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Sanford, David

Publications and source records attributed to Sanford, David.

Probing the Goldstone equivalence theorem in heavy weak doublet decays

We explore here the decays from heavy Higgsino-like weak doublets into Z , h bosons and missing particles. When pair-produced at the LHC, the subsequent Z , h → ℓ ℓ , b b ¯ decays in the doublet decay cascade can yield 4 ℓ , 2 ℓ 2 b and 4 b + E T + j ( s ) final states. Mutual observation of any two of these channels would provide information on the associated doublets’ decay branching fractions into a Z or h , thereby probing the Goldstone equivalence relation, shedding additional light on the Higgs sector of beyond the Standard Model theories and facilitating the discrimination of various contending models, in turn. We compare the Z / h decay ratio expected in the minimal supersymmetric model, the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM)and a minimal singlet-doublet dark matter model. Furthermore, we conduct a full Monte Carlo analysis of the prospects for detecting the targeted final states during 14 TeV running of the LHC in the context of a representative NMSSM benchmark model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Simplified models of mixed dark matter

We explore simplified models of mixed dark matter (DM), defined here to be a stable relic composed of a singlet and an electroweak charged state. Our setup describes a broad spectrum of thermal DM candidates that can naturally accommodate the observed DM abundance but are subject to substantial constraints from current and upcoming direct detection experiments. We identify ''blind spots'' at which the DM-Higgs coupling is identically zero, thus nullifying direct detection constraints on spin independent scattering. Furthermore, we characterize the fine-tuning in mixing angles, i.e. well-tempering, required for thermal freeze-out to accommodate the observed abundance. Present and projected limits from LUX and XENON1T force many thermal relic models into blind spot tuning, well-tempering, or both. This simplified model framework generalizes bino-Higgsino DM in the MSSM, singlino-Higgsino DM in the NMSSM, and scalar DM candidates that appear in models of extended Higgs sectors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗