B/Be of about 7 for GCR synthesis. Recent measurements of B/Be about 10 in HD 140283 are in excellent agreement with the predictions of Population II GCR nucleosynthesis. Measurements of the boron abundance in additional metal-poor halo stars is a key diagnostic of the GCR spallation mechanism. We also show that Population II GCR synthesis can produce amounts of Li-6 which may be observed in the hottest halo stars.

Walker, T. P.↗

Neutrino degeneracy and cosmological nucleosynthesis, revisited

A reexamination of the effects of non-zero degeneracies on Big Bang Nucleosynthesis is made. As previously noted, non-trivial alterations of the standard model conclusions can be induced only if excess lepton numbers L sub i, comparable to photon number densities eta sub tau, are assumed (where eta sub tau is approx. 3 times 10(exp 9) eta sub b). Furthermore, the required lepton number densities (L sub i eta sub tau) must be different for upsilon sub e than for upsilon sub mu and epsilon sub tau. It is shown that this loophole in the standard model of nucleosynthesis is robust and will not vanish as abundance and reaction rate determinations improve. However, it is also argued that theoretically (L sub e) approx. (L sub mu) approx. (L sub tau) approx. eta sub b is much less than eta sub tau which would preclude this loophole in standard unified models.

Olive, K. A.↗

Black holes and local dark matter

Two independent constraints are placed on the amount of dark matter in black holes contained in the galactic disk. First, gas accretion by black holes leads to X-ray emission which cannot exceed the observed soft X-ray background. Second, metals produced in stellar processes that lead to black hole formation cannot exceed the observed disk metal abundance. Based on these constraints, it appears unlikely that the missing disk mass could be contained in black holes. A consequence of this conclusion is that at least two different types of dark matter are needed to solve the various missing mass problems.

Hegyi, D. J.↗

Recent heavy-particle decay in a matter-dominated universe

The cold matter scenario for galaxy formation solves the dark matter problem very nicely on small scales corresponding to galaxies and clusters of galaxies. It is, however, difficult to reconcile with a Universe with an Einstein-deSitter value of (UC OMEGA) = 1. Cold matter and (UC OMEGA) = 1 can be made compatible while retaining the feature that the Universe is matter dominated today. This is done by means of heavy (cold) particles whose decay subsequently leads to the unbinding of a large fraction of lighter clustered matter.

Olive, K. A.↗