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Supersymmetric dark matter above the W mass

The cosmological consequences are studied for the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model in the case that the neutralino is heavier than W. The cross section was calculated for annihilation of heavy neutralinos into final states containing gauge and Higgs bosons (XX yields WW, ZZ, HH, HW, HZ), where X is the lightest, nth neutralino and the results are compared with the results with those previously obtained for annihilation into fermions to find the relic cosmological abundance for the most general neutralino. The new channels are particularly important for the Higgsino-like and mixed-state neutralinos, but are sub-dominant (to the fermion-antifermion annihilation channels) in the case that the neutralino is mostly a gaugino. The effect of the top quark mass is also considered. Using these cross sections and the cosmological constraint omega(sub X)h squared is less than or approximately 1, the entire range of cosmologically acceptable supersymmetric parameter space is mapped and a very general bound on the neutralino mass is discovered. For a top quark mass of less than 180 GeV, neutralinos heavier than 3200 GeV are cosmologically inconsistent, and if the top quark mass is less than 120 GeV, the bound is lowered to 2600 GeV. Neutralino states that are mostly gaugino are constrained to be lighter than 550 GeV. It is found that a heavy neutralino that contributes omega(sub X) is approximately 1 arises for a very wide range of model parameters and makes, therefore, a very natural and attractive dark matter candidate.

Griest, Kim

Fluctuation driven electroweak phase transition

We examine the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition in the early Universe. For Higgs masses in the range 46 less than or = M sub H less than or = 150 GeV and top quark masses less than 200 GeV, regions of symmetric and asymmetric vacuum coexist to below the critical temperature, with thermal equilibrium between the two phases maintained by fluctuations of both phases. We propose that the transition to the asymmetric vacuum is completed by percolation of these subcritical fluctuations. Our results are relevant to scenarios of baryogenesis that invoke a weakly first-order phase transition at the electroweak scale.

Gleiser, Marcelo

Fluctuation-driven electroweak phase transition

We examine the dynamics of the electroweak phase transition in the early Universe. For Higgs masses in the range 46 less than or = M sub H less than or = 150 GeV and top quark masses less than 200 GeV, regions of symmetric and asymmetric vacuum coexist to below the critical temperature, with thermal equilibrium between the two phases maintained by fluctuations of both phases. We propose that the transition to the asymmetric vacuum is completed by percolation of these subcritical fluctuations. Our results are relevant to scenarios of baryogenesis that invoke a weakly first-order phase transition at the electroweak scale.

Gleiser, Marcelo

Fluctuation analysis of relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions in emulsion chambers

An analytical technique was developed for identifying enhanced fluctuations in the angular distributions of secondary particles produced from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions. The method is applied under the assumption that the masses of the produced particles are small compared to their linear momenta. The importance of particles rests in the fact that enhanced fluctuations in the rapidity distributions is considered to be an experimental signal for the creation of the quark-gluon-plasma (QGP), a state of nuclear matter predicted from the quantum chromodynamics theory (QCD). In the approach, Monte Carlo simulations are employed that make use of a portable random member generator that allow the calculations to be performed on a desk-top computer. The method is illustrated with data taken from high altitude emulsion exposures and is immediately applicable to similar data from accelerator-based emulsion exposures.

Mcguire, Stephen C.

IceCube Sensitivity for Low-Energy Neutrinos from Nearby Supernovae

This paper describes the response of the IceCube neutrino telescope located at the geographic South Pole to outbursts of MeV neutrinos from the core collapse of nearby massive stars. IceCube was completed in December 2010 forming a lattice of 5160 photomultiplier tubes that monitor a volume of approx. 1 cu km in the deep Antarctic ice for particle induced photons. The telescope was designed to detect neutrinos with energies greater than 100 GeV. Owing to subfreezing ice temperatures, the photomultiplier dark noise rates are particularly low. Hence IceCube can also detect large numbers of MeV neutrinos by observing a collective rise in all photomultiplier rates on top of the dark noise. With 2 ms timing resolution, IceCube can detect subtle features in the temporal development of the supernova neutrino burst. For a supernova at the galactic center, its sensitivity matches that of a background-free megaton-scale supernova search experiment. The sensitivity decreases to 20 standard deviations at the galactic edge (30 kpc) and 6 standard deviations at the Large Magellanic Cloud (50 kpc). IceCube is sending triggers from potential supernovae to the Supernova Early Warning System. The sensitivity to neutrino properties such as the neutrino hierarchy is discussed, as well as the possibility to detect the neutronization burst, a short outbreak's released by electron capture on protons soon after collapse. Tantalizing signatures, such as the formation of a quark star or a black hole as well as the characteristics of shock waves, are investigated to illustrate IceCube's capability for supernova detection.

Stamatikos, M.