91177292
SModelS: a tool for interpreting simplified-model results from the LHC and its application to supersymmetry
We present a general procedure to decompose Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) collider signatures presenting a $$\mathbb {Z}_2$$Z2 symmetry into Simplified Model Spectrum (SMS) topologies. Our method provides a way to cast BSM predictions for the LHC in a model independent framework, which can be directly confronted with the relevant experimental constraints. Our concrete implementation currently focusses on supersymmetry searches with missing energy, for which a large variety of SMS results from ATLAS and CMS are available. As show-case examples we apply our procedure to two scans of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. We discuss how the SMS limits constrain various particle masses and which regions of parameter space remain unchallenged by the current SMS interpretations of the LHC results.
119248722
Testing theCP-violating MSSM in stau decays at the LHC and ILC
We study CP violation in the two-body decay of a scalar tau into a neutralino and a tau, which should be probed at the LHC and ILC. From the normal tau polarization, a CP asymmetry is defined which is sensitive to the CP phases of the trilinear scalar coupling parameter A{sub {tau}}, the gaugino mass parameter M{sub 1}, and the Higgsino mass parameter {mu}, in the stau-neutralino sector of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. Asymmetries of more than 70% are obtained in scenarios with strong stau mixing. As a result, detectable CP asymmetries in stau decays at the LHC are found, motivating further detailed experimental studies for probing the supersymmetry CP phases.
119250843
Top Polarization in Sbottom Decays at the LHC
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the polarization of the top quarks originating from sbottom-pair production at the LHC, followed by sbottom decays to top+chargino. We study moreover the expected net polarization of top quarks produced in sbottom-to-chargino and stop-to-neutralino decays in scenarios with small chargino - neutralino mass difference, where these decays may be hard to distinguish. We show that, in contrast to top quarks produced via the Standard Model processes, the average polarization of top quarks originating from these SUSY decays can obtain any value between +1 and -1. We further study the effect of this polarization on the top quark decay kinematics. On the one hand this may be used to construct measures of this polarization, on the other hand it may be used to enhance the search reach in certain scenarios. Exploiting top polarization may also prove useful for searches for "natural" SUSY with light higgsinos, which is typically very difficult to detect at the LHC.
119219379
On the On-Shell Renormalization of the Chargino and Neutralino Masses in the MSSM
We discuss the choice of input parameters for the renormalization of the chargino and neutralino sector in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) in the on-shell scheme. We show that one should chose the masses of a bino-like, a wino-like and a higgsino-like state as inputs in order to avoid large corrections to the masses of the other eigenstates in this sector. We also show that schemes where the higgsino-like input state is a neutralino are more stable than those where the mass of the higgsino-like chargino is used as input. The most stable scheme uses the masses of the wino-like chargino as well as the masses of the bino- and higgsino-like neutralinos as inputs.
119245317
Toward a public analysis database for LHC new physics searches using MADANALYSIS 5
We present the implementation, in the MadAnalysis 5 framework, of several ATLAS and CMS searches for supersymmetry in data recorded during the first run of the LHC. We provide extensive details on the validation of our implementations and propose to create a public analysis database within this framework.
20179156
One-loop corrections, uncertainties and approximations in neutralino annihilations: Examples
The extracted value of the relic density has reached the few per-cent level precision. One can therefore no longer content oneself with calculations of this observable where the annihilation processes are computed at tree-level, especially in supersymmetry where radiative corrections are usually large. Implementing full one-loop corrections to all annihilation processes that would be needed in a scan over parameters is a daunting task. On the other hand one may ask whether the bulk of the corrections are taken into account through effective couplings of the neutralino that improve the tree-level calculation and would be easy to implement. We address this issue by concentrating in this first study on the neutralino coupling to i) fermions and sfermions and ii) Z. After constructing the effective couplings we compare their efficiency compared to the full one-loop calculation and comment on the failures and success of the approach. As a bonus we point out that large non decoupling effects of heavy sfermions could in principle be measured in the annihilation process, a point of interest in view of the latest limit on the squark masses from the LHC. We also comment on the scheme dependencies of the one-loop corrected results.
15218103
Limits to tertiary astrometric companions in binary systems
The Palomar High-precision Astrometric Search for Exoplanet Systems (PHASES) has monitored 37 subarcsecond binary systems to determine whether their Keplerian orbits are perturbed by faint astrometric companions to either star. Software has been developed to evaluate the regions in a companion mass-period phase space in which the PHASES observations can exclude the possibility of face-on orbit perturbations. We present results for eight systems for which astrometric companions with masses as small as those of giant planets can be excluded.
6132403
Millimeter Observations of GRB 030329: Continued Evidence for a Two-Component Jet
We present the results of a dedicated campaign on the afterglow of GRB 030329 with the millimeter interferometers of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) and the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association (BIMA), and with the MAMBO-2 bolometer array on the IRAM 30 m telescope. These observations allow us to trace the full evolution of the afterglow of GRB 030329 at frequencies of 100 and 250 GHz for the first time. The millimeter light curves exhibit two main features: a bright, constant flux density portion and a steep power-law decline. The absence of bright, short-lived millimeter emission is used to show that the GRB central engine was not actively injecting energy well after the burst. The millimeter data support a model, advocated by Berger et al., of a two-component jetlike outflow in which a narrow-angle jet is responsible for the high-energy emission and early optical afterglow, and a wide-angle jet carrying most of the energy is powering the radio and late optical afterglow emission.
118374860
Real-time Detection and Rapid Multiwavelength Follow-up Observations of a Highly Subluminous Type II-P Supernova from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey
The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) is an optical wide-field variability survey carried out using a camera with a 7.8 deg^2 field of view mounted on the 48 inch Oschin Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory. One of the key goals of this survey is to conduct high-cadence monitoring of the sky in order to detect optical transient sources shortly after they occur. Here, we describe the real-time capabilities of the PTF and our related rapid multiwavelength follow-up programs, extending from the radio to the γ-ray bands. We present as a case study observations of the optical transient PTF10vdl (SN 2010id), revealed to be a very young core-collapse (Type II-P) supernova having a remarkably low luminosity. Our results demonstrate that the PTF now provides for optical transients the real-time discovery and rapid-response follow-up capabilities previously reserved only for high-energy transients like gamma-ray bursts.
16501595
The Radio Evolution of the Ordinary Type Ic SN2002ap
We report the discovery and monitoring of radio emission from the Type Ic SN2002ap ranging in frequency from 1.43 to 22.5 GHz, and in time from 4 to 50 days after the SN explosion. As in most other radio SNe, the radio spectrum of SN2002ap shows evidence for absorption at low frequencies, usually attributed to synchrotron self-absorption or free-free absorption. While it is difficult to discriminate between these two processes based on a goodness-of-fit, theunabsorbed emission in the free-free model requires an unreasonably large ejecta energy. Therefore, on physical grounds we favor the synchrotron self-absorption (SSA) model. In the SSA framework, at about day 2, the shock speed is ≈ 0.3c, the energy in relativistic electrons and magnetic fields is≈ 1.5× 10 45 erg and the inferred progenitor mass loss rate is ≈ 5× 10 −7 M⊙ yr −1 (assuming a 10 3 km sec −1 wind). These properties are consistent with a model in which the outer, high velocity supernova ejecta interact with the progenitor wind. The amount of relativistic ejecta in this model is small, so that the presence of broad lines in the spectrum of a Type Ib/c supernova, as observed in SN2002ap, is not a reliable indicator of relativistic ejecta and henceγ-ray emission.
116599063
Hawking fluxes and covariant anomalies
A non-destructive, direct method and apparatus for producing stretch blow molded articles having at least one physical dimension within a preselected range. The apparatus includes an injection mold defining an injection mold interior surface having a first differentially dimensioned portion disposed at a preselected location thereon and capable of producing a parison having a parison exterior surface including a first marker formed by contact with the first differentially dimensioned portion, and a stretch blow mold defining a stretch blow mold interior surface having a second differentially dimensioned portion disposed at a predetermined location thereon and capable of producing the article from the parison including a second marker formed by contact with the second differentially dimensioned portion. Relative position of the first marker with respect to the second marker indicates whether a dimension is within a preselected range. The method includes injection molding a parison so that a parison exterior surface includes a first marker disposed at a preselected position thereon and formed by contact with a first differentially dimensioned portion disposed at a preselected location on an injection mold interior surface, and stretch blow molding an article from the parison so that an article exterior surface includes a second marker disposed at a predetermined position thereon and formed by contact with a second differentially dimensioned portion disposed at a predetermined location on a stretch blow mold interior surface.